Smithtown, Hardcover/Bradley Harris

A 90-minute train ride east of Manhattan, Smithtown is a world away from New York City with its long rural history and sprawling suburban present. The town's creation myth, that Native Americans granted its founder as much land as he could cover on his pet bull, is captured in a five-ton bronze statue, as well as a town seal and school mascot that bear the image of that mythical ride. But the town's actual development is far richer, having been impacted by generations of African slaves, Irish, Italian, and Norwegian immigrants, and wealthy summer residents. A farming and mill-based economy in the 19th century, Smithtown became a suburban magnet in the 1950s and one of the fastest-growing locales in New York State.