Oyster Bay History Walk: Difference between revisions
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==See Also== |
==See Also== |
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* [[Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay]] |
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* [[List of Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks]] |
* [[List of Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks]] |
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* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Nassau County, New York]] |
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Nassau County, New York]] |
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The Oyster Bay History Walk is a path through downtown Oyster Bay, New York that leads to 30 historic sites. It is a 1.0 mile loop and is the first certified American Heart Association Start! Walking Path on Long Island.[1]
Origins and Development
Oyster Bay has a rich history dating back to the 1650s when the first settlers arrived. Important events in the religious, military, and social history of Colonial America and the United States occurred here. Significant people associated with this place include Robert Townsend and other members of the Culper Ring, Captain John Underhill, Captain Kidd, John Graves Simcoe, and Typhoid Mary. U.S. Presidents said to have visited Oyster Bay include George Washington and Martin Van Buren; Theodore Roosevelt lived in Oyster Bay and had offices here while Governor of New York and as President.
Many of the sites included on this tour are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing their national signficance. These include the Moore's Building where Theodore Roosevelt had his executive offices as U.S. President, the Oyster Bay Long Island Railroad Station and Turntable that Theodore Roosevelt used and which provided a direct connection to New York City, and the WPA-era U.S. Post Office which later honored Theodore Roosevelt and other people influential in the founding of Oyster Bay from the Colonial era and forward.
Historian John Hammond has written extensively on Oyster Bay,[2] and was involved in developing and editing copy for this walking tour. Thomas A. Kuehhas was also involved in development of the tour, and promoting Oyster Bay as a historic destination.[3] Audio tracks were recorded and produced by sound recording artist Claire Bellerjeau. Her audio narration is combined with recordings of organ music and sounds appropriate for the era being described. These tracks were originally released under the title Talk of the Town.[4] This tour is now referred to as the "Oyster Bay History Walk"[5] reflecting recent designation of the one-mile loop as the first certified American Heart Association Start! Walking Path on Long Island. This one-mile path connects many of the historic sites in Oyster Bay together.[6]
Sites
Sites on the tour follow. Numbers correspond with the Historic Oyster Bay Map, available online.[7]
1. Introduction
For over 350 years history has been made here, from presidents and patriots, to pirates and spies. Most people know Oyster Bay as the home of President Theodore Roosevelt, but these streets have many more stories to tell. The Mantinecock Indians first settled in this area at least a thousand years ago. Dutch and English merchants, fishermen, and shipbuilders later made this a lively center of maritime trade. One of George Washington’s most important spies Robert Townsend lived here. The notorious pirate Captain Kidd visited for a short time, as did Typhoid Mary.
2. Fleet's Hall
Fleet's Hall is a building that once stood in Oyster Bay, New York, that had important local, statewide, and national significance. The building served as an important civic and social meeting place during the time that Theodore Roosevelt was a resident of Oyster Bay and served as Governor of New York State and later President of the United States. The building was used for events such as public meetings, concerts, receptions, dances, and dinners. It was also the site of the first moving picture screening in Oyster Bay.[9]
3. Moore's Building
In 1901 James Moore built the handsome building you see today, incorporating portions of a brick façade first built in 1891. It included a large ground floor for his growing grocery business and high-ceilinged upper floor for public meetings. These upper floors rose to even greater fame when President Theodore Roosevelt located his Summer Executive Offices here. Secretary William Loeb and his staff conducted business of the president here that did not require his personal attention. Direct "hotlines" connected to Sagamore Hill and the White House. In 1903 the first "round the world" cable was transmitted from this building. Moore's Building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is an Oyster Bay Landmark
4. Bank of Oyster Bay
This building was constructed in 1891 and served as the first bank in the town, it originally consisted of 3 1/2 stories as well as a basement. In addition to the bank, other users have included the Masons of Matinecock Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt while he served as Governor of New York, and architect Edward Durrell Stone.
