The Hamptons

For other uses, see The Hamptons (disambiguation).

The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of the historical summer colonies of the northeastern United States.

The Hamptons, highlighted (center) on the South Fork of Long Island, an island extending 118 miles (190 km) into the Atlantic Ocean eastward from Manhattan

The Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, the Montauk Highway, and private bus services connect the Hamptons to the rest of Long Island and to New York City, while ferries provide connections to Shelter Island, New York and Connecticut.

Stony Brook University's Southampton campus is located in the Hamptons.

Hamlets and villages

Sherrill Farmhouse in East Hampton, New York, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

An aerial view of Shinnecock Inlet in the Hampton Bays

West to east, the Hamptons include^[1] the following hamlets and villages in the town of Southampton:

• Eastport (hamlet)
• Speonk (hamlet)
• Remsenburg (hamlet)
• Westhampton (hamlet)
• West Hampton Dunes (village)
• Westhampton Beach (village)
• Quogue (village)
• East Quogue (hamlet)
• Hampton Bays (hamlet)
  • Places of Interest: Shinnecock Bay
• Shinnecock Hills (hamlet)
• North Sea
• Southampton (village)
• Water Mill (hamlet)
• Bridgehampton (hamlet)
• Sagaponack (village)
• Sag Harbor (village, shared with East Hampton)

The Hamptons include the following hamlets and villages in the town of East Hampton:

• Sag Harbor (village, shared with Southampton)
• Wainscott
• East Hampton (village)
• Northwest Harbor
• Springs
• Amagansett
• Montauk

The Shinnecock Reservation of the Shinnecock Indian Nation lies within the borders of the Town of Southampton, adjoining Shinnecock Hills and the Village of Southampton.

These areas constitute the core vacation area of the east end of Long Island.

Village/hamlet	Town	Population[citation needed]	Total area	Land area
Amagansett	East Hampton Town	1,165	8.0 sq mi (21 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Bridgehampton	Southampton Town	1,756	11.2 sq mi (29 km2)	9.3 sq mi (24 km2)
East Hampton	East Hampton Town	1,114	4.9 sq mi (13 km2)	4.8 sq mi (12 km2)
Sagaponack	Southampton Town	324	8.0 sq mi (21 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Sag Harbor	60% Southampton; 40% East Hampton Town[citation needed]	2,274	2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2)	1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
Southampton	Southampton Town	4,550	6.8 sq mi (18 km2)	6.3 sq mi (16 km2)
Wainscott	East Hampton Town	650	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)	6.2 sq mi (16 km2)
Water Mill	Southampton Town	1,559	12.5 sq mi (32 km2)	11.0 sq mi (28 km2)
Montauk	East Hampton Town	3,326	19.8 sq mi (51 km2)

Description

The Hamptons are home to many communities. Historically, it has been devoted to agriculture and fishing. Many farms are still in operation in the area. There are three commercial vineyards operating in the Hamptons as well.

Given the area's geographic location, it maintained strong commercial and social links to New England and the nearby states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Many of the original settlers were from and most of the trade links were with communities in Connecticut. Indeed, much of the older architecture and aesthetics of the villages in the Hamptons resemble New England. This is especially true for Sag Harbor Village and East Hampton Village.

Once direct rail links to New York City were established, the community of summer vacation residents^[2] expanded significantly. The Village of Southampton, which is the oldest of the Hamptons and the most westward of the villages in the core area of the Hamptons, grew rapidly. It remains the largest and most diverse of the Hamptons' towns. The other villages and hamlets grew at a slower rate over time.

The agriculture community became supplemented by artisans and professionals (mainly in Southampton Village and Sag Harbor Village), and then by a large influx of artists. As a result, the arts community in the Hamptons has origins extending back to the nineteenth century.^[3][4] The Art Village in Southampton and the community of Springs in East Hampton town hosted a number of resident artists and art schools (e.g., the Shinnecock Hills Summer School founded by William Merritt Chase).

Current profile

The villages and the hamlets are distinguished by how their significant population increases during the summers, although the Hamptons have increasingly become year-round destinations for New Yorkers seeking a refuge on weekends.

Amenities in the area include the Southampton Arts Center, the Southampton Cultural Center, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs; the Parrish Art Museum and the Watermill Center^[5] in Water Mill; the Guild Hall, a museum and theater, in East Hampton.^[3] In the sporting world, the region's golf courses are very highly regarded. The private golf clubs in Southampton are among the most exclusive and expensive in the nation. Those courses include the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, National Golf Links of America, and the Sebonack Golf Club. In 2023, these golf clubs were ranked 4th, 7th, and 43rd within the United States by Golf Digest.^[6] There is also the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, ranked 52nd by Golf Digest that same year.^[6]

Other private clubs include The Bathing Corporation of Southampton, the Southampton Bath and Tennis Club, and the Meadow Club in Southampton Village.^[7]

History

The Hamptons' history as a dwelling place for the wealthy dates from the late nineteenth century when the community changed from a farming community with good potato ground to a popular destination. In 1893 The New York Times wrote

