Excavation in Holtsville, NY

The hamlet known today as Holtsville included only a few farmhouses in the late 18th century. In 1843, the Long Island Rail Road opened its Waverly station. Maps from that period label the area as Waverly, and a stagecoach line ran north-south along present day Waverly Avenue. As another post office named Waverly already existed in New York, the name of the hamlet was changed to Holtsville in 1860, in honor of U.S. Postmaster General Joseph Holt. As of 1874, Holtsville consisted of 15 houses, a school, and a general store. The train station retained the name “Waverly” for some time, but was eventually also changed to Holtsville, probably in the 1890s, after farmers complained about their shipments going upstate by mistake. In 1916, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened on land that was considered Holtsville at the time, but is now part of the hamlet of Selden. The site later became the location of the main campus of Suffolk County Community College.

The Internal Revenue Service opened a large processing center on a 67-acre (270,000 m²) site in the hamlet in 1972.

The rail era in Holtsville ended in 1998, when a number of LIRR stations closed due to low ridership. Holtsville commuters were advised to use Medford and Ronkonkoma stations; more use Ronkonkoma because, except for a few peak-hour trains terminating in Mineola or Hicksville, boarding at Medford would require transfer to an electric train at Ronkonkoma anyway.