Editing Holbrook, New York (section)

==History==
Holbrook is believed to have derived its name from a stream which was called, in various narratives,  either "Old Brook" or "Hollow Brook."<ref name="holbrookchamber.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.holbrookchamber.com/our-history/ |title=Holbrook History &#124; Holbrook Chamber of Commerce |access-date=November 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126010149/https://www.holbrookchamber.com/our-history/ |archive-date=November 26, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The area was part of the 51,000 acre Islip Grange estate, acquired in 1697 by William Nicoll (son of [[Matthias Nicoll]], who was the sixth mayor of [[New York City]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=William Nicoll |url=https://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-01/history-era-01-nicoll.html |website=nycourts.gov |access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref>  It was largely a rural area until Alexander McCotter acquired 5,000 acres in the area in 1848 (after the [[Long Island Rail Road]] reached it in 1844) and [[platted]] the community. The oldest still standing building from this period is St. John's Lutheran Church, which was built in 1863. In 1875, the Nevins and Griswold cigar factory operated at the original LIRR station.<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book |last=Eisenstadt |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Encyclopedia_of_New_York_State.html?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC |title=The Encyclopedia of New York State |date=2005-05-19 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-0808-0 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1931, the population was 321.<ref name="holbrookchamber.com" /><ref name="books.google.com" /> Population increased from 2,500 in 1965 to 15,000 in 1975, after the [[Interstate 495 (New York)|Long Island Expressway]] reached the community in 1969.<ref name="holbrookchamber.com"/><ref name="books.google.com"/> It also was the center of growth as Long Island MacArthur Airport developed along the community's western border.<ref name=":0" />