The beautiful villages clustering around old Southampton, including Quogue, Good Ground, the rest of the Hamptons, and the incomparable Shinnecock Hills combine to make as close an approach to Eden as can be found in a long journey. Exclusive—in the best sense of the word—society is here represented during the summer by its choicest spirits. Well-bred men and women find a congenial atmosphere, refined attractions in plenty, and innumerable charms about these quaint old villages.^[8]

As of 2015^[update], commercial and point residential development continues and the Hamptons remain a vacation spot for the wealthy.^[9] The Hamptons have also become a notable place for prominent members of the LGBT community.^[10] Beaches in the Southeastern United States have been referred to as "The Hamptons of the South", including Figure Eight Island in North Carolina, Hilton Head Island and Kiawah Island in South Carolina, and South Walton in Florida.^[11][12][13]

Media

Dan's Papers, which originally began as the Montauk Pioneer on July 1, 1960, is published by Schneps Media.^[14]

Transportation

The Hamptons are connected to New York City and the rest of Long Island by a series of roadways (most notable of which are Route 27A, also known as Montauk Highway, and Route 27, also known as Sunrise Highway), rail service, and bus service. There are also several small airports throughout the Hamptons which offer both private and commercial service on small aircraft and helicopters.

The Long Island Rail Road provides limited rail service seven days per week via the Montauk Branch connecting towns and hamlets in the Hamptons to Montauk and New York City. Hampton Jitney and Hampton Luxury Liner coach bus services provide slightly more frequent passenger travel between New York City and the Hamptons, especially during summer months. Local Suffolk County buses also provide service to neighboring areas.

In popular culture

In films

• The 1975 documentary Grey Gardens follows the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a home in great disrepair located in East Hampton.
• Filmmaker Woody Allen depicts characters visiting the Hamptons for vacations in his films Annie Hall (1977), Interiors (1978) and Blue Jasmine (2013).
• The majority of the 1982 black comedy suspense film Deathtrap, based on the 1978 play by Ira Levin, takes place at a house in East Hampton.
• Most of the 1989 movie Weekend at Bernie's was set in the Hamptons. However, the Hamptons scenes were actually filmed at Bald Head Island, North Carolina 750 miles away.
• Something's Gotta Give, a 2003 romantic comedy by Nancy Meyers, depicts a couple finding love later in life at a Hamptons beach house.^[15]
• Characters in the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind visit Montauk.
• The majority of the 2004 movie White Chicks is set in the Hamptons.
• In Inside Job, a 2010 documentary film about the 2008 financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson, the film covers a bird's eye view of the beaches and homes in the area.^[16]
• The apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind from 2023 is also set in the Hamptons.
• The 2023 romantic comedy No Hard Feelings takes place in Montauk.

In television

• Numerous episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City are filmed in and around the Hamptons, where the cast members participate in the East End social life and charitable events^[17][18] and several cast members own (or previously owned) eastern Long Island homes, e.g., Cindy Barshop^{[broken anchor]}, Kelly Killoren Bensimon,^[19] LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin.
• Multiple episodes of The Affair were set and filmed in the Montauk and East Hampton areas. Recognizable locations from the show include Deep Hollow Ranch, Marine Boulevard and the Montauk Point Light.^[20][21]
• In Louie, comedian Louis C.K. performs a stand-up comedy set at a private charity function in the Hamptons with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.^[22]
• Reality stars Khloé Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are the main cast of the show Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons, which began airing in November 2014. The show is based on the family spending the summer at a house in the North Sea area of the Hamptons.^[23]
• The Castle episode "Murder He Wrote" is mainly set in the Hamptons and the ocean front house Castle owns there. Castle and Beckett marry at the same house at the end of "The Time of Our Lives".^{[citation needed]}
• Royal Pains, which ran from 2009 to 2016 on the USA Network, is set almost exclusively in the Hamptons.^[24]
• In "The Hamptons", the 85th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry and his friends spend a weekend in the Hamptons.^[25] In another episode, "The Wizard", George Costanza's late girlfriend's parents catch him lying about buying a house in the Hamptons.^[26]
• The drama series Revenge centers around Emily Thorne returning to the Hamptons to take revenge after the wrongful conviction of her father.^[27]
• The series The Black Hamptons is primarily set in a fictionalized part of Sag Harbor.
• In the season 2 premiere of Gossip Girl, almost all of the main characters spend the episode there attending a white party, like the famous parties attended by the elite at the Hamptons.

Other appearances in culture

• In basketball, an iteration of the Golden State Warriors' so-called "Death Lineup", consisting of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson, is more often called the "Hamptons Five". The term was coined by San Francisco Bay Area journalist Tim Kawakami in the 2016 NBA offseason after the Warriors signed Durant out of free agency. This played off the fact that the other four named players, all part of the original "Death Lineup", traveled with team officials to The Hamptons to meet with and recruit Durant.^[28]
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was inspired by the extravagant parties he attended in the Hamptons and along Long Island's Gold Coast in the 1920s. These gatherings, hosted by the wealthy elite, influenced the novel's depiction of the lavish lifestyles of Long Island millionaires during the Jazz Age.
• In the song I Don't Want It At All from pop artist Kim Petras she mentions The Hamptons in the lyrics several times, asking the addressee to "give me summer in the Hamptons", considering it as the ideal place, for the song mentions several fancy things like clothes and places.