William Floyd lived a long time ago and we remember and honor him to this day. Not just as a man from Suffolk County, from Brookhaven – ‘Mastic Neck’, but as an American in the larger sense.
Suffolk County Legislator James Mazzarella said, “My colleagues and I unanimously approved Introductory Resolution 1634-2025, which I proudly sponsored, declaring December 17th, his birthdate, as “William Floyd Day” in Suffolk County.
William Floyd, born in 1734 in Mastic, was a farmer, soldier, statesman, and one of America’s Founding Fathers. William’s great-grandfather settled in the Province of New York around 1640 and around 1688 his grandfather purchased 4,400 acres in Mastic Neck. In 1723, William’s father built the Old Mastic House that served as the family’s home and where William was born.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, it is only fitting that we honor this Suffolk County icon, patriot, and American hero. December 17th will forever stand as a day to celebrate his legacy and the freedoms he helped secure for all of us as the only signed on the Declaration of Independence for Suffolk County,” said Mazzarella
In the early 1770s William received a colonel’s commission in the Suffolk County Militia. By 1774 he was chosen to represent New York in the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress where he served until the end of the Revolutionary War. On July 4, 1776 William Floyd was the only man from New York’s Suffolk County to sign the Declaration of Independence.
There are quite a few places named after William Floyd, including:
- William Floyd School District in present-day Brookhaven Town.
- William Floyd Parkway in the Town of Brookhaven.
- Town of Floyd in Oneida County.
- General William Floyd Elementary School in Oneida County.