Miller Place, New York

The land that Miller Place occupies was purchased from the native Setalcott tribe in 1664 by settlers of Setauket. The parcel also included what would become Mount Sinai, New York, an adjacent community of similar character with which Miller Place would share a variety of functions throughout its history.

The first known dwelling in the area was constructed in the 1660s by Captain John Scott, an important figure in Long Island's early history. This house was named Braebourne and features on a map of the New England region credited to Scott, who served as a royal advisor and cartographer among other occupations. This abode, on the eastern side of Mount Sinai Harbor, was one of three houses John Scott commissioned, and the actual occupier is unknown.[2]

The William Miller House, with sections dating from 1720 to 1816

While the original settler of Miller Place is unknown, the settling of the region is largely accredited to the original Miller family. In 1679, an East Hampton settler named Andrew Miller purchased a 30-acre (120,000 m²) plot. Miller was a cooper by profession, and records indicate that he had emigrated from either Maidstone, England or Craigmillar, Scotland.

By the early 1700s, the community had become known as Miller's Place. The Miller family expanded well into the 18th century and continually developed houses in the northern part of the hamlet. The Millers were in time joined by members of such families as the Helmes, Robinsons, Burnetts, Hawkins, Woodhulls, and Thomases. Many roads in the present hamlet have been named after historical families.

The oldest extant house is the home of William Miller, Andrew Miller's grandson, composed in three sections between 1720 and 1816 at a prominent location on North Country Road. The hamlet's many extant historical structures are centered on this thoroughfare, forming the core of the Miller Place Historic District. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976,[3] it became the first historic district in the Town of Brookhaven. Separately listed is the Samuel Hopkins House.[3]

The 1785 Timothy Miller house

The American Revolutionary War divided the town, with the majority siding with the Patriot cause but families being split across both lines. A number of midnight raids occurred, one of which resulted in the shooting of a teenaged Miller who had peered out of his window to check on the commotion. The march of Benjamin Tallmadge, who led eighty men to the victorious overthrow of a British stronghold at Manor St. George, traversed along the town's western border.

In 1789, the neighboring communities of Miller Place and Mount Sinai organized a Congregational church on the town border. While the Mount Sinai Congregational Church building (an extant structure from 1807) is technically in Mount Sinai, the house for its minister was built in Miller Place and continues to be used for that purpose.

The first two public schools in the hamlet were established in 1813 and 1837. In 1834 the Miller Place Academy, a private school, was established under the leadership of a Yale graduate. Though the academy itself closed in 1868, it served as a public school from 1897 until the 1937 opening of what is now the North Country Road Middle School. The Miller Place Academy structure remains as one of the community's symbols and currently houses a free library.

Built in 1890, The Miller Place Country General Store, which formerly served as a combined general store and town post office

Indian Rock on Miller Place Beach

In 1895 the hamlet became home to a station of the Long Island Rail Road, which was located near the present-day intersection of Sylvan and Echo avenues. It transported people to stops westward to Port Jefferson and New York City or eastward to Wading River. After the station was destroyed in a 1902 fire, a new one was built the next year. However, this building was destroyed in 1930 by another fire, and the eastern railroad lines were soon abandoned. In 2013 an agreement was signed between local politicians and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which currently manages the strip on which the railroad operated, to convert this land into a public bicycle trail.

In the latter 19th century, Miller Place became a popular summer resort location. This led to a building boom of beach-side bungalows, rustic log cabins, and commercial activities to accommodate the new seasonal residents. A barn-like building known as the Harbor House operated as a dormitory-style vacation house for young girls until it was destroyed in a 1962 fire.[4] Camp Barstow, a Girl Scout camp near the beach, was active until 1980 and has since become public parkland.

McNulty's Ice Cream Parlor, Since 1992

In the decades following World War II, the population of Miller Place greatly expanded. The majority of beach cottages were repurposed as family homes and the town became home to many residents who commute daily to New York City. Commuters either use the Long Island Rail Road, with the nearest stations in Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma, or drive along the extensive highway system that had been developed by Robert Moses. A number of residents also work at nearby Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The town post office since 1990

The center of commerce within the hamlet has largely transitioned from the historic North Country Road to the modern Route 25A. Along North Country Road is McNulty's, a family-owned ice cream parlor and a fixture of the hamlet, and a handful of inns and restaurants located in historic structures. Route 25A is of a more suburban character, with most businesses being corporate chains and located in strip malls. Also along Route 25A are multiple pizza parlors, a bagel store, a deli, and Crazy Beans, a local coffee shop and bar.

A 2012 plan by the Town of Brookhaven aims to comprehensively manage Route 25a between Mount Sinai and Wading River under planning strategies counter to those of car-oriented mid-century suburbia. For Miller Place, it intends to transition the section at Echo and Sylvan Avenues into a traditional downtown center with new mixed-use development and an expanded Sylvan Avenue Park that would complement the current town post office and senior center. The plan additionally calls for the preservation of the DeLea Sod Farm, the largest agricultural parcel remaining on the Miller Place stretch of Route 25a.[5]

As the population after the World War II increased, the community grew rapidly, increasing the demand for good schools and health clinics. Although a lot of the people go to New York City for work and commute everyday, it is impossible for everyone to drive 30 minutes regularly whenever someone falls ill, and thanks to the community of Doctors who started building the well equipped and high standard walk-in clinics and urgent care centers in Miller Place. Caremed Primary and Urgent Care is one such Urgent Care, the walk-in clinic is also a Primary Care and is equipped with modern facilities for the resident of Miller Place and is run by a young team of professionals. There are a few other Urgent Care Centers in Miller Place including Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care and City Md Urgent care.

The four schools of the Miller Place Union Free School District are scattered throughout the hamlet and serve both Miller Place and much of the hamlet of Sound Beach. These include the Andrew Muller Primary School (K-2), Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School (3–5), North Country Road Middle School (6–8), and the Miller Place High School (9–12). The high school has been ranked the 78th in the nation for students taking AP classes.

North Country Road Middle School

Miller Place has garnered some renown for being the home of the Miller Place Panthers High School badminton team, which has earned recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest winning streak in team sports history. "The Streak" began in the spring of 1973 and came to an end on April 12, 2005, when the Panthers were defeated in a match by Smithtown High School. The Panthers did not lose a single match over a 32-year span that encompassed 504 consecutive victories.

The Miller Place School system also fields soccer, lacrosse, cross-country, field hockey, track and field, basketball, JV and varsity football, and baseball teams, as well as a wrestling team, volleyball team, and softball team. The boys/girls cross country programs have sent multiple runners to state tournaments, including most recently when the whole girls team went and two boy runners. Girls field hockey also made it to the state tournament for New York, after winning the Suffolk County Championship against Rocky Point 1-0 and the LIC (Long Island Championship) 3-0. The school's mascot is a panther, while the school colors are red, white and blue.