Bethpage State Parkway

 

This was the headline for the November 19, 1936 Farmingdale Post. Bethpage State Parkway cost $1.1 million to construct. The Bethpage State Parkway was constructed with a 22-foot-wide undivided pavement, providing one northbound and one southbound lane. When the Bethpage State Parkway opened in 1936, LISPC commissioner Robert Moses was considering extensions of the parkway south to Merrick Road in Massapequa, and north to the Northern State Parkway in Plainview. Beginning in the early 1960s, Moses purchased rights-of-way for the northern extension. Residents in the wealthy enclaves of Lloyd Harbor and Cold Spring Harbor thwarted plans for both the "active use" state park and the parkway. In1977, Caumsett State Park opened as a "passive use" facility for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

In 1990, the Long Island Regional Planning Board resurrected plans for extending the Bethpage State Parkway to NY 25A in Cold Spring Harbor as part of its 20-year highway improvement program. The plan did not cite potential sources for funding the extension. By 1994, this proposal appeared to be dead.  A decade later, the NYSDOT proposed a short extension of the Bethpage State Parkway north to the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway as part of the "LITP 2000" long-range plan. The proposed extension, which would be constructed through the southwest corner of Bethpage State Park, awaits environmental study and public review.

In 1977, maintenance of the Bethpage State Parkway was transferred from the Long Island State Park Commission to the New York State Department of Transportation although ownership remained under the jurisdiction of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. To accommodate the increase in traffic volume and speed, and to address the accident history, the NYSDOT began to modify the parkway in accordance with federal and state traffic safety guidelines. Among the improvements wider 12-foot travel lanes, 10-foot-wide shoulders, improved reflective signs and sand-filled impact attenuators.

In the late 1970s, there was a rehabilitation project. A pedestrian and cycling trail running parallel along the east side of the parkway was part of this project. Unlike the original trail, which ran along the west side of the parkway and only goes as far north as the Route 24 / Hempstead Turnpike exit, the new trail runs along the entire length of the parkway.

According to the NYSDOT, the Bethpage State Parkway handles approximately 15,000 vehicles per day.

Source:

“Bethpage State Parkway.” NYCRoads, www.nycroads.com/roads/bethpage/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025

Harry deLeyer and Snowman

Harry deLeyer grew up on a farm in Sint Oedenrode, Netherlands. His family ran a brewery and delivered the beer by horse and cart. Harry began riding at age two and by the age of eight, he was competing in local shows. During World War II, the deLeyer family became members of the underground Dutch Resistance, hiding Jews on their farm, then helping get them out of Holland to safety.

In 1950, Harry moved to the United States, where he had a job on a tobacco farm in Greensborough, North Carolina waiting for him. Although he liked working on a farm, he missed riding so after work, he would ride one of the work horses. He entered a competition that offered $10 to the top rider and won first prize. 

Harry was eventually hired as a riding instructor in 1954 at the Knox School, a private girls’ school on Long Island. In winter 1956, Harry was on his way to a horse auction to see if he could find a gentle school horse. Unfortunately, a flat tire caused him to be delayed. He arrived in time to see the horses who had not been sold as they were being loaded on a truck headed for slaughter. Harry asked if he could have a look at the remaining horses. A skinny gray plow horse caught his eye. He paid $80 for the horse.

Harry let his four-year-old daughter, Harriet, name the horse. When the big gray arrived at their home and was led off the truck, snow was falling and the horse was soon covered in white, fluffy powder. Little Harriet thought he looked like a Snowman, and the name stuck. 

Each summer when the school closed, money was tight for Harry and his family. When a doctor who had a farm six miles away came looking for a quiet trail horse, Harry reluctantly sold Snowman to him for $160. Snowman returned to Harry’s farm numerous times, having jumped out of the doctor’s paddock, no matter how tall the fences were raised. 

In 1958, Snowman was champion at several shows, including at Madison Square Garden. He also was champion at the prestigious Southhampton Horse Show, now known as the Hampton Classic.

