Cold Spring Harbor is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name in their mailing address are not in the hamlet and it's interesting that the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum is ACTUALLY in Cold Spring Harbor. The other major "Cold Spring Harbor" places -- Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium and the Cold Spring Harbor Lab, -- are actually across the county line in the Village of Laurel Hollow (Cold Spring Harbor P.O.). The pertinent geography: Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County, along the Huntington/Oyster Bay town line and the Suffolk/Nassau county line. There are 4 villages (municipal corporations) and 15 hamlets all or partly in the Town of Huntington. There are no cities and 10 towns in Suffolk County. There are 2 Indian reservations in Suffolk County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Village of Lloyd Harbor; on the east by the Hamlet of Huntington and the Hamlet of Huntington Station; on the south by the Hamlet of West Hills; and, on the west by the Village of Laurel Hallow in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County (the Huntington/Oyster Bay town line and the Suffolk/Nassau County line). And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 32 villages and 125 hamlets), the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor has a different border than does the "Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Cold Spring Harbor mailing address and not be in Cold Spring Harbor). The "Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724" postal zone includes areas in the Village of Lloyd Harbor and the Hamlet of West Hills in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County as well as parts of the Village of Laurel Hollow in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County. (The world-famous Cold Spring Harbor Lab is actually in the Village of Laurel Hollow in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County and not in the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County.) For those who have their copy of the 2004 or earlier edition of the LI Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 16 (map) and 17 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Regards, Walter Greenspan . Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State New York State is divided into counties. County A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided into cities, towns and Indian reservations. City A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Town A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be sub-divided into villages and hamlets. Village A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those of a city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Hamlet A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Postal Zone "City" and "Town" A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town" may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders. Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet location. Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places have a different community name in their mailing address than the community where that place is actually located.