History of Islip

History of Islip

The Town of Islip is named for a town in Northamptonshire, England, where Matthias Nicoll, the father of the patentee of eastern Islip William Nicoll was born. William Nicoll acquired the land from East Islip to Bayport from Winnequeheagh, Sachem (chief) of Connetquot in 1683. The American Revolution had a significant effect in building and enlarging the town, in large part because of its water access and the need for shipping.

The Fire Island Light House was built in 1825 and a regular ferry service between the hamlet of Bay Shore in Islip and Fire Island was established in 1862. Islip grew to become a tourist destination with the introduction of the Long Island Rail Road in 1867. Tourism was a major element in growing the variety of the town. Following World War II, a housing shortage in the town, but a rebirth on Long Island in the Town of Islip turned Islip from a non-urban setting into an active suburban community. In the twenty years between 1950 and 1970, the populace of the town quadrupled. The 2010 census indicates the current population is 335,543 throughout the 24 hamlets and four villages.

MacArthur Airport, built after the attack on Pearl Harbor to serve as a military airfield, is operated by the Town of Islip and serves roughly 2 million passengers yearly. The Keep Islip Clean program, WRAP and other environmentally inspired programs within the town were executed following a long court battle over how to wipe out 3,100 tons of waste from New York Town. The case included several states, and eventually the trash was incinerated and the ashes dropped at the landfill in Islip. Islip is now an innovator among Long Island towns for its recycling programs.