Instantly famous in the world of showjumping, Snowman and Harry were featured in a 1959 issue of Life Magazine. Harry officially retired Snowman from competition in 1969. Several books were released detailing Snowman’s life, including a children’s book titled The Story of Snowman: The Cinderella Horse, by Tony Palazzo and a biography, simply titled Snowman, by Rutherford Montgomery. The beloved horse lived with Harry for the rest of his life until he died in 1974.

Snowman was inducted into Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1992 and released as a Breyer horse in 2005. The story of Harry and Snowman was also told in the 2011 book The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts. In 2016, the documentary film “Harry and Snowman” was released by Docutainment Films.

Source:

Heilbron, Alexandra. “The True Story of Harry Deleyer and Snowman.” Alexandra Heilbron, 15 June 2017, alexandraheilbron.wordpress.com/published-online-articles/the-true-story-of-harry-de-leyer-and-snowman

The Phillip House - Rockville Centre

The original owner of the Victorian-era home, which is now, The Phillips House Museum, was Captain Samuel F. Phillips, a prominent sea captain who settled in the countryside town of Rockville Centre, along with his wife and two children in the 1880’s.

With the passage of time, different homeowners, as well as changes and expansions in the town through the greater part of the 20th Century, The Phillips House grew into disrepair and was also situated in the wrong location, when in 1977, plans were being implemented to demolish it to make way for a parking lot.

Thankfully, for the efforts of a handful of dedicated town residents, it was instead moved to its current location in 1977.  While the interior and built-in structures are original and remain intact, the furnishings and accessories are all donations of items from the Victorian-era in which the house was inhabited by Captain Phillips’ family. The house was renovated and rededicated in October of 1995 by the Historical Society of Rockville Centre to the people of the town.

The kitchen contains an old “ice box”, the predecessor of our modern day refrigerator, as well as a l stove that has the option for both coal burning and electric but a huge collection of kitchen gadgets for almost every use possible for cooking.

Many of these items had the patent number engraved on them. All of these items have been cataloged for the museum. This tedious job was the work of a local boy scout working on his Eagle Scout badge. 

The collection, which has been called the "finest collection of kitchen gadgets" originally belonged to Lillian Blumberg. In fact, so extensive is this collection, that Lillian was offered a great sum from Sotheby’s, but she decided instead to donate it to the museum. The third floor attic houses an old fashioned "twisted chimney." When building chimney's during this period, the superstition was that a twisted chimney would prevent the evil spirits from entering the home. Builders would make the chimney straight on the exterior and "twisted" on the interior. 

Source:

“Rockville Centre’s Phillips House Museum: A Small Museum with a Tremendous History.” Travelin’ Cousins, www.travelincousins.com/travelin-the-nyc-outer-boroughs-with-elisa/rockville-centres-phillips-house-museum-a-small-museum-with-a-tremendous-history. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025

Dodge House - Port Washington

The Dodge House in Port Washington, built by Thomas Dodge in 1721, is one of the oldest homes in the town of North Hempstead. The house's architecture maintains much of its original Colonial and 19th-century flavor and family relics, including farm tools and original furnishings.

The Dodge homestead was part of a working farm for more than 200 years, acquired by the first Thomas Dodge on 350 acres that originally extended to Hempstead Harbor. William Dodge, Thomas Dodge’s son and the coroner for Queens County, began selling most of the property as a legacy for his children. When William's son Henry Onderdonk Dodge, died in 1898, his children sold the farm to developers.

In 1721, the interior included an entrance hall, a living room with a fireplace for cooking and heat and an upstairs with two bedrooms. Thomas Dodge added a dining room with a larger fireplace, a kitchen, and a weaving room. The original low ceilings with exposed hand-hewn beams still exist and all of the first floor rooms have 18th-century tongue-and-groove flooring and walls. In the late 1900s, the house was expanded and modernized; porches were added and dormers were built on the second story.

