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    Bayside
    Bayside
    Bayside
    Ebook188 pages1 hour

    Bayside

    By Alison McKay and Bayside Historical Society

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    About this ebook

    In rich, historic images, the unlikely story of Bayside and her founders comes to life.


    In 1824, a wealthy shipping merchant by the name of Abraham Bell purchased 245 acres in the area now known as Bayside. He created an upper and lower farm, bisected them with a country lane now called Bell Boulevard, and with this Bayside began to develop. Over the generations, Bayside evolved from its beginnings as a rural farming community to a resort destination with lavish estates that lined the shore of Little Neck Bay. Later the town was transformed again into a commuter suburb touted by real estate developers for its scenic beauty and convenient location. Bayside chronicles the community's ever-changing history through this collection of vintage photographs culled from the Bayside Historical Society's archives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 4, 2008
    ISBN9781439620274
    Bayside
    Author

    Alison McKay

    Alison McKay is the archivist at the Bayside Historical Society. She holds a master's degree in art history from Hunter College and a master's degree in library science from Queens College where she was also a recipient of the H. W. Wilson Academic Scholarship.

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      Book preview

      Bayside - Alison McKay

      stated.

      INTRODUCTION

      Perhaps because it is situated along Little Neck Bay, Bayside has always been considered prime real estate. The history of the town begins roughly 4,000 years ago with the arrival of the earliest settlers, the Matinecock, whose name in an Algonquin dialect means people of the hilly place. They were hunters and gatherers who flourished by the bay. It was an integral part of the Matinecock’s existence, as they made currency called wampum from the shells found along the shore. They eventually settled in permanent encampments, as trade with the European arrivals was established.

      The documented history of those first European settlers is problematic, because in 1789, a 17-year-old slave named Nellie was accused of setting the fire that destroyed the records held in the home of Flushing town clerk Jeremiah Vanderbilt. The clerk had refused permission for Nellie to marry, and in her rage, she committed arson. The trial was prosecuted by New York State Attorney General Aaron Burr at the Queens County courthouse in September 1790. Burr found Nellie guilty and sentenced her to death by hanging. She was executed on October 15, 1790. As a result of the fire, historians have pieced together much of this area’s early history through sources other than those official documents, which included most land deeds that were stored in Vanderbilt’s home.

      While much conjecture reigns over the pre-Colonial era of Bayside’s history due to tenuous documentation, it is definitively known that the native chief, Mechowot, signed a bill of sale to the Dutch West India Company in 1639 for the entire region, extending from what is today Flushing all the way to Smithtown. Included in the sale was the stipulation that the Matinecocks be able to live on and use the land. Subsequently, Governor-general Willem Kieft, also of the Dutch West India Company, issued land grants to 18 Englishmen in 1645 for acreage in and around Bayside, with the majority of Bayside divided among John Lawrence, William Thorne, and Thomas Hicks.

      The Lawrence family played a dominant role in Bayside and throughout the region during the Colonial era. Lawrence, an original patentee, served as the first alderman of New York City, and he was later appointed mayor of New York City in 1672 and again in 1691. Because Lawrence’s only son (also named John) had no heirs, the entire area granted by the Dutch—extending from approximately Twenty-fourth Avenue to Northern Boulevard and from the bay to Francis Lewis Boulevard—fell to other members of the Lawrence family. Some family members sold their property; others, including Effingham Lawrence, remained in Bayside and contributed greatly to the prosperity of the community.

      The arrival of Abraham Bell to Bayside in 1824 marked the beginning of a new era in the town’s history, as the wealthy shipping merchant, who was originally from Ireland, established his business in Manhattan and purchased vast tracts of property in the area. Farming some of the land and selling off other acreage, Bell and his descendents played an integral role in developing Bayside by defining the layout of the town. Additionally, the Bell family can also be included among a group of wealthy residents who donated parcels of their property for the benefit of the community. The Willet family also played a significant role in shaping Bayside, as a large expanse of their property was sold to the federal government so that a fort could be built for protection of the waterways and, ultimately, New York Harbor from invasion.

      During the latter part of the 19th century, Bayside evolved into a recreational destination while retaining its rural charm. Many who took advantage of Bayside’s amenities were from society’s political and social elite. The arrival of the railroad eased travel, and accessibility was key to the development of the community. Bayside was also discovered to be an ideal location for both seasonal and permanent residents in the performing arts community. Numerous theatrical and silent film stars, as well as other professionals, chose Bayside for its convenient location near Manhattan and proximity to the famed Astoria Studios.

      Although considered part of Flushing for much of the 19th century, most often Bayside was associated with the western end of Long Island. By 1898, the entirety of Queens County became part of New York City, and Bayside, along with its eastern neighbors Little Neck and Douglaston, was absorbed into the borough. By 1910, direct train service to Penn Station ordained Bayside a commuter town that offered many amenities to country living within an easy half-hour commute to Manhattan.

      Perhaps the most significant event that changed Bayside was the construction of the Cross Island Parkway, which opened in 1939. Built by the City of New York under the direction of Robert Moses, the parkway severed the bay from the community, with large estates and homes along the shore losing their riparian rights to the water. The Bayside Yacht Club similarly suffered, and although a public marina was built in its place, the town’s appeal as a recreational destination was lost forever. Further altering the community was another highway construction project two decades later. The path of the Clearview Expressway cut during the 1950s bisected Bayside and necessitated the removal of hundreds of homes.

      Despite these changes or perhaps as a result of them, the community’s resolve has strengthened and its resilience appears boundless. Today Bayside is still considered prime real estate and a choice location in which to live, work, play, and raise a family just as it was at its inception.

      One

      THE ALLEY

      The Alley is a large tract of land nestled between present-day Bayside to the west and Douglaston to the east. John Hicks, one of the original 18 Englishmen who received a land grant from the Dutch in 1645, owned a substantial portion of the Alley, as well as the adjoining parcel later known as the Oaks.

      The Alley extended from Little Neck Bay to as far south as the present-day Long Island Expressway and Cross Island Parkway interchange. The Alley could have been given its descriptive name owing to its topography. The marshy valley and Alley Creek form a kind of low-lying corridor. The name may also have

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