Nassau County Sanitarium

In 1914, a referendum was held to build a county tuberculosis hospital. The vote narrowly passed. Around 1917, the County purchased the Keil farm and part of the Taliaferro Estate near Round Swamp Road. A “preventorium” for children opened on the grounds in 1927. The Nassau County Sanitarium opened in the early 1930’s. In 1965, the site, which featured 26 separate buildings, became Nassau Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases. It was later named Plainview Division of Nassau County Medical Center.

The first superintendent was Dr. J. Davis. In 1936, Dr. James C. Wash became the Superintendent. Dr. Walsh had been stricken with tuberculosis and decided to make the campaign against it his life’s work. He retired from his position in June, 1951.

Richard Thornville, a member of the Peace Corps, contracted tuberculosis while serving in Ghana. When he was placed in the sanitarium, he noted the rooms were divided by race. He wrote a letter to the NAACP, and as a result, the county stopped segregating.

Following its closure, the facility was given over to mixed use, including the establishment of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in 1976, and a branch of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. In 1999, Charles Wang, founder of Computer Associates purchased the 144-acre property from the county for $23 million. Included in the purchase was 1535 Old Country Road, which now houses the corporate offices of the New York Islanders and New York Dragons, both of which are owned by Wang. In addition, the building is home to the Wang-created, Plainview Chinese Cultural Center. Wang had planned to create a mixed-use development, but public outcry forced him to withdraw the plans in 2007. As of 2017, a 750 condominium residence is being planned for the space.

Sources:

Carr, Thomas. Plainview-Old Bethpage. Arcadia Publishing, 2017

Leita, John. Long Island Oddities: Curious Locales, Unusual Occurrences, and Unlikely Urban Adventures. The History Press, 2013

“Old Bethpage, New York.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bethpage,_New_York

Special to The New,York Times. "Nassau Sanitarium Stops Segregation." New York Times (1923-Current file), Oct 29, 1961, pp. 67, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, https://search.proquest.com/docview/115286225?accountid=37884