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newyorksigndude

@newyorksigndude

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history is everywhere...blink and you'll miss it
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To take from a quote off my favorite Beastie Boys album by Mike D (who I just got to see live recently with my brother) "I live in the village wherever I go I walk to. Keeping my friends around so I have someone to talk to" I purposely chose this marker today for a reason. Today marks 3 years of commuting to Manhattan every day. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how everything works out the way it's supposed. Sometimes that's walking an average of 30,000 steps a day and traveling 2 hours back and forth. Reflecting on the relationships I've gained (and lost) and the hardships I've overcome. The lessons I've learned. The tests I've faced. Learning how to be an effective leader. Sure I complain and kvetch a lot, but overall I'm pretty blessed. I can't imagine my life different than the way it is now, but I'm still striving to make it better every day. And finally after a brief hospitalization in March, I'm starting to think I deserve that. The craziness of the Knicks, World Cup and its kicks. The stories and adventures I face daily in the city, especially in the Lower East Side all mostly start here at Kings Park Train Station.  Kings Park Station opened in the year 1872 when the Smithtown & Jefferson Railroad Company opened a station for the nearby St. Johnland Institute for Children (the subject of a post made back in December.) It remained St. Johnland Station for nearly 20 years, until the Long Island Rail Road officially took the station over. It was then officially renamed in 1891 to Kings Park, for the close proximity to Kings Park Psychiatric Center. 7 years later, a spur was added to the track to make a connecting station to the hospital grounds. For almost 100 years, the 2 mile stretch of train track was used to bring passengers to visit patients until 1971. They continued to transport coal to the hospital until 1987. Those tracks are now the Hike & Bike trail which leads to the Kings Park Bluffs and the Nissequogue River State Park.  The original station was demolished in 1948, a year after a derailment caused by a freight train crossing over on the hospital spur. by @newyorksigndude
With Halloween here, I decided to showcase one of my favorite markers that I used to drive past every day to and from Northport. On a rather dangerous westbound part of Fort Salonga Road, it's very hard to make out the entirety of this sign when driving. I've taken the risk of carefully photographing it a few times over the years, and I've also seeked out information on it but it's very limited. I think this peaked my admiration for it more. The very nature of it reads like a crime movie. The lore reads like a mystery novel. The risk involved just to read the vague gold letters adds to the edge of your seat thrill, or at least they can if you're not careful and rear end the vehicle in front of you. Anywho, this the Osterby House. The story that was passed on to generations went that the house was occupied by a Miss Mary Osterby, the daughter of a Civil War veteran. According to legend, local workers from the brickyards would buy beer from her. However, according to the only site I've been able to use for research on the house, this is just local lore. The real story is that of Bernard Osterby, a decorated veteran of the Danish Army. An immigrant who married his wife Bentte Marie and two years later came to America in 1881. In 1890, they bought the home from a Reverend Moses Rogers for $450. $300 of that money came from a loan made by Issac Sammis of Northport. At some point, a criminal complaint was brought forward by a resident against Osterby for illegal liquor sales. The charges were dropped when the resident failed to show up in court. It was alleged that Osterby threatened him. However a short time later he was arrested on a seperate charge of disturbing the peace. Osterby remained undeterred and continued his operations. He was found guilty in a trial in 1890 and fined $50. Two years later, another conviction. The Kasso's, a young couple living in a cottage on the grounds of what is now Indian Hill Golf Course also had issues with their neighbor. Eventually they complained to the same judge who convicted Osterby twice. Maren Kasso reported that Osterby would frequently trespass on her property when her husband was not in. (continued in comments) by @newyorksigndude
Sleepy Hollow, the small town in the Hudson Valley is globally recognized for the popular legend by Washington Irving first published in 1820. