Copiague - the Name, the Zip Code, Etc.

The name Copiague is derived from a Native American term believed to mean “sheltered harbor” or “sheltered place.” Geographically, the name Copiague is associated with Copiague Neck (a “neck” is a peninsula of land), which is the body of land that is currently the American Venice community. Land records recorded by the Town of Huntington referenced the neck with the spellings Copiag, Copyag and Copiague.  

Please note: Spellings and pronunciations of Long Island Native American words and names are subjective and typically determined by community residents. The Native Americans had a spoken language, and records kept by Colonists, starting in in the 1600s, contained interpretations of the Native American language. The European settlers typically used phonetic spellings, which often differed among documents and writers. The meanings of Native American words can also differ among historians and researchers.

 The community was also known as Powell’s, Great Neck and East Amityville, before the name Copiague was chosen in 1901 by the Long Island Rail Road for its new depot. 

In concrete letters about 4-feet high, the name “Marconiville” was installed on the north side of the ground-level railroad tracks, up through the early 1940s. Growth of the Marconiville neighborhood, on either side of Great Neck Road north of the railroad, led to a 1920s effort to rename the railroad station and post office as Marconiville. Although petitions were sent by Marconiville residents to railroad and postal officials, the renaming was defeated.  

Not just in the Town of Babylon, but across Long Island, the assignment of zip codes can cause confusion about “where” things are located. The Copiague Post Office was established in 1903. Prior that time, residents most likely used the post office in Amityville.  

Up through the mid-1900s, it was common for residents to pick up their mail from the post office. In 1910, a letter addressed to “Miss Mary Jackson, Copiague, New York” was sufficient to have the letter delivered to the Copiague Post Office, where it would wait for Miss Jackson to pick it up. (Residential mail delivery was established around 1950.)

In 1963, the U.S. Postal Service introduced the basic 5-digit zip code, across the country. The Copiague Post Office was assigned 11726. Using the digits 11726, mail addressed to Copiague or Copiague Harbor, will reach its destination, although the Post Office name is just Copiague. The zip code assigned to addresses is based on the post office assigned to deliver the mail, but can be confused with all of the other facilities associated with an address. 

Most, if not all, addresses using the 11726 zip code are within the Copiague School/Library district and are served by the Copiague Fire Department. However, the Copiague School District is larger than the Copiague postal district. Here are five examples of addresses within the Copiague School District