Editing Calverton, New York (section)

==History==
Calverton was first referred to as "[[Calverton station|Baiting Hollow Station]]" when the [[Long Island Rail Road]] arrived in 1844. The station closed in 1958, but the sheltered shed for the station remained standing as of 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrshelter/lirrshelters.htm|title=LIRR Shelters|website=www.trainsarefun.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrshelter/calverton%20shed.jpg|title=Calverton LIRR Shelter (August 17, 2007)}}</ref>

The area's Native American name was ''Conungum'' or ''Kanungum'', meaning "fixed line" or "boundary". In 1868, the Calverton post office opened, named for Bernard J. Calvert. It remained a small farming community specializing in [[cranberry|cranberries]], which grew in swampy areas along the [[Peconic River]] until the Navy purchase.

Calverton's history is tied closely to [[Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton]]. In 1953, the [[United States Navy]] purchased {{convert|6000|acre|km2}} around Calverton from a local farmer named Harry Edwards, including the mansion of a grandson of [[Frank Winfield Woolworth]]'s, so that [[Grumman]] could test and finish jets. A {{convert|10000|ft|m|adj=on}} runway was built, and most of Grumman's [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat|F-14 Tomcat]] and [[Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye|E-2C Hawkeye]] aircraft were to pass through the plant.

In 1965, [[Nelson Rockefeller]] proposed using the base as the fourth major airport for the [[New York metropolitan area]]. Grumman and local opposition ended the quest.

In 1978, more than {{convert|1000|acre|km2}} of the base were used to create [[Calverton National Cemetery]], which is the largest and busiest (in terms of burials per day) [[United States National Cemetery System|United States national cemetery]]. In 1995, after [[Northrop Corporation|Northrop]] acquired Grumman, the new [[Northrop Grumman]] pulled out of the base, and the Navy began liquidating the land. In 1996, before the base could be turned over the Town of Riverhead, the base was used to reassemble the wreckage of [[TWA Flight 800]] which had crashed about {{convert|20|mi|km}} south in the ocean. In 2000, Skydive Long Island (formerly located at [[East Moriches, New York|East Moriches]]) moved to the airport. As of 2024, Sky Dive Long Island moved operations to [[Shirley, NY]] and continues to generate the majority of the current air traffic as a key destination for New York–based [[parachuting|skydivers]].

Through 2007, debates raged about whether or not to turn the base into a mega complex around a [[NASCAR]] track, called EPCAL Centre, or a giant ski resort based construction of an artificial {{convert|350|ft|m|adj=on}} high indoor ski mountain. In January 2008, the Riverhead Town Board, with newly elected officers, signed a deal to sell the airport for $155 million to Riverhead Resorts, to build the ski mountain, tear up the airport runway, and replace it with a lake, overruling a December vote to give the NASCAR track the go-ahead. It would have taken up to three years to get the necessary environmental permits, and the proposed opening date of the project was 2012.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weir |first1=Richard |title=Indoor ski plan at Riverhead Mountain gets a big lift |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/indoor-ski-plan-riverhead-mountain-big-lift-article-1.245913 |access-date=August 15, 2021 |work=Daily News |location=New York |date=September 20, 2007}}</ref> On November 12, 2010, however, the town of Riverhead voted 4–1 to cancel all plans for the indoor ski resort/water park.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winzelberg |first1=David |title=Riverhead ends ski mountain deal |url=https://libn.com/2010/11/12/town-pulls-plug-on-riverhead-resorts/ |access-date=August 15, 2021 |work=Long Island Business News |date=November 12, 2010}}</ref>

A portion of the base is being developed as an industrial/office park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riverheadli.com/calvert.html |publisher=Riverhead, Long Island |title= Calverton Enterprise Park}}</ref>

Several new medium size industrial companies have sprung up in the area, including Crown Recycling and a Federal Express Distribution Center.