Coram, NY real estate market

Coram is the oldest settlement in the central part of the Town of Brookhaven, and the name history alone tells you that. It started out as Wincoram, likely named for a Native American living in the area as late as 1703. The first European settler was probably William Satterly, who asked permission to open a tavern for travelers back in 1677. That is a long run for one hamlet, and it shows in the ground itself, since Coram served as the actual meeting place for Brookhaven town government from 1784 to 1885, using the Davis Town Meeting House. The Davis House itself was built in the 1750s and is the oldest existing structure in Coram, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

There is a Revolutionary War story here too, and the town still marks it. Benjamin Tallmadge and a dozen Culper Ring men rode in and burned 300 tons of hay the British were storing at Coram to feed their horses over winter. George Washington himself wrote Tallmadge a letter thanking him for it. Coram holds a celebration for that raid every October, so if you like a town with an actual calendar event tied to its own history, this is one of the few on Long Island that has kept it going.

On the ground today, Coram sits entirely in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, and covers 13.8 square miles, all land, no water to speak of. The 73rd meridian west runs directly through the hamlet, which is a fun line to point out on a map but does not change anyone's commute. One practical note for anyone touring the area: the old Coram Airport operated here until 1984, and that land is now part of a county park, so if you are looking at open recreation space nearby, that former airstrip is where to point your buyer.