The original kitchen, which included a Dutch oven was also replaced with more modern, Victorian decor. A cast-iron stove for cooking, a galvanized sink with a water pump, soapstone tubs closets and a pantry were added. Heat was supplied with potbelly and Franklin stoves until 1910, when central heating was installed.

The Dodge House was leased to the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society by the Water Pollution Control District in 1993 to be restored and operated as a public museum. The museum includes the 19th-century outbuildings -- a chicken coop, a privy with a child's footrest, a wood shed and a two-door horse barn.

The Dodge house and its outbuildings have been listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places since 1986. The home is also a designated landmark of the Town of North Hempstead's Historic Landmark Preservation Commission.

 

Source:

Hochman, Nancy S. "270-Year-Old Dodge House Now a Museum." New York Times, 26 May, 1996, pp. 6-15. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/270-year-old-dodge-house-now-museum/docview/430567054/se-

Pepperidge Hall - Oakdale

Pepperidge Hall was the estate of Christopher Robert in Oakdale. The house was built in 1889 for his bride at the cost of $1,500,000. The Robert home was one of the three most famous residences on the South Shore.  A large inner courtyard with a 30′ by 50′ pool and fountain dominated the plan, and a 109-foot glass conversancy stood on the west side of the rectangle. Stepped gables, turrets, bay windows, numerous chimneys, stables, a dairy and carriage house were showcased. The house itself consisted of four wings with 67 rooms and accommodations for 20 servants. A conservatory was built to the west of the house. The Roberts lived at the estate for seven years before selling it.

The Roberts were the first and last to live at the house, It passed through the hands of numerous caretakers through the years. The house was used for a time as a hunting lodge and for an experiment in the raising of silk worms indoors directed by Dr. Ludwig Harpootlian.. Several silent films utilized the mansion as a backdrop, including “Lady Slippers”, “To Hell with the Kaiser”, and “Dead Men Tell No Tales.”

In 1939, it was supposed to be acquired by the Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians as a rest and study retreat for its members., but that fell through. The house and property were finally sold in 1941. The house was razed and the property was cut up into building lots.

Sources: 

"METAPHYSICIANS BAR DEAL: PURCHASE OF PEPPERIDGE HALL IS DROPPED IN CONTRACT DISPUTE." New York Times. December 10, 1939

“Proud Suffolk Chateau Doomed by Progress.” Brooklyn Eagle. January 19, 1941

"To Raze Old Long Island Home." New York Times. January 11, 1941 

“2D Estate Bought by Metaphysicians; Pepperidge Hall, Once Famous Long Island Residence, Is Purchased for $15,000 to be a New Haven. The 65-Acre Tract Is Near the Vanderbilt Property Acquired by Society Last Year.”  New York Times. August 4, 1939

“A Vanished Gilded Age Mansion - The Saga of Pepperidge Hall.” The Abandoned Places, 23 Mar. 2021,   theabandonedplaces.com/a-vanished-gilded-age-mansion-the-saga-of-pepperidge-hall/

The Cuban Giants Baseball Team

The Cuban Giants were the first African American professional baseball club. The Giants were formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel in Babylon. The team took its name because it played in Cuba during the winter of 1885-1886 and the winter of 1886-1887. The team featured many players who would go on to play in the Negro Baseball Leagues including Ben Boyd, Sol White, Abe Harrison, Clarence Williams, and George Williams among others. During the spring of 1886, the Cuban Giants were bought by Walter E. Simpson who played at the Chambersburg Grounds in Trenton, New Jersey.

During the summer 1886, the team was sold to Walter L. Cook. During that time, the Giants signed legendary pitcher George Washington Stovey but he played only one game with the Giants. Like many owner-managers of this era, Cook took over the job of booking games for the team. The average pay for pitchers and catchers on the team was $18.00 per week. Outfielders and infielders made around $12.00 per week. During the winter of 1886, Cook arranged for the Giants to play in Cuba.