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" takes place in 1790, when young and superstitious school teacher Ichabod Crane arrives in the town. One autumn evening, while attending a harvest celebration at the home of Katrina Van Tassel he socializes with other guests, when the conversation pivots to local lore and ghost stories. Primarily, the tale of the headless horseman. Legend says a Hessian soldier lost his head to a cannonball during the American Revolution. He still rides in the night searching for it. When the evening comes to an end, and guests begin to make their departure Crane finds himself alone on a dark path. Soon an apparition appears on horseback, of a headless rider. The rider gives chase to Ichabod, who runs towards the bridge, which according to the legend the rider cannot cross. As Ichabod nears the bridge, he is struck by what he believes to be a severed head. When he comes to, he finds the remains of a smashed pumpkin near him. The real bridge is long gone. Research from period maps show that the bridge likely stood on Albany Post Road and followed the modern day route of Holland Avenue and crossed the Pocantino River inside the current location of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Since then, at least 5 different bridges have stood here or nearby. Albany Post Road is part of US Rt 9, and the 4 lane bridge of concrete and steel that was built in 1912 by William Rockefeller Jr, was modified in the 1930s. Rockefeller died in Tarrytown and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, along with Washington Irving. by @newyorksigndude
As I've stated in previous posts, markers in the boroughs are not common. So it should come as no surprise that the borough with the most markers in fact, is Queens. And a cemetery marker feels most appropriate for this time of year. When you pull into Jamaica train station, looking out the window you can see part of Prospect Cemetery. Located on the grounds of York College near 159th Street, it was established in 1668 and is one of the few remaining colonial cemeteries in Queens. In its very early days, the cemetery and was the subject of a major dispute between two churches over who was to look over and maintain the cemetery. The First Presbyterian Church and the Grace Episcopal Church began feuding in 1704. Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon also known as Lord Cornbury became Governor of New York and New Jersey. He granted the cemetery grounds to the Episcopalians who refused to grant access to others. The Presbyterians however were able to regain it and remain there until a new church was built in 1813, at 90th Avenue and 164th Street. At least 54 soldiers from the American Revolution are buried here. Other notable burials include Egbert Benson, a founding father and representative of New York in the Continental Congress. Also family plots for many of the area's earliest settlers including the Van Wyck, Sutphin, Lefferts and Brinkerhoff families. The cemetery's final burial took place in 1988. It has since grown into disrepair and overgrowth. by @newyorksigndude
Huntington, New York. A town with over 400 years of history, from Walt Whitman to Neglect. On a lovely autumn afternoon I took a ride with my buddy Will from Kings Park, the land of abandoned mental asylums to Huntington. Performing tonight is The Damned, a classic early English punk band known for its devotion to the macabre at The Paramount. But only a quarter mile away, a mere 9 minute walk I made my way to one of my favorite markers in the state. The only physical evidence left before the age of the Internet, of one of the most outrageous and frightening stories to shock Huntington, the Kelsey Outrage. In the year of 1872, there was a man in his late 30's named Charles Kelsey. A handsome farmer with a ponytail and goatee, who also immersed himself in poetry. Kelsey caught the eye of Julia Smith, a young orphaned woman just barely 20 years old that lived with her grandmother in a large mansion on Main Street in Huntington. The pair met at the Second Presbyterian Church, where Kelsey taught Sunday school. The news of the relationship, especially the age difference and circumstances, greatly upset Julia's grandmother as well as other parishioners. Thus, they met in secrecy. Julia would hang a lantern outside her bedroom to signal Charles safe passage. However their love did not last long, and the young Smith soon caught the eye of 25 year old Royal Sammis, of the prominent multi-generational Huntington family. They soon became engaged and Kelsey drove himself mad. Writing Julia letter after letter filled with his poetry and lamenting over their lost love. Then on November 4, 1872 Julia left a lantern on the mantle outside her bedroom. Charles, drawn to the lamp was jumped by several masked individuals. They beat him, cut his hair, stripped him naked and covered his body in hot tar. After they covered him in feathers, and paraded him on to Spring Road where at this point a group of women gathered and mocked him as he ran home. Never to be seen alive again. (continued in comments.....) by @newyorksigndude
It's been a while since I profiled a marker upstate, so I picked this to commemorate Indigenous People's Day. On Route 9 in Poughkeepsie, approaching Sharon Drive this plaque remembers the origins of the region.  Uppuqui-ipis-ing is a Wappinger term. Uppuqui meaning "reed covered lodge", Ippis meaning "Little water or spring" and Ing meaning "place".  The Wappingers were an Eastern Algonquian tribe. They spoke Munsee, a now endangered language and 1 of only 2 Lenape (Delaware) languages. The Wappingers inhabited the eastern shore of the Hudson River, from the Bronx and northern Manhattan all the way up through Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties to Rhinebeck and Poughkeepsie. by @newyorksigndude
