Remsenburg, New York
Encyclopedia
- For census related data, see the entry for Remsenburg-Speonk, New YorkRemsenburg-Speonk, New York----Remsenburg-Speonk is a census-designated place located in the Town of Southhampton, Suffolk County, New York. It consists of the hamlets of Remsenburg and Speonk. The population was 2,675 at the 2000 census...
Remsenburg is a hamlet located in the Town of Southhampton
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
, 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...
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There are no stoplights and very few commercial businesses.
History
As early as 1712, meadows in Speonk were leased to cattle-owners from Southampton. Most of the early settlers of Speonk came west from Southampton and Bridgehampton in the 1740s to clear the forests and build farms. During the 1880s, duck farms thrived in Speonk, but few survived past the turn of the century.The name Speonk was inspired by a Native American word meaning high place. An 1897 Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
catalog listed Speonk, noting that that name "certainly sounds like the call of a frog." Some residents pressed to change the name to Remsenburg, to honor a prominent resident, Charles Remsen, who had donated a new Presbyterian Church. Today, both names remain in use, each covering different areas of the community. The area close to the bay is called Remsenburg, and the more bucolic inland area is still called Speonk.
During the twentieth century, its most famous resident was the English writer, P.G. Wodehouse. He wrote many of the escapades of Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
and his manservant, Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
, from a home on Basket Neck Lane in Remsenburg. Other residents of note include: songwriter Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, who wrote for Broadway shows including Guys and Dolls; the playwright, Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
, who collaborated with Wodehouse on Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
; and Dave Garroway
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham "Dave" Garroway was the founding host of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing, relaxed, and relaxing style belied a battle with depression that may have contributed to the end of his days as a leading television personality—and, eventually, his life...
, the original host of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show when it first aired in January, 1952.
Other notable residents include the Brophys, Krupiens, Andreolis and Giaquitos.
Geography
Remsenburg is located at geographic coordinates 40° 48' 28" North, 72° 42' 32" West (40.807709, -72.708923). As Remsenberg is located within the Town of Southampton, County of Suffolk, and is in on the Atlantic Ocean and bay, it is considered to be geographically, historically, and culturally part of the HamptonsHamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
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