In June 1887, J.M Bright bought the team from Walter Cook. During the same year, the team would become colored champions for 1887. A year later, they would win the colored championship again when they defeated rival teams including the Pittsburgh Keystones, New York Gorhams, and Norfolk Red Sox. In 1889, the Cuban Giants joined the Middle States League, an independent minor baseball league. In 1890, the team name changed to the Colored Monarchs of York, Pennsylvania because they moved there. A year later, a portion of the Cuban Giants went to a rival team called the Gorhams who was managed by S.K. Govern. In 1896, the team was bought by E.B. Lamar Jr. and became the Cuban X-Giants. 

The Cuban X Giants became a dominating force at the turn of the century. Led by a young pitcher named Rube Foster, they won the Colored World Championship in 1903, defeating the Philadelphia Giants, five games to two. Foster pitched in four of those victories, and he would later become more widely known for his executive contributions to the sport, eventually earning the moniker, “Father of Black Baseball.”

In the winter of 1903, the club became the first African-American professional baseball team to play in Cuba, and two years later it became the first black baseball team to defeat a Major League team. While they ended up splitting a two-game series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Cuban X Giants sent a message by outscoring their MLB counterparts, 8-3. The team became a founding member of the National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs of the United States and Cuba, established in 1906. The team continued to exist until it was disbanded in 1915.

Sources:

Cuban Giants (1885-1915) | Blackpast.Org, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/the-cuban-giants-1885-1915/. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025

“The Cuban X Giants of the Negro Leagues.” MLB.Com, www.mlb.com/history/negro-leagues/teams/cuban-x-giants. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025

Box Hill Estate - St. James

 Box Hill was an estate owned and designed by Stanford White with the help of McKim & Mead between 1884-1906 in St. James. White had married Bessie Smith of Smithtown in 1884 and purchased a small house in neighboring St. James. White apparently later regretted not tearing the house down to begin with and starting fresh but would go on build numerous additions over twenty years.

The house was originally a farmhouse. Stanford enlarged it several times after his wife received a large inheritance, around 1884. In 1903, he covered the entire building in “pebble dash” (rocks pressed into mortar). When it came to the interiors, Stanford was a compulsive purchaser. He collected temple ornaments from Japan, carpets from Turkey, tiles from Holland and mashrabiya screens from Morocco. Then, he filled rooms with as many pieces as could fit. 

The dining room is covered in anaglypta, which is paper pressed to look like paneling. Repeated freezing and thawing - Box Hill had no heating system until 1938 - caused the paint on the anaglypta to develop a crackle finish. 

The estate features a one-story verandah defined by a range of fluted columns. Also on the property are a cottage, barn, carriage house, stable, and water tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Its current owner is Stanford’s great-grandson Daniel White, who bought it from his parents and has been restoring it for more than 20 years.

Sources:

Bernstein, Fred A. “Tour the Houses of Stanford White with the Revered Architect’s Great-Grandson.” 1stDibs Introspective, 13 Feb. 2021, www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/samuel-white-stanford-white/

“Box Hill Estate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Jan. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Hill_Estate

L., Zach. “Box Hill.” Old Long Island, www.oldlongisland.com/2010/05/box-hill.html. Accessed 10 July 2025

Jackson House - Wantagh

Robert Jackson came from Connecticut to Wantagh around 1644 and had acquired land in the area and for three centuries it remained in the family.  

The Jackson homestead, which sits on 1542 Wantagh Ave., was built by Samuel Jackson in the mid-18th century and was the main house on the farm. The home features a main central hearth with a room on each side and a sleeping loft.

Elbert Jackson acquired the property in the early nineteenth century and enlarged the house by attaching a much larger, 2-story wood frame house in Greek Revival style to the south end of the original farmhouse. The new part of the house allowed for more formal spaces with a central hall layout. A kitchen wing was added onto the north end of the house in the early twentieth century, and the main entrance was framed by a small classical looking porch with a pediment and two columns.