WIth the passing of Greenlawn's annual pickle festival several weeks ago, spooky season is upon us. The site of the festival just also happens to be known for its hauntings. J. Gardiner Farm sits on the border of Greenlawn and Huntington at the intersection of Little Plains Road and Park Avenue. Originally constructed in the 1750's, it went through a number of changes over the years. A second story was built atop the home in 1860 by the family of Alex Gardiner. However it was 20 years prior to this that gives the home its lore. The exact date was November 13, 1842. Rebecca and Alexander Smith were enjoying the evening tea in the parlor of the home when they were brutally bludgeoned to death. An investigation found that German immigrant Anton Geisler was the primary suspect & he was arrested in Port Jefferson. Geisler had spent the last few months working for the Smith's as a farm hand. The home which is now a museum and part of the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Society has forensic tours of the home to show how it all went down. In fact the Smithtown Messenger newspaper ran an article in 2023 that had a description of the crime scene even I couldn't describe better: “The Smiths appeared to have been left where they fell, and the position of the bodies suggested that Mr. Smith was struck first while sitting in his customary chair in front of a large fireplace,” says the Historical Association. “He sustained several blows to the head and fell into the fireplace. Much of the lower part of his body caught fire, most likely after his death. Mrs. Smith was found in the center of the room suggesting that she rose from her chair upon the attack. She, too, was struck several times about the head and body by the blunt side of an ax.” The maternal grandchild of the couple, Alex Gardiner lived in the home later on. Covered in a previous post in May, Gardiner was a successful businessman who developed nearly 80 acres of farmland that he purchased from his mother, and later built the largest cider mill on Long Island. During the Civil War he also built a saw mill, which sold lumber to ship builders. Pickle Works (the subject of the May post) was what he was known for by @newyorksigndude
As we get rocked by this Nor'Easter (especially on the coastlines) this area of the Northport/Centerport border happens to be one of them. I happened to find myself up here on Saturday night at one of my favorite locals with some good friends between the storm surges. It's called "Swego", a shortened version of "Otswego" the Iroquois word for "flowing out."  I took these pictures probably 4 years apart. I think the charm sometimes that adds to these markers is the rust and discoloration, so much so that the marker sharing the areas history, itself becomes a landmark.  After all these started with the State Board of Education back in 1932.  But the efforts of locals to restore and repaint these documents of history is never overlooked. The restoration of this marker recently, helped to bring it's very purpose of highlighting history back to the forefront. Same with the "Eastern Purchase" marker directly across the street. The subject of a future post in time. by @newyorksigndude
Even despite the rain, this one of my absolute favorite weekends of the whole year. Yesterday's weather held up quite nice for the annual Cow Harbor race, a 10k that takes place in Northport Village, and is run by people all over the world. The first race started in 1977 and almost every year since it has been an annual attraction. The race has been extended into a weekend celebration and today is Cow Harbor Day. But why is Northport called Cow Harbor? While the village of Northport was incorporated in 1894, it's history long precedes this. Dutch settlers originally came upon the area in the 1600's when it was inhabited by the Matinecock Native Americans. Their original name for it was Opcathontyche, meaning a wading place creek. When the English took over the colony, they used the land to graze cows, giving it the name Cow Harbor. According to Bob Little's incredible 2010 book "Snapshots in Time: Tales of Our Community" there were about 31 families settled in the area at this time. One home owned by Bryant Skidmore still stands, and will be the subject of a future post. The area has gone through many name changes in the 200+ year history. It was called Red Hook for some time. Then Vernon Valley. Then in the 1800s the first area post office was opened called Crab Meadow. By 1837, the post office was changed to Northport and moved closer to the village. But the name Cow Harbor has stuck with the town this whole time. This weekend is a celebration of the area, its culture, community and the people that make it a beautiful place to live. by @newyorksigndude
Oktoberfest season is officially upon us and who better to profile than the city of Lindenhurst, formally known as Breslau  As profiled in a previous post in April, the train station originally called Welwood was established in 1870 with the rise of the Long Island Rail Road. Train travel across the country boomed after the Civil War, and this area was no exception. By May of that year, the city changed it's name from Welwood to Breslau.  An excerpt from the Brooklyn Eagle dated May 25th: "The projected city of Breslau, located at Welwood Station, on the Southside Railroad, thirty-two miles from Brooklyn, and adjoining the extensive property of Mr. A.T. Stewart… is making rapid progress in construction, and promises to present the appearance of a fair-sized town on the day of its dedication, which, as hitherto stated in the Eagle, has been fixed for Monday, June 6." Enclosed with this article was a report by the Breslau Cooperative Building Association which showed all homes being built and 200 employed men and 4 engineers. A hotel called the Hoffman House was being built by the train station. A State Medical College was also planned, as well as a moulding mill, a brewery, a pottery factory, bowling alley and other businesses.  