Amityville
Historical Society
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Written by William T. Lauder 1994 The year 1994 was our Centennial Year in several respects. It not only marked the Incorporation of the Village, but also the construction of the first "modern" brick schoolhouse, which became the first accredited High School and first integrated school in the community. All these historical milestones were celebrated throughout the year, and we invited everyone from the surrounding areas to join us. The special significance is that the decisions made here 100 years ago to create local seat of government and learning, shaped the character and preserved the quaint charm and beauty of the community. It is a little wonder that all the residents are now involved in celebrating these unforgettable past events. However, as we look forward to the next 100 years, it may be wise to first look back and contemplate our origins and heritage. It all started when King Henry VII of England, and his successors, claimed tithe to our area by right of discovery and conquest from the time of John Cabot's trip in 1496. Our recorded local history starts in the 1650's when settlers from Connecticut and eastern Long Island first came to what is now known as Huntington. In 1653, during the English interregnum, a strip of land running from the Long Island Sound to about where Old Country road now is was purchased from the Indians and the Town of Huntington was established. Soon after, further purchases extend the boundary south English law required that the settlers with grants from the Crown, obtain confirming deeds from the local Indians. In 1658 an Indian deed conveyed West Neck south and Josias Neck which covered all of what is now Amityville south of the then Indian trail now known as Merrick Road. In 1664 Charles the Second gave Long Island to his brother James, Duke of York later James II Jurisdiction over us was thereby transferred from the colony of Connecticut to the Colony of New York. Notwithstanding these political maneuvers, the farms on the north shore needed the salt hay on our marshes for their horses and livestock. They purchased the uplands and moved into the area. Settlement grew and due to Carman's Mill and the Oakley-Ireland Mill, we became a commercial hub. Both mills were located on King's Highway (Merrick Road) and easily accessible from the north via Carman's Road and the Road to Farmingdale (Broadway). Our rich soil and proximity to the Great South Bay made us a farming, fishing and hunting community with little excitement until the Revolution in 1776. We were not a battleground as such, but British Troops, billeted to the north, foraged the area for food, horses and deserters. After the war we were honored by a visit from President George Washington in April 1790. While passing through on Merrick Road, he stopped at the home and former inn or public house of Zebulon Ketcham at the East End of the settlement. We were then known as Huntington south or Huntington West Neck South. In 1793 the Methodists, who were the majority in the area, established the first church in the area. It was located on the north side of Merrick road just west of Broadway. Transportation in and out of town was by way of Stagecoach. It stopped at Carman's Tavern across from the mill, and there was a toll gate there as well. There was another tollgate just a little to the east of the northwest corner of Merrick and County Line Road up through the 1830's and 1840's. In addition to the mills, school, church taverns, stage stop, blacksmith skip and probably a livery stable, there wasn't much else. Of course there was always activity on the bay front - fishing, clamming, hunting and sailing over to the beach. We would say life was serene but by 1846 there was enough local pride to want to change the name of the community from Huntington south or West Neck South, and so the name "Amityville" was adopted and recognized by the school authorities. It was not until 1850, however, that we had our own Post Office and did not have to use the one at Carman's corners. The community did achieve political recognition by having one of the few N.Y. State assemblymen come from the village. His name was Richard J. Cornelius, a colorful character. When the Civil War started in 1861, a number of local boys, both white and black, volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army. Some of them were casualties and some died. After the war in 1867 the Southside Railway was extended east to Babylon through Amityville and really changed the character of the community. From a sleepy farming area we changed into a suburban village only one hour by rail from New York City. The stagecoach to N.Y. went out of business and we became a popular summer resort boasting almost a dozen hotels. Many of the "Yorkers", as they were called, who came for a vacation, stayed. During the 1870'S through the turn of the century some of the largest homes in the area were built. First they were used as summer places but later converted into year around residences. 1872 was another milestone in the evolution of the village, more accurately a hamlet. The people in the south part of the Town of Huntington, including Amityville, decided to secede and form their own Town, and so they did. They called it Babylon and now had a seat of government closer to home. Without doubt the railroad contributed heavily in the making of the decision. We were now directly connected to the City and less dependent on the north shore. That same year saw the construction of a new school house, albeit wooden, on the north side of Park Avenue just to the south of where Park North now stands. It was a great step forward because it had two rooms on the first floor and one large one on the second floor, although it was heated with a stove the privys were out back. During the 1880's the large sanitariums and hospitals, then called the L.I. Home, Brunswick Home and Louden Hall were established. In 1891 the Bank of Amityville was founded and became the first bank in the Town of Babylon. "The Dispatch", Amityville's third newspaper, was first published the same year. 1892 saw the construction of the Triangle Building and the bank moved right in. It also accommodated the local court and the water and electric company. The community grew so fast that by 1894 that the drive to bring local government closer to home again raised its head and the Hamlet of Amityville was Incorporated as a division of local government with its own president (Mayor). That same year saw the construction of the venerable Park North School building. It was of brick, having eight rooms and boasted an 80-foot bell tower and a gymnasium. It was our first High School. In 1904 the "Dispatch" became "The Amityville Record." In about 1907 a trolley ran all the way to Babylon and then in 1909 a cross island trolley ran from Halesite to Amityville. By 1920, both companies were out of business. The streets, or most of them, were paved by World War One. After the war, the horse trough and bandstand were replaced by the Village clock. With the 1920's, Sunrise Highway arrived. At the western border of the village, a second bank, the First National, was opened, a new High School was built on Park Avenue, Jones Beach opened, the State and Cross Bay channels were dug and the worst Stock Market crash in history occurred. The 1930's saw the Great Depression, the demise of Ferry Boat service to the ocean beaches, the extension of Sunrise Highway through the northern part of the Village, a new Junior high School on Park Avenue, dredging of canals and filling the marsh along the bay front, and the "Great New England Hurricane." The start of World War II in Europe generated feverish aircraft construction in Farmingdale to the employment of a great many Amityville people. This in turn bolstered the local economy, increased the population and the number of new homes. The War effort completely occupied the early 1940's. Other than the opening of the Village Beach in 1940, which had: been planned since 1937, nothing new of consequence occurred. The last half of the 40's was "catch up and return to peace and the Cold War. Oak Street was extended westerly from Broadway and Broadway was widened the 1950'S. A new High School on Merrick Road and the Northeast Elementary Schools were built. Suburban development exploded in Massapequa, North Amityville, Copiague and the entire Town of Babylon. There wasn't a great deal of open acreage left in Amityville, so we were spared all that progress. The 1960'S saw the establishment of the Historical Society, the opening of a branch of Columbia Savings and Loan Assn., the Newpoint Hotel burned and the second widening of Broadway. The hospitals were enlarged and to some extent consolidated such that Brunswick became the largest private hospital in the country. In the 1970's the Historical Society opened its Museum, the Railroad was elevated, a new library and Fire House were built. The Renaissance of the heart of the Village, started in the late 60's, continued unabated and saw the conversion of the area into a historical showplace containing the Museum, Village Clock, Gazebo, Triangle Building, St. Mary's Church, 1894 School, First firehouse and "Losi's Corner". The creation of an historical district aimed at preserving the pleasing exterior facades of the structures on fewer Broadway has enhanced the ambience of the whole village. The dedication to beautification, consistency and improvement by the 60th Village government and the private sector has resulted in homogeneous attractive quasi Victorian/Colonial shopping areas in both the upper and fewer store concentrations. The adopted Village sobriquet "Bay Village" has been given real meaning by the efforts of all store owners. May our image of a friendly south Bay community continue to grow during the next 100 years.
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