East Marion, New York
Encyclopedia
East Marion is a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet (unincorporated community) by the same name in the town of Southold
Southold, New York
Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 20,599 at the 2000 census...

 in Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The CDP population was 756 at the 2000 census.

History

Beginnings: The first inhabitants were the Orient Focus People, Indians who lived about 1000 BC. They vanished long before the arrival in about 900 AD of the Corchaugs, who called the area Poquatuc. The Corchaugs were still present when six English families settled in 1661. The new residents called the area Oysterponds because of the abundant shellfish that they began to gather and sell to nearby communities. While farming remained the principle occupation, trading vessels began operating out of the sheltered harbor during the colonial period.

The Revolution: British troops landed in 1776. Many families fled to Connecticut, and the Redcoats periodically plundered the farms they left behind. After Benedict Arnold switched sides, he organized raids on Connecticut from Oysterponds. The British returned during the War of 1812, setting up what turned out to be a porous blockade against American ships sailing to New York City. In 1814 Commodore Stephen Decatur anchored his American squadron off Trumans Beach but never engaged the British. After the war, renewed farming and fishing brought prosperity to Oysterponds. By 1840 more than 30 schooners were operating out of the harbor, carrying fish and produce.

Turning Point: Orient and East Marion originally were called Oysterponds Lower Neck and Oysterponds Upper Neck, respectively. In 1836, the two communities went their separate ways with new names. Orient was chosen to reflect the area's easternmost position on the North Fork. East Marion was named for Gen. Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox of the Revolutionary War. "East" was tacked on because of an existing Marion upstate.

Brushes With Fame: By 1870 the tip of the North Fork had become a resort. And the Orient Point Inn, which opened in 1796, played host to President Grover Cleveland, Walt Whitman, orator Daniel Webster, actress Sarah Bernhardt and James Fenimore Cooper, who wrote "Sea Lions," set in Orient. (The inn closed in the 1960s and was demolished.) Meanwhile, members of one prominent Orient family did what they could to stave off public attention. They were the Tuthills, generally referred to in those less-sensitive days as the "Tuthill Dwarfs" or "Tiny Tuthills." Three Tuthill sisters, Cynthia, Lucretia and Asenath, were midgets and accomplished seamstresses. In the mid-19th century, their brother Rufus built them a house with reduced dimensions; it still stands on Village Lane. Their diminutive and shy nephew, Addison, declined P.T. Barnum's invitation to join his circus.

Claims to Fame: Most people today know Orient for the ferries to New London and for Orient Beach State Park. Regularly scheduled ferry service to Connecticut began in the 1930s. The park was created when the community deeded the bulk of the four-mile (6 km) Long beach peninsula to the state in 1929. East Marion is the sleepy country hamlet with myriad bays and inlets, wildlife preserves and miles of rolling farmlands.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (5.83%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of 2000, there were 756 people, 329 households, and 222 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 360.6 per square mile (139.0/km²). There were 744 housing units at an average density of 354.8/sq mi (136.8/km²). The racial makeup of the community was 95.24% White, 0.93% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 1.72% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.91% of the population.

There were 329 households out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the community the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 30.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $44,583, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males had a median income of $47,917 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $24,373. About 4.7% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
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