Elbert’s wife Elizabeth inherited the house and it was sold out of the family in 1899 after her death. After a series of short-term owners, Charles Bradley purchased the house in 1909 and added the large bay window and interior partitions with Corinthian columns. In 1936, Bradley sold the house to another family, the Hummels, who lived there until 1967. After that point, the parcel was sold to a developer who subdivided its associated land for new residential construction.

The Samuel and Elbert Jackson House stands on the last remnant of the Samuel Jackson farm; the rest is essentially now a residential subdivision of mainly twentieth-century homes. The Jackson House was listed for sale and was purchased in December 2020. The 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath house was described as a center hall federal period colonial with 4 fireplaces, a home office, wide plank pine flooring, and secret gardens on the circa half-acre lot.

 

Sources:

O’Connor-Arena, Melissa. “The Jackson Homestead.” Wantagh-Seaford, NY Patch, Patch, 19 Nov. 2010, patch.com/new-york/wantagh/the-jackson-homestead.

Paonessa, Laurie. "Samuel and Elbert Jackson House." Clio: Your Guide to History. May 7, 2021. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://theclio.com/entry/133236

“Wantagh Preservation Society.” Wantagh Preservation Society and the Wantagh Museum, www.wantagh.li/museum/. Accessed 21 June 2025.

D-Day Anniversary

 

In 2019, we had the honor of interviewing two World War II veterans. Sharing these interviews in honor of the anniversary of D-Day.

 

           

      

edward dionian   
August 10, 1921 - August 3, 2021
Interviewed July 18, 2019

https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15281coll40/id/409/rec/4

 

SALVATORE CITRANO

SEPTEMBER 30,1925 – MAY 3, 2021

INTERVIEWED JULY 9, 2019

 

https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15281coll40/id/362/rec/2

St. Andrew's Dune Church - Southampton

Originally created as a Life Saving Service Station, St. Andrew’s Church was saved in 1879 by five families. The founders, Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas, William S. Hoyt, C. Wyllys Betts, Frederic H. Betts, and Dr. Albert H. Buck, changed the name, by resolution, to Saint Andrew’s Dune Church in 1884. To this day, the church interior includes passages of scripture that remind parishioners of the building’s original purpose. For 141 years, the church has been open for sixteen weeks during the summer season.

The church was incorporated under the laws of the state of New York in 1854 as a free church. The Shields on the wall have been given in memory of deceased Trustees, whereas the Memorial Tablets are devoted to family members and distinguished former parishioners. The American flag at the altar has only 45 stars because it was a service flag from returning soldiers of World War I. 

The stained-glass windows range from breathtaking opalescent-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge to Pre-Raphaelite-inspired panels by the British firm Heaton, Butler & Bayne to lushly floral windows by Bostonian Wilbur Herbert Burnham, and Stephen Hannock’s opalescent-glass landscape window, installed in 2020

In September of 1938, a hurricane slammed into the East Coast. It passed directly over the church and the church was almost completely wiped out. Many pews and the organ were washed into Lake Agawam across the street and several stained-glass windows were lost, including two of the eleven original signed Tiffany windows.

In 1995, the church was moved slightly to the north and west and placed on a new foundation. 

The land surrounding the Dune Church represents some of the last surviving dunescape in the Village of Southampton. The grounds of the church are planted under the direction of the Southampton Garden Club.

Source: 

“History.” St. Andrew’s Dune Church, www.standrewsdunechurch.com/history. Accessed 23 May 2025. 

Farmingdale Little League

 

 

This was from the July 17, 1952 Farmingdale Post. On June 28, 1952, opening ceremonies were held, starting with a parade. The teams were organized into Major and Minor Leagues. About 200 boys signed up that year, with four teams in the Major League and four teams in the Minor League. Republic Aviation sponsored a team and lent the services of their recreation director Oscar Frowein.

