August Belmont

August Belmont, originally named August Schönberg, was born December 8, 1816, in Alzey, Rhenish Prussia

At age 14, Belmont entered the banking house of the Rothschilds at Frankfurt am Main, and he later transferred to the Naples office. In 1837, he moved to New York and opened a small office on Wall Street, where he served as the American agent for the Rothschilds and laid the foundations for his own banking house.

From 1853 to 1855 he was chargé d’affaires for the United States at The Hague, and from 1855 to 1857, he served as resident minister there. After the American Civil War began, Belmont became a loyal supporter of President Abraham Lincoln and exerted strong influence upon merchants and financiers in England and France in favor of the Union. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872.

Belmont was a fixture of New York’s high society. He was also a prominent figure in the establishment of Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States as a major financer of the first Belmont Stakes, part of the trio of races that compose the American Triple Crown. The event was subsequently named in his honor.

His son, August Belmont, Jr. took a prominent part in financing and building the New York subway, was a major owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. Belmont Jr. organized the Westchester Racing Association in 1895. In 1905, he built Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, on Long Island which operates to this day as the largest thoroughbred racing facility in the state.

Belmont Jr. spent his last years on his 1,100-acre estate in North Babylon, New York. His widow, Eleanor, then sold most of the estate to a property developer. The remaining 158 acres including the family mansion, lake, and main farm buildings, were taken over by New York State. Under the control of planner Robert Moses, the estate was later expanded to 459 acres and turned into Belmont Lake State Park. The mansion served as headquarters for the Long Island State Park Commission until 1935, when it was demolished to make way for the current building.

Sources:

“August Belmont Jr.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Belmont_Jr.

Drager, Marvin. “August Belmont.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/August-Belmont

Sands Point Preserve

Financier Howard Gould, son of railroad robber baron Jay Gould, created the estate by purchasing the undeveloped land in 1900 and 1901. Castle Gould, a massive 100,000-square-foot medieval castle, modeled after Ireland’s Kilkenny Castle, was completed in 1902. It was an attempt to please his wife, actress Katherine Clemmons. Sadly, their marriage ended in a divorce.

After the divorce, Gould sold the estate in 1917 to mining tycoon Daniel Guggenheim. In 1923, Daniel gave 90 acres of the estate to his son, Harry F. Guggenheim, on his marriage to Caroline Morton. Harry built his home in the style of a French-Norman manor house, atop the bluffs overlooking the Long Island Sound, and named it Falaise, meaning “cliff” in French.

Daniel, and his wife, Florence, lived there until Daniel’s death in 1930. Florence Guggenheim then built and relocated to Mille Fleurs, a smaller mansion on the property. After auctioning off the furnishings of the Hempstead House in 1940, Florence reopened the house for 75 British refugee children who resided there during World War II. Florence also donated 162 acres of the estate, including Hempstead House and Castle Gould to the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in 1942.

The Institute leased, and then sold the property to the United States Navy in 1946. The Navy operated the Naval Training Device Center on the property and renovated Hempstead House and Castle Gould for their offices and laboratories. In 1967, the Naval Training Devices Center was moved to Florida, and the 162-acre site was declared government surplus.

In 1971, Nassau County acquired 127 acres for public recreational use. That same year, Harry Guggenheim died, and, in accordance with his will, his 90-acre estate, including the fully furnished Falaise mansion, was deeded to Nassau County for use as a museum site. These two acquisitions restored most of the former Gould/Guggenheim estate as the Sands Point Preserve.

Friends of the Sands Point Preserve, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was formed in 2003 to help ensure the future of this ‘jewel in the crown’ of Nassau County, New York’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums. Five years later, the Nassau County legislature granted the Friends of the Sands Point Preserve the authority to exclusively manage and plan the future uses of this beautiful 216-acre park and preserve. In 2016, the organization was renamed the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, Inc.

Sands Point derives its name from the historic Sands Family, whose lineage can be traced back to Robert de Sandys, born in Rottenby Castle, England in 1379. In 1691, Captain John Sands and his family arrived in Cow Neck, where they built their home on 500 acres. The house still stands today on Sands Point Road.

