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Selden, New York
Selden (historically known as Westfield) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,262 at the time of the 2020 census.
The farmers who first moved to what is now Selden in the mid-18th century referred to the area as "Westfield" (or sometimes as Westfields). One of the better known early residents was Captain Daniel Roe (1740–1820), who fought in the French and Indian War and served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, and for whom Captain Daniel Roe Highway is named. Roe built a house in Selden along Middle Country Road before the Revolutionary War. Roe is buried in a small family cemetery south of Middle Country Road behind the Old Westfield shopping center.
Roe sided with the Patriots in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1776, Roe was assigned to lead a raid against the Tory and Hessian detachment near Selden led by his cousin Richard Miller. Miller was a wanted man, and Roe himself had pledged 10 pounds of the bounty offered for Miller's capture. When Miller rode right by Roe's house in uniform, he was confronted by Roe's men and ordered to dismount. Instead, Miller fired his pistol and turned to flee, whereupon he was shot by the militiamen. Miller was then carried into Roe's house, where he died.
A school district for the Westfield area was first created in 1815, carved out of the districts for New Village (now Centereach) and Coram. Originally named District 25, it was renumbered as District 12 in 1842, which it remained until the formation of the Middle Country Central School District in 1957.
When a post office was opened in 1852, Westfield had already been taken as a name by a community upstate. Upstate attorney (and later judge) Henry Selden promised to do "something handsome" if the community named itself after him. The name was adopted, though it is usually said to be unknown whether he ever followed through on his promise, and probably did not. While some sources report that the attorney had no known connection to the community, one newspaper reported in 1858 that Selden and attorney Edward Boyle (the namesake for Boyle Road) acquired a large tract of land in the hamlet shortly before the post office opened, and started to develop it.
As of 1885, Selden was home to 88 residents and a Presbyterian church (built in 1857), and noted for producing melons and early garden vegetables from its farms. Around 1897, the popular cross-island Bicycle Path was completed and ran through Selden. A popular stop along the path, "Wheelmen's Rest", was in Selden and run by Albert Norton.
In 1916, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened on land then considered to be part of Holtsville. The location, including some of its original buildings, became in 1961 the main (Ammerman) campus of Suffolk County Community College, which today has an enrollment of over 11,000 students.
From 1919 to 1959, Telescope Hill on the south side of Selden was the location of a fire lookout tower. During World War II, a German U-boat spotted from Telescope Hill was later captured but not identified.
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Selden, New York
Selden (historically known as Westfield) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,262 at the time of the 2020 census.
The farmers who first moved to what is now Selden in the mid-18th century referred to the area as "Westfield" (or sometimes as Westfields). One of the better known early residents was Captain Daniel Roe (1740–1820), who fought in the French and Indian War and served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, and for whom Captain Daniel Roe Highway is named. Roe built a house in Selden along Middle Country Road before the Revolutionary War. Roe is buried in a small family cemetery south of Middle Country Road behind the Old Westfield shopping center.
Roe sided with the Patriots in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1776, Roe was assigned to lead a raid against the Tory and Hessian detachment near Selden led by his cousin Richard Miller. Miller was a wanted man, and Roe himself had pledged 10 pounds of the bounty offered for Miller's capture. When Miller rode right by Roe's house in uniform, he was confronted by Roe's men and ordered to dismount. Instead, Miller fired his pistol and turned to flee, whereupon he was shot by the militiamen. Miller was then carried into Roe's house, where he died.
A school district for the Westfield area was first created in 1815, carved out of the districts for New Village (now Centereach) and Coram. Originally named District 25, it was renumbered as District 12 in 1842, which it remained until the formation of the Middle Country Central School District in 1957.
When a post office was opened in 1852, Westfield had already been taken as a name by a community upstate. Upstate attorney (and later judge) Henry Selden promised to do "something handsome" if the community named itself after him. The name was adopted, though it is usually said to be unknown whether he ever followed through on his promise, and probably did not. While some sources report that the attorney had no known connection to the community, one newspaper reported in 1858 that Selden and attorney Edward Boyle (the namesake for Boyle Road) acquired a large tract of land in the hamlet shortly before the post office opened, and started to develop it.
As of 1885, Selden was home to 88 residents and a Presbyterian church (built in 1857), and noted for producing melons and early garden vegetables from its farms. Around 1897, the popular cross-island Bicycle Path was completed and ran through Selden. A popular stop along the path, "Wheelmen's Rest", was in Selden and run by Albert Norton.
In 1916, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened on land then considered to be part of Holtsville. The location, including some of its original buildings, became in 1961 the main (Ammerman) campus of Suffolk County Community College, which today has an enrollment of over 11,000 students.
From 1919 to 1959, Telescope Hill on the south side of Selden was the location of a fire lookout tower. During World War II, a German U-boat spotted from Telescope Hill was later captured but not identified.