The league caught on immediately and in the years 1962-1964, 2,400 boys enrolled in the program. In 1954, a second league was formed, known as the American League. The original group was known as the National League. Shortly after, both leagues were expanded from four teams each to six teams. A third league was formed in 1956. There were 18 teams total in the group. There were also 18 teams in the “AAA” group and Class A group.

By 1967, two programs were designated for specific age ranges. The Pony group consisted of 13 & 14-year-olds, while the Colt group consisted of 15 &16-year olds. The group that controls the leagues was re-named the Farmingdale Baseball League Inc.

There are also five Softball Leagues starting with Farm for 5& 6 and 7 & 8-year olds and then Girls Minors, Girls Majors, Girls Seniors, and Girls Inter-League. There is also a special league called the Greendogs. The Greendogs are comprised each year of a select group of ballplayers who not only excel on the baseball diamond, but have also shown outstanding sportsmanship, determination, and a true commitment to the game. The Baseball groups range from 7-13-year olds and the Softball groups range from 8-16-year olds.

 

 

Sources:

 

“Farmingdale Baseball League.” https://fdalebaseball.com

“Little League.” Farmingdale Post. May 29, 1952

“Little League Season Will Open Officially on June 28.” Farmingdale Post. June 12, 1952

Coindre Hall

 Coindre Hall was originally known as West Neck Farm when it was created. It was established as a country home for George McKesson Brown and his wife Pearl, who commuted from New York City where they owned a pharmaceutical company. The Brown’s became year-round residents during World War I.

The estate was a manor of approximately 135 acres between Huntington Harbor and Southdown Road. It contained numerous buildings including a farm house, a garage complex, the Gate House, the Boat House, the Water Tower, the Ice House, and the Main House. All of the buildings on the Estate were linked to the Main House by a complete telephone system. On several occasions, the Estate, particularly the Water Tower, was used by movie studios in filming silent movies.

The Main House itself was modeled after a chateau in the south of France. Within the Main House, there was an indoor “plunge” pool and a walk-in refrigerator in the basement. The chandelier in the center of the spiral staircase is a copy of one that hung in the New York State House in Albany

The ice in the ice room was harvested from the pond behind the Boat House each winter and stored in the Ice House on the west side of the pond. The ice was then brought up to the ice room in the basement of the Main House as needed. In 1932, Mr. Brown’s wealth had diminished mainly because of income and real estate taxes. He broke up the estate and began selling off portions of the property.

 In 1939, the Brown’s moved into the Gate House and the northeast 34 acres on which the Main House was situated was sold to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. After some renovations, the Brothers named the building Coindre Hall after the founder of their order and opened it as boarding school for young boys. After 30 years, the school eventually went bankrupt.

The building was occupied by two other schools for a short time each, but both also went bankrupt. Coindre Hall was acquired by Suffolk County in 1972, but it was neglected until it was dedicated into a County Historical Trust. In 1991, the Alliance for the Preservation of Coindre Hall Park was organized to preserve, protect and restore this property. It is not only known as a local landmark, but is also listed in the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. In 1995, the mansion was officially designated “The Museum of Long Island’s Gold Coast”.

 

 

Source:

“The Chateau at Coindre Hall.” Huntington Public Schools, www.hufsd.edu/assets/pdfs/community/local/2012/local_town_historical_coindre_hall.pdf. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.

A Look Into Farmingdale's Past

This is from the March 23, 1932 Farmingdale Post.  Charles Schmidt opened the hardware store in 1915, in the old John Duryea building on the corner of Main and Front Streets. The building was then moved to 208 Main Street. The store closed its doors in 2008. The store provided building materials, hardware, garden supplies, and more.

You can see a brush from the store as well as other Main Street memorabilia in our Local History display case for all of April.

St. James General Store

The story of the St. James General Store with the Smith family.  In the early 1840's, Ebenezer Smith, a descendant of Richard "Bull" Smith, lived within a hamlet of Smithtown known as Sherawogge. Ebenezer headed for the West for a few years. Having some success there, Ebenezer returned to Long Island to build a General Store in 1857. By that time, the name of Sherawogge was changed to St. James in honor of the local Episcopal Church.

