"Town of Brookhaven" a Brookhaven Travel Page by BeverlyTyler

PHOTO: CONSCIENCE BAY STRETCHES FROM THIS LOCATION, WHERE THE SETAUKET MILL POND EMPTIES INTO THE TIDAL ESTUARY, TO WHERE IT EMPTIES INTO PORT JEFFERSON HARBOR AND LONG ISLAND SOUND. THIS IS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN SETALCOTT'S TERRITORY AND IS THE PART OF THE SETAUKET ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT THAT HAS CHANGED THE LEAST IN OVER 300 YEARS.

Brookhaven is the largest town on Long Island. It is located in the county of Suffolk, the eastern two-thirds of Long Island.

Brookhaven, about 16 miles wide from east to west, begins about 50 miles east of the western end of Long Island (Brooklyn & Queens) and extends from the north to the south shore.

Native Indians of the Algonquian language occupied this area, first as hunter-gatherers and eventually as woodland groups living in a number of areas on the north and south shores and hunting in the pine barren areas between the two shores.

On the north shore the Indians included the Setalcott family group in what is now Setauket and Stony Brook.

Archaeological excavations in the area of West Meadow Creek indicate that a group of the woodland Indians, 1,000-2,000 BP lived in a village in the area known as Aunt Amy's Creek and had a tool manufacturing site at the end of West Meadow Creek which was just a few hundred yards from the village.

This may have been a temporary village site, however, at the time of European contact in 1655, the Indians were living in the area where the Brookhaven Original Settlement in Setauket is located.

To learn more about the history and Geography of Brookhaven or to find out about Beaches, historic sites, nature trails, rivers, parks, & facilities for tourism & residential living, visit the Brookhaven travelogues here.

Brookhaven's access to New England is through the Village of Port Jefferson where three ferries operate cross sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The ferry which hold both cars and large trucks makes the run in just over an hour, providing a very high "quality of life" for travelers who might otherwise travel the Long Island expressway and the Throggs Neck bridge to reach New England.

Taking the ferry across Long Island Sound can be a very pleasurable experience, and a great way to begin an exploration of Port Jefferson, Setauket, East Setauket and Stony Brook or other places in the Town of Brookhaven and throughout Long Island.