Perhaps the most fascinating fact about this building is that is was actually lowered! This elaborate procedure took place on May 20th, 1927 a day most people remember for Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo flight across the Atlantic. The lowering and moving were accomplished in only 18 hours. A 3 story extension was added to the back of the building. Now people could enter the main floor from street level and with the new additions the Oyster Bay Bank could better serve the growing community of Oyster Bay. Recently, the building has undergone extensive renovations, both inside and out.
5. Derby-Hall Bandstand
This is a replica of one which stood on this site and was once used by President Theodore Roosevelt and other to give speeches. The original bandstand was removed in the 1930s. In 1981 this replica took its place. Leonard Wood Hall, a New York Congressman who also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, was the principal organizer of efforts to build the bandstand. When he died just before it was completed, it was dedicated to him and Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Ethel Roosevelt Derby for whom the bandstand originally was meant to memorialize.
6. U.S. Post Office
New York architect William Bottomley designed this building to be a mirror image of the Town Hall building on the opposite side of the street. It was completed in 1936. Artists were commissioned to decorate the interior. The prominent American artist, illustrator and author Ernest Peixotto was commissioned to paint five murals depicting scenes in Oyster Bay from 1653 to 1936. Leo Lentelli, a noted Italian sculptor, created the terracotta panels above the interior doorways, the terra cotta bust of Theodore Roosevelt, and a stone flagpole base on the grounds outside the Post Office.
7. Long Island Rail Road Station
In 1889 the Long Island Railroad extended its line from Locust Valley to Oyster Bay, and constructed a beautiful Victorian train station. When Theodore Roosevelt became President of the New York City Police Board in 1895, he commuted regularly through this station. And when he became President in 1901, the station was expanded to accommodate the large increase in guests to the hamlet. A new station was built nein the 1920s to accommodate double-decker trains. A new organization was formed to help transform the station into the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum.
8. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park
The land Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park rests on was originally a salt marsh used for raising cattle. Theodore Roosevelt once said of the area of the future park, “I wish that we citizens of Oyster Bay could make here a breathing place for all people of this neighborhood, especially the less fortunate ones.” Only a few months after his death in 1919, the idea of making a park was agreed upon. Over the next six years land was acquired and work to build a park begun. A dedication ceremony was held in May 1928, attended by 5,000 people with a parade and a flyover by planes.
9. Oyster Bay Long Island Rail Road Turntable
The first steam locomotive pulled into the Oyster Bay Long Island Rail Road station on June 24, 1889. Originally 31 G5 steam locomotives were built for the LIRR. Today only two remain. One of those is in Oyster Bay which the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum is seeking to restore. Oyster Bay is also one of the few remaining stations with an original turntable. Our turntable was built in 1902. Other rolling stock includes Caboose #12, two displays from the 1964 World’s Fair, Caboose #50, and two coaches from the 2900 series.
10. The Waterfront Center
The Waterfront Center is the mooring place of U.S. National Historic Landmark Christeen (sloop). Oyster Bay produces up to 90% of the oysters and 40% of the hard clams harvested in New York State. This area used to be the site of Jakobson’s Shipyard. During World War II minesweepers, tugboats, and mini-submarines were produced for the US Navy. Today educational and recreational facilities occupy the site. The CHRISTEEN is a restored oyster sloop serves as a floating classroom to educate students of all ages about the operation of historic vessels and protection of the marine environment of Oyster Bay and Long Island Sound.
11. Captain Kidd in Oyster Bay
Although Richard Coote, the Earl of Bellomont, had been instrumental in securing Kidd's commission as a privateer he later turned against Kidd and other pirates, writing that the inhabitants of Long Island were "a lawless and unruly people" protecting priates who had "settled among them."[10]
In an attempt to avoid his mutinous crew, who had gathered in New York, Kidd sailed 120 miles around the eastern tip of Long Island, and then doubled back 90 miles along the Sound to Oyster Bay. He felt this was a safer passage than the high-trafficked narrows between Staten Island and Brooklyn.[11]
Kidd arrived in Oyster Bay on June 9, 1699, and anchored offshore. Justice White and Doctor Cooper helped to transmit a message to Kidd's wife in New York, without exposing Kidd and his location. This secrecy was in vain, however, for his location in Oyster Bay was revealed, and just over a month later he was imprisoned in Boston before being shipped back to England for trial.