The heart of the business district was on Moriches Road from its intersection with Three Sisters Road south to North Country Road. At this site, Ebenezer conducted his business until the St. James General Store, now the hub of the community, was inherited by Everett Smith, son of Ebenezer.
Here, the residents purchased yard goods, kitchen wares, medicine, shoes, horse medicine, tobacco, groceries, hardware, and more. Since the Post Office was located within this store, it became a central meeting place where the townfolk gathered to wait for the mail, to catch up on the local gossip and to keep in touch with the world.

There were parties, dances and seasonal celebrations held in a large room upstairs. When the first telephone in the village was installed in the store, the establishment became even more of a community center.

The old store ledgers show the names of William Gaynor, Mayor of New York; Stanford White, world famous architect; Frank McNish, Lionel Barrymore, Virginia Lee and Joe Flynn. Later these early stars and personalities were followed by others such as Ethel and John Barrymore, Lillian Russel, Maud Adams, Buster Keaton, Myrna Loy, Ruth Roman, Irving Berlin and Heavyweight Champion James J. Corbett. 

As the calendar drifted from the 1800's to the 1900's, Everett Smith, Ebenezer's son, still ran the store. There is a story that Everett Smith, as a courtesy, stepped outside to deliver mail to women on horseback who did not want to dismount their horses and come into the store. After a while, he tired of dashing in and out of the store. He posted a sign stating "people on horseback must enter store for mail." One day, a women entered the store for her mail - on horseback.

In July of 1990 the 133 year-old general store was purchased in a joint preservation effort between Suffolk County and New York State. The state bestowed a $110,000 grant to make the purchase possible.

Throughout the years the old store has resisted the changes of progress. It is unchanged structurally since 1894. The original counters and cases, the post office, coffee grinder, tea canisters, pot belly stove, barrels, old checkerboard, and many other items remain to permit visitors to look at the Long Island of the Nineteenth Century.

The St. James General Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



Source:

“St. James General Store.” Suffolk County Government, www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Parks/Historic-Sites/St-James-General-Store. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

John Allen - Civil War Soldier

John Allen was born in Cheltingham, England in 1836. His family moved to America in 1840. They lived in Pennsylvania and then Brooklyn before settling in Farmingdale in 1858. He married Mary Pilkington in 1860.

He enlisted August 19, 1862 and went to fight in the Civil War as a member of Company “E”, 127th Regiment. He was mustered in on September 8, 1862 with the 127th Regiment of the New York Volunteer Infantry. He served as a private in Company E. He was attached to the 7th Corps, Division of Virginia and was part of the siege of Suffolk and the Six Peninsula Campaign. His outfit moved to Maryland and followed General Lee into South Carolina where they took part in the siege of Charleston and the taking of Fort Sumpter.  He mustered out with his company on June 30, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina.
 

While he was fighting, his wife saved up and bought them their home in Farmingdale as a surprise upon his return. John Allen was involved in the bakery business for 50 years. The first shop was in his home on Front Street before he moved the shop to Main Street around where 246 Main Street is now.
He was appointed postmaster in 1897. 

His son, Ellsworth Allen, also was postmaster. He laid the cornerstone in the first Episcopal Church in Farmingdale and was one of the organizers of the Farmingdale Fire Department. He was also a member of the Board of Education. He was a member of the H. B. Knickerbocker Post #743.
 

John Allen died in 1925.

 

Sources:

Allen, John. “Minute of History: Life of an Early Resident of Farmingdale.” Farmingdale Observer. July 27, 2001

"John Allen 1836-1925." Farmingdale Post. July 31, 1925

Junior Historical Society of Farmingdale. Farmingdale's Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956

New York State Military Museum

Bayberry Land - Southampton

 Bayberry Land in Southampton was owned by Charles Hamilton and Pauline Sabin. It was designed by Cross & Cross in conjunction with the landscape architect Marian Cruger Coffin. Sabin was at one time president and later chairman of the Guaranty Trust Company.