According to a LIRR conducter interviewed in the Brooklyn Eagle in 1909: "The place was then known as Breslau, and the purpose was to encourage the settlement of Germans… I remember very well June 6 1870, when the first public inspection and sale of lots was made. It was a great day, and the festivities reminded one of the Fourth of July. Flags were flying and it was a glad day generally." However the people brought from Long Island City were not brought on passenger cars but instead on flat platform cars almost as open air trolleys. Realtors sold properties to multiple people, scheming them out of promised land.  Breslau became Lindenhurst in 1891. Around 2022, in the spirit of the towns German past Breslau Brewing Company opened on N Wellwood Avenue (street name being no coincidence). Their soccer allegiance however is much to call into question 😂 by @newyorksigndude
Rosh Hashanah was observed while I was still away on my trip. So while I settle back at home, I'll point out this marker, which happens to be 2 minutes from it.  While traveling up north on Indian Head Road, you'll come to the intersection of Kings Park Road, Here you'll find the marker commemorating Indian Head Farm. It's also the 8th, and at this time final marker to profile in Kings Park. Anywho, Indian Head Farm was established in 1904 by the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society. The society was founded four years earlier by Baron M.D. Hirsch. Born in Munich, Germany as Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth he came from a family of wealthy Jewish bankers. His grandfather was the first Jewish landowner in Bavaria, and his father the banker to the King. His family was of great prominence in the region for generations, so it came to nobody's surprise that Baron was sent to business school at 13 years old in Belgium. He went into business for himself at age 17.  The family's success followed young Baron swiftly. In 1855, he started working for Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, headquartered in Berlin, London and Paris. The fortune he amassed was invested into copper and sugar as well as concessions for the railroad in the Balkans, Austria and Turkey. But Hirsch was most well known for the Chemins de fer Orientaux, a railroad line built between Istanbul and Paris after the Crimean War. At one time he lived in Paris in a townhouse on the rue de l'Elysée as well as the Château de Beauregard, a home in La-Celle-Saint Cloud.  One of Baron's main passions was Jewish self determination as well as the aid of persecuted and displaced Jewish people around the globe. He became a major supporter and donor of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Paris. He also offered to donate 2 million pounds to the Russian Government to establish an education system in the Pale of Settlement, Russia's segregated colony for Jews.  It was in 1891 that Hirsch established a fund in NYC to help refugee Russian Jews immigrate to America. He s spent nearly 2.5 million to build agricultural farm colonies and trade schools around the country, including this one here in Ki by @newyorksigndude
I recently passed a personal milestone. September 1st marked 7 years of living in Kings Park. At the time that I moved here, this was the only standing historical marker in Kings Park. Sitting at 853 St. Johnland Road is the oldest structure still standing here in Kings Park, the Obadiah Smith House. Since then, 6 others have been put up around town. Gail Hessel's incredible book "The Obadiah Smith House" published in 2012 opens with the following introduction: "How many times a week do I travel down St Johnland Road and pass the isolated and lonely looking old house with the blue & gold historic sign saying, 'Obadiah Smith House Circa 1700'? The truth is I pass that house so often that I am hardly aware it's there." The fact that it still stands as the oldest structure in Kings Park, even preceding the founding of the town is a simple twist of fate. In 1960, a consultant was hired to survey & catalog all historic buildings in Smithtown by the Town's Planning Department. While driving down St. Johnland Road he just happened upon the old home, The home at the time was owned by Benjamin Harrison, for whom the nearby Harrison's Pond is named. He was looking to either sell or demolish the home in favor of something more modern, but after much persuasion in this chance meeting Mr. Harrison sold the home to the Smithtown Historical Society. Likely built about 1708, it was built facing south. Most colonial homes were built facing south for sunlight. The hills to the north of the house helps protect it from winds. It is a combination of both Dutch and English construction styles. It also boasts an 8 ft wide fireplace, and about 3 ft deep. Enough for one to stand in easily. It has one of the biggest hearths in any colonial home found on Long Island. The origins of the home go back to the original settler Richard Smythe. Smythe was a founding prominent settler of the Southampton colony, but was cast out in 1656. His charge was "unreverend carriage towards the magistrates." Just a few years later the Sachem (chief) Wyandance granted the land that makes up Smithtown to Lion Gardiner. (cont in comments) by @newyorksigndude

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