The Hamlet of Smithtown has diverse shopping and restaurants, expansive parks, a Long Island Rail Road station, beach rights and a bull called Whisper.

Legend has it that Smithtown’s founder, Richard Smythe, made a deal with local Native Americans in which they would sell him as much land as he could cover on a bull in one day. Smythe stampeded through the wilderness on a bull named Whisper from sunrise to sunset on the longest day of the year, stopping only for lunch on what is today Bread and Cheese Hollow Road. Though the legend is refuted my most historians, who say he simply purchased the land that is now Smithtown from someone named Lion Gardiner in 1663, a bronze statue of Whisper proudly stands at the intersection of Routes 25 and 25A.

 Route 25, or Jericho Turnpike, becomes Main Street, where residents enjoy a mix of independent and chain stores, the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, service businesses and restaurants.

There are several supermarket choices, and the 140-plus stores of the Smith Haven Mall are nearby. �I like that Smithtown is very convenient to shopping and the highways,� said area resident Maria Adrian.

House prices in Smithtown, which is in the Town of Smithtown, generally start in the high $400,000’s and go up into the millions, said Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Smithtown office. Property sizes vary from about an eighth of an acre up to several acres, she said, with the average falling around a quarter-acre. There are condos and rentals available, as well.

Most Smithtown students attend the Smithtown School District. The district’s population exceeds 10,000 students, according to The School Report, making it one of the largest districts on Long Island. The increasing population has necessitated recent school additions and expansions, bringing the total to nine elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. According to The School Report, 90 percent of Smithtown graduates go on to higher education, and average SAT scores, at 510 for math and 497 for verbal, nearly mirror state averages of 510 for math and 496 for verbal.

Students in the Pines section of Smithtown attend the Hauppauge district. Recent average SAT scores at Hauppauge, a significantly smaller district, were 533 for math and 513 for verbal. And 96 percent of Hauppauge graduates attend college, said The School Report.

According to local real estate agents, the wooded Pines section is particularly sought-after because of its lower real estate taxes, which are subsidized by businesses in Hauppauge’s corporate corridor. �You might pay $6,000 in taxes for a half-acre property in the Pines, and $6,000 or $7,000 for a quarter-acre property elsewhere in Smithtown,� she said. The Pines has half-acre zoning, is also popular among horse owners, who like to ride on the bridle paths of nearby Blydenburgh County Park.

Popular pursuits in the Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, which features 543 acres of mature woods, streams and ponds, include hiking, cross-country skiing and fishing. Smithtown residents can swim and sun at Short Beach or Long Beach, two town beaches on the Long Island Sound, or nearby Sunken Meadow State Park. There is also a town pool and golf at the renowned Smithtown Landing Golf Course and Catering Facility. Lets not forget the Nissequogue River and "The Prestigious Nissequogue Overlook"

The trip to Manhattan from Smithtown’s Long Island Rail Road station is, at best, about an hour and 20 minutes.