Wading River Map
Wading River is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, USA, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 7,719.
Most of Wading River lies within the town of Riverhead, but a small portion is in the town of Brookhaven. The name of the hamlet comes from the original Algonquian name for the area, Pauquaconsuk, meaning "the place where we wade for thick, round-shelled clams". "Wading in the River" or Wading River was adopted by the first English colonists.
The earliest English records show a settlement known as Wading River was founded by eight colonial families. "The spot for the village was chosen with care. There was a stream adequate for water power and abounding in seafood...good water for drinking...soil rich enough to grow essential crops, woodland for fuel, building material and food, topography to offer protection from the elements, meadowland for its grass."
Nearby cities include Riverhead, Coram, Moriches, Mastic, Shirley.