12. Wightman Memorial Baptist Church
The Baptist congregation started meeting in Oyster Bay as early as 1700. It is the oldest Baptist congregation in the State of New York. The original building on this site no longer exists. The second church building was constructed in 1806. In 1882 it was moved back and rotated 90 degrees to make room for the new church. In 1908, the church you see today was completed with the second church used as a Baptist church school. Since the early 1980’s the North Shore Assembly of God ahs made this their home, and have preserved the interior with all of its original details.
13. Octagon Hotel
This building was once the main social and dining spot in the village. This eight sided building was first built in 1851, and originally called the Nassau House. In 1887 Phillip and Mary Lavelle bought the business and renamed it the Octagon Hotel. In 1889 a central heating system was installed and in 1890 the building received Oyster Bay’s first electric lighting. When Theodore Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York in 1899, his staff initially had their offices in the Octagon Hotel. The building continued as a hotel for several years, until Edward Fisher bought the building and turned it into Oyster Bay’s first automobile dealership.
14. The Printery
This cozy brown shingled building originally house the Oyster Bay Guardian, a weekly newspaper founded by Nelson Disbrow in 1899. Nelson bought his own property here on West Main Street and in 1906 built the building you see today, continuing to print the weekly paper and to run his private printing business. After his death in 1928, his son Leslie Disbrow continued working here. After 68 years the Disbrow family sold the newspaper to Edwina Snow in 1967. The Guardian newspaper is now located at 32 East Main Street. In 1999 the Guardian celebrated 100 years of continuous operation. The Printery is an Oyster Bay Landmark.
15. Fort Hill and the Townsend Cemetery
Lt. Colonel John Graves Simcoe ordered his troops to cut down a vast apple orchard which once grew here, and to rebuild the remains of an old fort which stood on this site. Nothing of the old fort remains, but the hill still holds a special significance to the Townsend family; it is one of their earliest graveyards. John Townsend is believed to be the first person buried here in 1668. His initialed headstone is greatly worn and weathered, but a bronze marker has been added, noting his immigration from England and his original ownership of this land.
16. Raynham Hall Museum
The building housing Raynham Hall Museum was built in two parts, a building at the front showing the 1770s home where Samuel Townsend lived and played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. The addition to the rear was built in the 1870’s, when Samuel’s grandson, Solomon Townsend II, transformed the house into a lavishly furnished Victorian villa. Samuel Townsend owned four ships which brought goods such as tea, spices, fabrics, pottery and rum from many ports. Lt. Colonel John Graves Simcoe set up his headquarters here. During the war Samuel’s son Robert was an important member of the Culper Spy Ring. The building is asaltbox-style structure, listed on the National Register and as an Oyster Bay Landmark, and today is a house museum open to the public.
17. Seely/Wright House
This house was built in 1830 for Dr. Ebeneezer Seeley who married Phebe Townsend. She was the youngest daughter of Samuel and Sarah Townsend, and was only 15 years old when the captain of the Queen’s Rangers occupied her home during the Revolutionary War. During his life Dr. Seeley, beside being a physician, was also a prominent business man and public official. A legend persists that Dr. Seeley knew President Martin Van Buren and that the President was once entertained here. Seeley’s daughter Catherine married Joseph B. Wright, a blacksmith, and members of the Wright family lived here many years after that. The Seely/Wright House is an Oyster Bay Landmark.
18. Ludlam Building
The Ludlam Building is a Greek Revival styled building, located in Oyster Bay, New York. Past occupants include a dry goods store, a grocery store, and a haberdashery. Despite a number of fires, the brick shell of the building remains.
19. Snouders Drug Store
Some evidence exists the first building on this site dates to the late 1600’s. Snouders Drug Store, located here since 1884, is the oldest continuously operated business in Oyster Bay. In 1887 the first telephone in Oyster Bay was installed, which for several years remained the only one in town. The phone service became a key reason people gathered at Snouders. Snouder ad the first soda fountain installed in 1889. This became a center of social life for several generations of young people, all the way into the 1970’s. In the 1990’s the exterior returned to its original color, which was determined through paint chip analysis. The Snouder's Drug Store building is an Oyster Bay Landmark.
