Located mainly in the Town of Oyster Bay with a small part in the Town of Hempstead, Jericho was part of the Robert Williams Plantation in 1648. The English families who settled in Jericho were, or soon became, Quakers, members of the Society of Friends. Many fled from persecution in England and in the New England Colonies. They sought a peaceful existence as farmers. The name of the area was changed in 1692 from Lusum to Jericho after the town in the Middle East near the Jordan River mentioned in the Bible as part of the Promised Land. Elias Hicks married Jemima Seaman in 1771 and moved to her family’s farm in Jericho where he soon became a famous preacher of Quaker doctrine. All the Quakers suffered the British occupation of Long Island including the practice of quartering troops in their homes while they continued to protest the entire concept of war itself. Peace finally came back to Jericho and the prosperity that came from hard work and diligence was seen in the neat farms and successful businesses. A Friends Meeting house was built in 1788 in Jericho that is still used today. It was followed by a Quaker school in 1793, the Charity Society of Jericho and Westbury in 1794, and thanks to the effort of Elias Hicks slavery was abolished in 1817.
A Post Office was established in 1802, a cider mill in the mid 1800s, the first Public Elementary School in 1905, the Jericho Water District in 1923, a new elementary school in 1920s, and a Volunteer Fire Department in 1938. In the 1950s Phebe Underhill Seaman sold a large piece of her land to developers and the growth of Jericho came fast and made Jericho the suburban community we see today. The water tower was erected in 1952 and in 1958 the NY Department of Transportation demolished “Old Jericho” to widen Broadway, Routes 106/107 and to put in a cloverleaf access to Jericho Turnpike. New grade schools, and a High School were added to the community along with a shopping center, a new Post Office, new Fire Department and a Public Library.
Jericho is in the Town of Oyster Bay. In addition, portions of Jericho (called West-Jericho) are in the Westbury postal zone. Also in Jericho, and part of the Westbury postal zone, is the world-famous North Fork Theatre at Westbury (Westbury Music Fair).
The main entrance to SUNY Old Westbury is located in Jericho.
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,045 people, 4,545 households, and 3,813 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,214.1 per square mile (1,240.6/km). There were 4,600 housing units at an average density of 1,133.4/sq mi (437.5/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.36% White, 1.42% African American, 0.03% Native American, 10.69% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.44% of the population.
There were 4,545 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.8% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $101,477, and the median income for a family was $109,635. Males had a median income of $79,204 versus $48,431 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $45,312. About 2.7% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.