The 314-acre country estate eventually included eight buildings: the manor house, the main garage with chauffeur’s apartment, a gate house, the caretaker’s cottage, a greenhouse, the hunting lodge, a stable, and a two-car garage with pump house. Cross & Cross designed the buildings in a style meant to emulate an English country manor. The interior of the Manor House included 28 rooms, 11 baths, and 11 bedrooms. The house was completed in 1919, and to celebrate, the Sabins held a housewarming dinner and dance.

Mr. Sabin had a private drive connecting the Manor with the National Golf Links. Other sports included hunting, polo, and walking over Bayberry Land’s extensive grounds. Closer to the Manor, the great lawn itself provided level ground for croquet, and there were tennis courts on its eastern edge. Marian Cruger Coffin Coffin surrounded the Manor with a great lawn and four distinct gardens: the Italianate garden, the rose garden, the tritoma walk, and the sundial garden. On the bay side of the house, Coffin laid out the great lawn enclosed by waist-high walls. The great lawn provided an unbroken line of sight to the bay from within the house.  Coffin designed a “wild” seaside garden to the east of the great lawn.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No.3 purchased Bayberry Land in 1949 to serve as a convalescent home for electrical workers. Motivated by the growing emphasis on education in the American labor movement, the IBEW added an Educational Center for workers in 1957 and a summer camp for children in 1971. Between 1969 and 1994, the Union built numerous buildings on the estate, including five buildings containing 65 motel-style rooms, an administrative building, a camp latrine, a camp kitchen, an arts and crafts building, three swimming pools (with decks, patios and storage structures), numerous camp dwellings, a camp administration building and infirmary, a basketball court, an archery range, two tennis courts, a volleyball court, a large group picnic area, two changing rooms, and an outdoor shower.

In 2001, the IBEW sold Bayberry Land to Michael C. Pascucci of Sebonac Neck Holdings, LLC, to be developed into an 18-hole golf course. Pascucci engaged Hall of Fame golfer and noted designer Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, one of the most sought-after young architects in the world, to collaborate on the project. The course opened in 2006.

 

Sources:

“Bayberry Land.” Southampton Government, www.southamptontownny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1213/Bayberry-Land-Brochure-PDF. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025

L., Zach. “Bayberry Land.” Old Long Island, www.oldlongisland.com/2010/04/bayberry-land.html. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025

Artist Edward Lange

Artist Edward Lange was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1846.,Edward’s father, Gustav Georg, owned a print shop and published a number of popular volumes on German history and scenic landscapes.

He emigrated with his family from Germany to New York in the 1860s. He headed towards Commack, where his father held title to one hundred forty-eight acres of land along Cedar Road. Within ten months, Lange married Sarah Cornelia (Nellie) Denton. Following the birth of their first child in 1872, Edward acquired the title to the Commack property from his father. He spent the next seventeen years in Elwood, raising a family with Nellie and painting the surrounding landscape.

During the early 1870s, Lange focused primarily on painting house portraits. Over the course of the 1870s, Lange increasingly incorporated gouache onto his palette. Between 1880 and 1881, Lange flourished as an artist. He created some of his most recognizable artworks today during this time, including Brown Brothers Huntington Pottery, Lower Main Street, Northport, and Panorama View of Huntington from Woolsey Avenue. After nearly twenty years living and working on Long Island, Lange moved to Olympia, Washington with his family. Two large panoramas of Roslyn were likely two of the last major works the artist completed before leaving New York. 

Edward Lange died in 1912.

Sources:

Fedoryk, Peter. “About the Artist.” The Art of Edward Lange, edwardlange.omeka.net/about-the-artist. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025 

“Land by Hand: Edward Lange’s Long Island.” The Long Island Museum, longislandmuseum.org/exhibition/land-by-hand-edward-langes-long-island/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025