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is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 13,045. There is one primary School district that serves this hamlet, and that is the Jericho Union Free School District. Part of Jericho is served by the Syosset Central School District.
Located mainly in the Town of Oyster Bay with a small part in the Town of Hempstead, Jericho was part of the Robert Williams Plantation in 1648. The English families who settled in Jericho were, or soon became, Quakers, members of the Society of Friends. Many fled from persecution in England and in the New England Colonies. They sought a peaceful existence as farmers. The name of the area was changed in 1692 from Lusum to Jericho after the town in the Middle East near the Jordan River mentioned in the Bible as part of the Promised Land. Elias Hicks married Jemima Seaman in 1771 and moved to her family’s farm in Jericho where he soon became a famous preacher of Quaker doctrine. All the Quakers suffered the British occupation of Long Island including the practice of quartering troops in their homes while they continued to protest the entire concept of war itself. Peace finally came back to Jericho and the prosperity that came from hard work and diligence was seen in the neat farms and successful businesses. A Friends Meeting house was built in 1788 in Jericho that is still used today. It was followed by a Quaker school in 1793, the Charity Society of Jericho and Westbury in 1794, and thanks to the effort of Elias Hicks slavery was abolished in 1817.
A Post Office was established in 1802, a cider mill in the mid 1800s, the first Public Elementary School in 1905, the Jericho Water District in 1923, a new elementary school in 1920s, and a Volunteer Fire Department in 1938. In the 1950s Phebe Underhill Seaman sold a large piece of her land to developers and the growth of Jericho came fast and made Jericho the suburban community we see today. The water tower was erected in 1952 and in 1958 the NY Department of Transportation demolished “Old Jericho” to widen Broadway, Routes 106/107 and to put in a cloverleaf access to Jericho Turnpike. New grade schools, and a High School were added to the community along with a shopping center, a new Post Office, new Fire Department and a Public Library.
Jericho is in the Town of Oyster Bay. In addition, portions of Jericho (called West-Jericho) are in the Westbury postal zone. Also in Jericho, and part of the Westbury postal zone, is the world-famous North Fork Theatre at Westbury (Westbury Music Fair).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.5 km
There is also another Jericho in New York, this one is located in the extreme Northeast corner of the state, in the Town of Altona, county of Clinton. It lies primarily along the Rand Hill Road.