Mattituck, New York

Mattituck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census.

Located in the Town of Southold, Mattituck CDP roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name.

History

Mattituck is believed to have derived its name from the Native American name for "Great Creek". Mattituck Creek has been dredged and is used extensively by pleasure craft on Long Island Sound (the Mattituck Inlet is the entrance into Mattituck Creek, and the whole waterway is now popularly referred to as Mattituck Inlet).

It is only one of two harbors (the other being Mt. Sinai harbor) on the north side of Long Island on the Sound east of Port Jefferson.

The Mattituck Inlet and James Creek (which has also been dredged for boats) on the Peconic Bay come within 500 yards (460 m) of each other and would provide a shortcut between the Peconic and Sound through the North Fork if connected via a canal. However, authorities have resisted the connection, fearing an ecological disaster. Still, the inlet is blamed for coastal erosion because it interrupts the longshore drift on the sound.

Mattituck (LIRR station)

Mattituck is a station on the Main Line (Greenport Branch) of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Love Lane and Pike Street, north of New York State Route 25 in Mattituck, New York.

The station was originally named Mattetuck, and opened on July 29, 1844. It was rebuilt in 1878 and remodeled in 1944. The station house was closed in 1959 and razed in July 1967, but the station still remained active. When Cutchogue station was closed in June 1962, Mattituck station became one of two replacements, the other being the former Peconic station, which itself closed sometime in 1970. The station contained a total of three "produce storage" facilities, which still exists today, one of which is a real estate office. A new station with high-level platforms was built between 2000 and 2001, which many stations on the LIRR were getting at the time.

Platform and track configuration

This station has one high-level side platform south of the tracks that is long enough for one and a half cars to receive and discharge passengers. The Main Line has three tracks at this location: one is a siding and one is a freight spur.