Best Web Design in Freeport, NY (2026)

Web Design for Freeport, New York

A South Shore Long Island village in the Town of Hempstead whose colonial reputation as a duty-free "free port" gave it its name in 1853. Once a commercial oystering capital and a Roaring-Twenties playground for vaudeville stars, Freeport today centers on the Nautical Mile, a canal-side strip of seafood shacks, fish markets, and party boats. It has produced an unlikely roster of musicians and celebrities, from Lou Reed to Eddie Murphy.

AppWT works with Freeport, NY businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Freeport

Also known as. The original colonial "free port" (source of the village name). Nautical Mile (nickname for the Woodcleft Canal waterfront district).

History. Written records date to the 1640s, when the area was called the "Great South Woods"; it was renamed Raynortown after herdsman Edward Raynor, who settled there in 1659. Residents voted to adopt the name Freeport in 1853, from a colonial nickname used by ship captains who were not charged customs duties there. Incorporated as a village on October 18, 1892, with a population of 1,821; it was the third community to incorporate in what became Nassau County. Became a major commercial oyster center after the Civil War until pollution and salinity changes in Great South Bay caused the industry to decline in the early 20th century. In 1910, brothers Arthur and Albert Heinrich built and flew the first American-made, American-powered monoplane from their Merrick Road factory. During Prohibition, the Scopinich Boatyard built boats for both the Coast Guard and local rumrunners.

Local economy. The Nautical Mile along the Woodcleft Canal -- a strip of seafood restaurants, crab shacks, fish markets, boutiques, and party cruise ships. A municipally owned electric utility established in 1898, one of only two municipally owned systems in Nassau County. Commercial fishing fleet and marine/boat-building services. Growing Hispanic-owned business base tied to the Dominican, Puerto Rican, Central and South American communities.

Culture and community. From the early 1900s through the 1920s, Freeport was a theatrical colony drawing vaudeville stars including Fannie Brice, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers, and Buster Keaton, organized around the Long Island Good Hearted Thespian Society (LIGHTS). An annual June festival on the Nautical Mile draws visitors from across Long Island. Caribbean, Dominican, and Central/South American cuisines reflect a large Hispanic population. Notable residents include Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Flavor Flav, actor Eddie Murphy (attended John W. Dodd Middle School), and Nobel laureate Harold E. Varmus.

What makes Freeport distinct. The Freeport Spite House was reportedly built overnight on a narrow triangular lot to defy the village's grid planners. In 1985, a 26-foot fishing skiff built by Al Grover's Freeport company made the first-ever crossing of the Atlantic Ocean powered solely by outboard motors. Local manufacturer Columbian Bronze (1901-1988) produced the propeller for the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine to travel under the North Pole. Freeport High School's newspaper, Flashings (founded 1920), is believed to be the oldest high school newspaper on Long Island. Playland Park burned down on June 28, 1931.

Freeport Landmarks and Local Life

• The Nautical Mile and Woodcleft Canal.
• Freeport Memorial Library (home to extensive local-history archives).
• The Freeport Spite House - an 1880s Victorian
• Site of the former Playland Park (1920s-1931) and Freeport Speedway (1931-early 1980s).