Upton, New York

Upton, New York
Name	Upton, New York
Settlement type	Hamlet and CDP
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	New York
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Suffolk
Subdivision type3	Town
Subdivision name3	Brookhaven

Upton, New York is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on Long Island. It is internationally recognized as the primary location of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a major scientific research facility funded by the United States Department of Energy. The area's identity is deeply intertwined with the laboratory, which was established on the site of the former Camp Upton, a World War I and World War II United States Army training base.

History

The land that became Upton was originally part of the Town of Brookhaven's extensive holdings, with early European settlement tied to farming and timber. Its modern history began in 1917 when the War Department established Camp Upton as a training facility for the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The camp was named for Emory Upton, a prominent Union Army general in the American Civil War. During World War II, the site was reactivated as Camp Upton, serving as an induction center and later as a convalescent hospital. Following the war, the camp was declared surplus, and in 1947, the site was repurposed for peaceful scientific research with the founding of Associated Universities, Inc. and the establishment of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. This transformation from a military installation to a premier center for nuclear physics, high-energy physics, and environmental science defines the community's contemporary character.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Upton CDP has a total area of 7.0 square miles, all of it land. It is situated in central Suffolk County, bordered by the hamlets of Ridge to the north, Manorville to the east, and Yaphank to the south. The terrain is generally flat, characteristic of the Long Island Central Pine Barrens region. The Carmans River flows to the south of the area. The majority of the land within the CDP is occupied by the secure campus of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, which includes large tracts of protected woodland and several particle accelerators, including the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the National Synchrotron Light Source II.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of the Upton CDP was 2,130. The population is predominantly employed in scientific, professional, and technical services, largely due to the presence of Brookhaven National Laboratory and its associated contractors. The demographic profile reflects a highly educated community, with a significant proportion of residents holding advanced degrees in fields such as physics, engineering, and computer science. Housing consists primarily of single-family homes, with many residents being employees of the laboratory or affiliated institutions like Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Education and research

Upton is synonymous with Brookhaven National Laboratory, one of ten national laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy. The lab's pioneering research includes the discovery of the CP violation in kaon decay, which contributed to a Nobel Prize in Physics, and ongoing experiments in quantum chromodynamics and photon science. The lab collaborates extensively with the nearby Stony Brook University, which co-manages the facility, and hosts thousands of visiting researchers annually from institutions like MIT, Yale University, and CERN. While there are no public school districts within the hamlet itself, students attend schools in the surrounding Longwood Central School District and South Country Central School District.

Transportation

Primary road access to Upton is provided by New York State Route 25 (Middle Country Road), which runs east-west to the north of the laboratory site. William Floyd Parkway runs north-south along the eastern boundary. The area is served by the Suffolk County Transit bus system, with routes connecting to major hubs like the Long Island Rail Road stations in Yaphank and Patchogue. The laboratory operates its own private road network and shuttle services for employees. The nearest major airport is Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

Notable people

While primarily a research community, several notable scientists and public figures have been associated with Upton through their work at Brookhaven National Laboratory. These include Chien-Shiung Wu, the experimental physicist who conducted landmark research there; Samuel C. C. Ting, who used the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron in experiments leading to his Nobel Prize in Physics; and I. I. Rabi, a Nobel laureate and one of the laboratory's founding figures. During its time as Camp Upton, the base was home to soldier and composer Irving Berlin, who wrote the musical Yip Yip Yaphank there in 1918.

Category:Hamlets in New York (state) Category:Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Category:Brookhaven, New York