20. Hood A.M.E. Zion Church
Hood African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, holds the distinction of being the oldest continuous congregation holding services in their original church structure. A small wood frame building was constructed on this site in 1856. Later the church was renamed to honor an early bishop, the Right Reverent James Walker Hood. In 1937, the wooden church was covered with the brick exterior you see today. From 1937 to 1963 the pastor was Reverent Moses T. Smith. Today the congregation is led by Reverend Kenneth Nelson, who came to the Hood AME Zion Church in 1981.
21. Earle-Wightman House
This house was originally built on South Street around 1720 as a small one-room dwelling. During the 19th century two successive Baptist ministers made their home here. In 1966 the house was donated to the Town of Oyster Bay, for the use of the Oyster Bay Historical Society. The society operates the house as a museum, with two rooms interpreted to the period 1740 and 1830. Inside you can see how an 18th century tradesman might have lived, then inside you can see how Rev. Earle entertained his 19th century guests in the parlor. An authentic 18th century garden is on the grounds behind the house. The Earle-Wightman House is an Oyster Bay Landmark.
22. St. Paul's Methodist Church
A small Methodist church was built on Orchard Street in 1858. In 1895, Joseph B. Wright bought the building from them and continued his business there for many years. The congregation then moved to this building which they had been working on since 1891. By 1913 the congregation had expanded. To create more room the building was raised, a basement excavated, and several rooms including a kitchen were built. A forty foot bell tower was struck by lightning in the 1920s and had to be removed. In 1999 the North Shore Community Church made this their new home.
23. St. Dominic's Church and Chapel
This Gothic style granite building was first dedicated on Thanksgiving Day in 1897. The original porte cochere provides a covered entrance to the chapel, and once inside one can listen to the original pipe organ. It is one of only three of its kind in the United States, an American-made Hook and Hastings Opus tracker organ, built in 1901. St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church has expanded greatly. In 1922 they established a grammar school, and in 1928, a high school. In 1968 they broke ground on a large contemporary church building, located across the street from this one. Today St. Dominic’s six acre campus has eleven buildings.
24. Oyster Bay Public Library
There were several “reading rooms” operated by different groups. In 1893 the People’s Library and Reading Room opened on East Main Street. This building was first constructed in 1901. Theodore Roosevelt laid a cornerstone in 1899 on land donated by Mrs. Harriet Swan. Andrew Carnegie supported the library as well. The brick building you now see to the left occupies the space of the original wood frame building. The frame house to the right was built in 1890 and later bought and combined with the original building in 1975. In 1994 glass and brick additions behind the house were added to further expand the facilities.
25. Stoddard House
Stoddard House, at 107 East Main Street, was built in the 1890's for G. B. Stoddard. For a number of years from 1980 on, the house was used for offices and museum / historical archives of two organizations, the Townsend Society of America and the Underhill Society of America. The organizations, founded in 1962 and 1892, preserve genealogical material, deeds, other documents, and artifacts of the Townsend and Underhill families which settled in Oyster Bay in the mid-1600s. Henry Townsend and Captain John Underhill were two early members of these families.
26. Oyster Bay High School
Several school buildings preceded this one. This Art Deco building replaced the first high school building completed in 1901 on Anstice Street. The new school had modern features, including classroom loudspeakers, an auditorium with balcony and projection booth, a central vacuuming system, and one of the most modern gymnasiums in Nassau County. After 70 years the gym had become outdated. It was replaced in 2000 with a new state-of-the-art gymnasium, dedicated to Dr. Howard Imhof. The 2000 additions also included a new library-media center.
27. Typhoid Mary in Oyster Bay
Mary Mallon worked as a cook in various part of the New York area between 1900 and 1907. One of her positions was with a wealthy New York banker, Charles Henry Warren and his family. When the Warrens rented the hone of Mr. and Mrs. George Townsend in Oyster Bay for the summer of 1906, Mallon came along. From August 27 to September 3, six of the eleven people in the house came down with typhoid fever. Typhoid fever in Oyster Bay at that time was "unusual," according to three doctors who practiced medicine there.
