Jericho, NY

A Friends meetinghouse built in 1788 and still used for worship carries Jericho's Quaker origins into the present. The Long Island settlement was part of the Robert Williams Plantation in 1648, and its English families were Quakers or soon joined the Society of Friends. They changed the area's name from Lusum to Jericho in 1692. A Quaker school followed in 1793, and the Charity Society of Jericho and Westbury began the next year. Much of that early village pattern disappeared during the postwar suburban transformation. In 1958, New York State demolished Old Jericho while widening Routes 106 and 107 and building a cloverleaf at Jericho Turnpike. The 2020 census counted 14,808 residents in the modern census-designated place, about 29 miles east of Midtown Manhattan.

The Jericho Park District encompasses 46.68 acres, including the 25-acre Jericho Community Park on Cedar Swamp Road and several smaller parks embedded in residential subdivisions. Jericho Public Library maintains a substantial local-history collection of books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, oral histories, and genealogical material. It also offers 3D printing and museum passes. Its late-July 2026 calendar included a neighborhood walking club, storytimes, current-events discussion, art workshops, Chinese dance, and beginner mahjong. At the western side of the hamlet, Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair continues a different local tradition. It opened under a striped tent in 1956, replaced the tent with an enclosed theater-in-the-round in 1966, and still presents year-round concerts, comedy, and other live performances on its rotating stage.