Source:

“Mission & History.” Sands Point Preserve, sandspointpreserveconservancy.org/about/mission-history/

Chelsea Mansion

Chelsea Mansion was built by Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Moore in 1924. While cruising the upper Yangtze River in China on their honeymoon in 1921, the Moores were impressed by the appearance of a farm manor with a large terrace and a stark white, black-trimmed facade that was reflected in the adjacent water. Intending to recreate that vision, they purchased the Chelsea property in 1923 and worked closely with architect William Delano to carry out their vision. The building's south side, courtyard, moat and bridges emphasize the Oriental inspiration, while the front elevation, roof and wings show the influence of 17th- and 18th-century French styles.

Umberto Innocenti served as landscape architect, assisting Mrs. Moore in executing imaginative settings and vistas. Trees, hedges, flowers, ferns and ponds were arranged to develop walking paths.  Eclectic interior treatments reflected the prevailing definitions of elegance as well as the owners' desire to express their personal travel and collecting interests. The antique pine paneling in the dining room came from the first Duke of Wellington's country house. Carved teak doors came from the Chinese summer palace; library paneling is Louis XV period, from a château in the Loire Valley. The old oak walls in the first-floor flower room are from a 17th-century English pub. The breakfast room wall covering is 18th-century French hand-painted canvas.

The Sert Gallery is a reception room that features an 85-foot mural painted in oil over white gold. Jose Maria Sert, muralist for King Alfonso XIII of Spain and an internationally known figure of his time, created it for Chelsea in 1926. An 18th-century French fountain details the loggia; Belgian blocks line both fountain and moat. These blocks were collected from the original pavement on West 23rd Street in Manhattan.

Alexandra Emery Moore was a member of a prominent Cincinnati family, and her husband, Benjamin Moore, an attorney, was the great, great grandson of the author Clement Clarke Moore, who wrote the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", frequently referred to as "T'was the Night Before Christmas." Chelsea, the name chosen for their Muttontown estate, was named for the area in New York City where Mr. Moore's ancestors had lived for generations. Mr. Moore was also the first mayor of the village of Muttontown, which he named. Mr. Moore died in 1938, and 17 years later Mrs. Moore married Robert McKay, a life-long friend. He died in 1958. The Moores lived at Chelsea with their three children most of the year and added a children's wing in 1929.

In 1964, Alexandra Moore McKay made her first gift of a portion of the estate grounds to Nassau County. Over a 10-year period, nearly 100 acres were donated to the County. Combining this acreage with previous acquisitions from the Christie Estate created the 550-acre Muttontown Preserve. Alexandra Moore McKay continued to make Chelsea her home until her death in 1983 at the age of 89.

It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Source:

“Chelsea Mansion.” Chelsea Mansion | Nassau County, NY - Official Website, www.nassaucountyny.gov/4178/Chelsea-Mansion

Library of Congress' Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project is a program that was created by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. As a part of this program, the Farmingdale Public Library's Local History Department is conducting interviews with veterans who have served during conflict (but this does not limit to veterans from wars only). If you are interested in telling your story, you will be interviewed by Natalie and Toniann, as a team. Please keep in mind that the interview will be recorded. After the interview is complete, the library will keep a copy of the interview, the library mail you a copy of the interview and as well as, mail a copy to the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress will add the interview to its collection. Library of Congress will also use it for future generations to learn the past experiences of veterans and the affects of serving on US citizens and their families. 

Walt Whitman Birthplace

In 1819, Walt Whitman, widely recognized as America's greatest poet, was born in a small farmhouse in the rural Long Island community of West Hills in the town of Huntington. Despite Whitman’s prominence, his family’s house faced the continual threat of suburban encroachment. In 1949, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association was established to preserve his birthplace. Poets, authors, professors, businesspeople, and concerned citizens were among its founding members.

To help raise awareness and funds to protect the farmhouse, WWBA appealed to Alicia Patterson, the owner and publisher of Newsday. Patterson featured Whitman and the plight of his farmhouse on the cover of the newspaper and launched a fundraising campaign that inspired students across Long Island to collect for the cause. After three months, the Association purchased the property. In 1957, WWBA was successful in its petition to Governor Harriman to designate the birthplace a New York State Historic Site. In 1985, the property was listed on the NYS and National Registers of Historic Places.

Up until 1986, WWBA managed the site on a small scale with limited visitation and public programming. WWBA’s executive director Barbara Mazor Bart convinced the Association’s board to promote the site as a center of learning and to make it more accessible to the public. The site’s educational programs were inaugurated in 1987. Among its various offerings, one of the site’s most successful initiatives is the annual student poetry contest, which receives 5,000 entries each year.