The Townsends were worried they would be unable to rent their house and they hired George Soper in the winter of 1906 to investigate. Soper in his investigation published June 15, 1907, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said he believed soft clams might be the source of the outbreak. [12] He then wrote:
"It was found that the family changed cooks on August 4. This was about three weeks before the typhoid epidemic broke out... She remained in the family only a short time, leaving about three weeks after the outbreak occurred. The cook was described as an Irish woman about 40 years of age, tall, heavy, single. She seemed to be in perfect health."
Soper would later apprehend Mary Mallon in New York, and she was placed in isolation on North Brother Island, not once but twice. [13]
28. Wilson House
This is one of the oldest houses in Oyster Bay still standing on its original site. The saltbox style house dates back to the 1750’s. An example of salt box architecture. This refers to south-facing houses with sloping rear sections ending at a height of three or four feet. Two legends persist about famous visitors to the house. Marquis de Talleyrand is reputed to have spent a night in the 1790s while fleeing the ‘Reign of Terror’ in France. President George Washington is reputed to have stopped her and spoke to children from the porch on April 24, 1790. These legends bring added interest to an already special old home, one of the last of its kind.
29. First Presbyterian Church of Oyster Bay
The first Presbyterian ministry began in Oyster Bay in 1842. After having buildings at a variety of locations they finally located here. In 1872, led by Pastor Benjamin L. Swan, work began on this beautiful church on the hill. The architect was J. Cleveland Cady, who was just beginning his career and would go on to design the original Metropolitan Opera House, the American Museum of History, and other noted buildings. This church was his first though, and the only he would ever design in the unique Carpenter Gothic style. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., attended services here, and Mr. Roosevelt’s funeral was held here in 1878.
30. Christ Church of Oyster Bay
Christ Church founded in 1705 is an historic Episcopal parish church in Oyster Bay, New York. Over the years several church buildings have occupied this site, including one that served as soldier's barracks during the Revolutionary War. In the 1870s a Carpenter Gothic style building was erected. In 1925 this was greatly enlarged and encased in stone. Those additions also included striking stained glass windows. President Theodore Roosevelt attended church here, and his wife and children were active members. The church is notable for holding Roosevelt’s funeral service in 1919.
Other
The walk shares similarities with other walks, including Boston's Freedom Trail and the Baltimore Heritage Walk.
See Also
- Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay
- List of Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Nassau County, New York
References
- ^ "Oyster Bay Hamlet is the First to Launch a Heart-History Walk". American Heart Association Start! Walking Path is First for Long Island. Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot. 2009-02-06.
- ^ Multiple published sources by John Hammond are available, notably including Oyster Bay Remembered (2002), When the sirens sound: the history of the Atlantic Steamer Fire Company and the fire service in Oyster Bay (1996), and Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay (2007).
- ^ "For Day Trips, Places Where History Happened". The New York Times. 2007-09-30.
- ^ "News". Talk of the Town Walking Tour. Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot. 2004-08-03.
- ^ "Introduction". Oyster Bay History Walk. Oyster Bay Main Street Association. 2009-04-08.
- ^ "Oyster Bay Hamlet is the First to Launch a Heart-History Walk". American Heart Association Start! Walking Path is First for Long Island. Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot. 2009-02-06.
- ^ "Historic Oyster Bay Map" (PDF). Oyster Bay Main Street Association. 2009-04-24.
- ^ Digital duplicate provided by author from original available at the Oyster Bay Historical Society, 20 Summit Street, Oyster Bay, New York.
- ^ Oyster Bay Remembered by John E. Hammond (Maple Hill Press, 2002)
- ^ "Legend of Capt. Kidd". Legend of Capt. Kidd. Newsday. 2009-04-12.
- ^ Richard Zacks, The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd (Hyperion, 2003)
- ^ "Historical Snapshots". Dinner with Typhoid Mary. Newsday. 2009-04-12.
- ^ "Introduction". Oyster Bay History Walk. Oyster Bay Main Street Association. 2009-04-08.