Each year, WWBA’s Board of Trustees selects a nationally recognized poet to be its Poet-in-Residence. From public readings of his or her own poetry to teaching master writing classes, these guest poets are helping to instruct and inspire the next generation of writers. WWBA maintains a library of approximately 1,800 volumes at the site, which focuses on the poetry and life of Walt Whitman and includes an original edition of Leaves of Grass.

In the 1990s, to help accommodate the site’s increased visitation and expanding programs, the Association in partnership with OPRHP, planned an Interpretive Center at the site. The center opened in 1997 and provides space for a classroom, library, offices, gift shop, and collections storage as well as providing handicapped accessible bathrooms. Through the initiative of WWBA and the leadership of OPRHP Commissioner Bernadette Castro, a comprehensive restoration of the Birthplace was undertaken for the first time in 43 years. The restoration was completed in 2000.

In addition, PIRC staff developed a new furnishing plan for the house in collaboration with WWBA curator Richard Ryan. The plan reflects the agrarian lifestyle of the Whitman family between 1816 and 1823. Almost half of the site’s collection (about 200 objects) is on display in the house. In 2005, the barn was renovated and its original wood was used as floorboards for the new structure, named the Gathering House. This structure was dedicated in November of 2005. It is utilized as an environmental education classroom, exhibit space, and small meetings.

In 2007, Cynthia Shor was selected by the Board of Trustees as executive director. She initiated the first Walt Whitman Family Reunion in 2008 with the intention of locating descendants, making an oral history documentary of family members, and mounting an exhibit of family artifacts relating to Walt Whitman.

Source:

About, www.waltwhitman.org/about/about-wwba

Jacob Javits - A Brief Biography

Jacob Javits was born in New York City, May 18, 1904. He attended the public schools. While working as a traveling salesman, he attended night classes at Columbia University. He graduated from the New York University Law School in 1926 and was admitted to the bar in 1927 and commenced practice in New York City. He became a lecturer and author of articles on political and economic problems.

During the Second World War, Javits served with the Chemical Warfare Service 1941-1944, with overseas service in the European and Pacific Theaters. He was discharged as a lieutenant colonel in 1945. He was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1947, until his resignation December 31, 1954. He had been re-nominated in 1954 to the Eighty-fourth Congress but withdrew. Mr. Javits was instrumental in composing and helping to enact legislation on foreign affairs, urban redevelopment, civil rights, organized labor and big business. There were three major measures of which Javits had been a strong advocate: the War Powers Act, which limits the ability of a President to make war without Congressional approval; the Erisa Act, which seeks to guarantee private pensions, and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, which provide regular Government subsidies for cultural projects.

He became attorney general of New York from 1954-1957. He was then elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1956. He reelected in 1962, 1968, and again in 1974, and served from January 9, 1957, to January 3, 1981. He ran again in 1980, but lost that election.

He then resumed the practice of law and also became an adjunct professor of public affairs at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on February 23, 1983. Jacob Javits died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7, 1986 and was interned in Linden Hill Cemetery, Queens.

Sources:

Clarity, James F. “JACOB JAVITS DIES IN FLORIDA AT 81: 4-TERM SENATOR FROM NEW YORK.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 1986, www.nytimes.com/1986/03/08/obituaries/jacob-javits-dies-in-florida-at-81-4-term-senator-from-new-york.html.

JAVITS, Jacob Koppel - Biographical Information, bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=j000064.

MacArthur Aiport

In 1943, airports were needed in defense of the country. The Islip Town Board signed an agreement with the government for construction of a landing field. Islip Airport was born. In 1944 Lockheed Aircraft Corporation built the first hangar at the airport. Five years later the Town built the airport's first terminal building preparing for airline flights. Through the 1950s the Sperry Corporation conducted aerospace research at the airport.

Allegheney Airlines began passenger service at MacArthur in 1960. It was officially named MacArthur Airport in 1966.

The Town of Islip owns and operates the airport, which serves approximately two million commercial passengers a year. The Department of Aviation is led by the Commissioner of Aviation and Transportation, who works closely with the Town Board to manage and steward the airport.

MacArthur Airport serves primarily the three million residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties. The FAA designated MacArthur Airport an Official Metro Airport in early 2011, meaning it is now grouped with LaGuardia, JFK and Newark in travel and informational searches for New York airports, providing better exposure to the traveling public.

Sources:

“Long Island MacArthur Airport.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_MacArthur_Airport#History

Siniski, Steve. History, www.macarthurairport.com/history