Hempstead Plains
Encyclopedia
The Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island
in New York
state in what is now Nassau County
. It was once an open expanse of native grassland
estimated to once extend to about 60000 acres (242.8 km²). It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by the Harbor Hill Moraine
, later approximately the route of Route 25
. The modern Hempstead Turnpike
approximately traces the separation of the plain from the South Shore of Long Island. The east-west extent was from somewhat west of the modern Queens, New York City border to slightly beyond the Suffolk County border.
The town of Hempstead, now America's most populous civil township, was first settled by European
s around 1644. Although the settlers were from the English colony of Connecticut
, a patent was issued by Dutch
New Amsterdam
after the settlers had purchased land from the local Native Americans. The town may have been named for either Hemel Hempstead
, England, or the city of Heemstede
in North Holland
.
In early US history, the Hempstead Plains region was cited as one of the few natural prairie
s east of the Allegheny Mountains
. Long Island historians George Dade and Frank Strand wrote that it was created by an outwash of glacial sediment
more than ten thousand years ago. The result was vast, flat open land.
and on the North America
n continent dates back to the establishment of the Newmarket course on the Salisbury Plains section of the Hempstead Plains of Long Island in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor, Richard Nicolls
. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County region of Greater Westbury
and Garden City
.
The year 1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park
on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
Even for non-jockeys, sports remains a key part of the Hempstead Plains. The South Westbury section of the plains is (appropriately) known as Salisbury
, and Nassau County's largest park (more than 800 acres (3 km²)) was established in the region as Salisbury Park in the 1940s, on the site of the former Salisbury Golf Links. The county facility has been known as Eisenhower Park
since 1971.
Even during the later era of air flight activity on the Hempstead Plains, part of the east section of privately-owned Roosevelt Field became Roosevelt Raceway
, first a popular auto-racing site and then the pioneering standardbred track in horse racing
, from 1940 to its closing in 1988.
relocated his base of operation from his native upstate New York
to Mineola
. Curtiss, at the controls of his biplane
the Golden Flyer, circled the plains' Washington Avenue field for more than 52 minutes, demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities and earning the Scientific American
prize for a flight of more than 25 kilometres (15.5 mi).
Some 15 years later, the Hempstead Plains had earned the appellation "Cradle of Aviation". Facilities such as Hazelhurst Field, Roosevelt Field, Mitchel Field and Curtiss Field provided the eastern US's hub of private, and even military, air activity.
The most famous flight from the Hempstead Plains was Charles Lindbergh
's 1927 journey to France. On May 20-May 21, Lindbergh, aboard the single-engine monoplane Spirit of St. Louis
, was the first pilot to fly from the U.S. solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Roosevelt Field to Le Bourget
, Paris
, in 33½ hours. (His grandson Erik Lindbergh
repeated this trip in 2002, 75 years later, in 17 hours 17 minutes.)
and commercial development of the Plains region. The west section of Roosevelt Field (once known as Curtiss Field before its 1929 merger with Roosevelt) ceased operations in 1951 and has been occupied since 1956 by the Roosevelt Field Mall
, one of the world's largest indoor shopping centers.
To the east, the former Roosevelt Raceway section is occupied by Roosevelt Raceway Center, which includes several stand-alone stores and the current Raceway Theatre. The section north of the raceway, development on which dates back to the 1960s, is occupied by The Source Mall (anchored by the flagship of the Fortunoff
department stores) and the Costco center.
Mitchel Field, which includes the Hempstead Plains site formerly known as Camp Mills
, housed an Air Force base until 1961 and is currently used for multiple sites, including the Cradle of Aviation Museum
, Nassau Community College
, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
and some of the housing and recreational facilities for Hofstra University
.
The last remaining few acres of untouched Hempstead Plains ground are thought to exist near Nassau Community College and in back of The Wheatley School
, the high school of the East Williston School District, in Old Westbury
. The area is known as the Wheatley Woods for the trees that hide the acres of plains. There are also plains in Eisenhower Park
. The plains stretched east to the Suffolk County
border. Several acres also remain in Plainview
. The existing area was slated to be an extension of the Bethpage State Parkway
which was not built, and the land was never developed.
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state in what is now Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
. It was once an open expanse of native grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
estimated to once extend to about 60000 acres (242.8 km²). It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by the Harbor Hill Moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
, later approximately the route of Route 25
New York State Route 25
New York State Route 25 is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Point on the end of Long Island's North Fork...
. The modern Hempstead Turnpike
New York State Route 24
New York State Route 24 is an east–west state highway on Long Island in New York in the United States. The route is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from Interstate 295 and NY 25 in the Queens Village section of the New York City...
approximately traces the separation of the plain from the South Shore of Long Island. The east-west extent was from somewhat west of the modern Queens, New York City border to slightly beyond the Suffolk County border.
The town of Hempstead, now America's most populous civil township, was first settled by European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s around 1644. Although the settlers were from the English colony of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, a patent was issued by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
after the settlers had purchased land from the local Native Americans. The town may have been named for either Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, England, or the city of Heemstede
Heemstede
Heemstede is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History :Heemstede formed around the Castle Heemstede that was built on the Spaarne River around 1286. Before 1296, Floris V, Count of Holland, granted Heemstede as a fiefdom to Reinier of Holy...
in North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
.
In early US history, the Hempstead Plains region was cited as one of the few natural prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
s east of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. Long Island historians George Dade and Frank Strand wrote that it was created by an outwash of glacial sediment
Sandur
A sandur is a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier.- Formation :Sandar are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, and Iceland...
more than ten thousand years ago. The result was vast, flat open land.
The Plains and the horses
Horse racing in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent dates back to the establishment of the Newmarket course on the Salisbury Plains section of the Hempstead Plains of Long Island in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor, Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls was the first English colonial governor of New York province....
. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County region of Greater Westbury
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
and Garden City
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
.
The year 1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
Even for non-jockeys, sports remains a key part of the Hempstead Plains. The South Westbury section of the plains is (appropriately) known as Salisbury
Salisbury, Nassau County, New York
Salisbury is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 12,093 at the 2010 census. Many but not all are housed in Levitt style homes adjacent to Eisenhower Park, formerly Salisbury Park. The region is also known by locals as South Westbury,...
, and Nassau County's largest park (more than 800 acres (3 km²)) was established in the region as Salisbury Park in the 1940s, on the site of the former Salisbury Golf Links. The county facility has been known as Eisenhower Park
Eisenhower Park
Eisenhower Park is centrally located in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At , it is larger than Central Park, with much of the area devoted to three 18-hole golf courses, including the Red Course, host to the annual Commerce Bank...
since 1971.
Even during the later era of air flight activity on the Hempstead Plains, part of the east section of privately-owned Roosevelt Field became Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway
The Roosevelt Raceway motor sports race track was a Vanderbilt Cup / GP venue on New York's Long Island for the United States Grand Prix in 1936 and 1937. The original raceway was twisty and bumpy, making it not quite suited to the big-bore big-BHP racecars of the day. The 1937 layout was faster,...
, first a popular auto-racing site and then the pioneering standardbred track in horse racing
Roosevelt Raceway (harness racing)
Roosevelt Raceway was a ½-mile harness racing dirt then later synthetic track located in Westbury, New York, which operated from September 2, 1940 until July 15, 1988. It was the original home of the Messenger Stakes, part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. The raceway hosted the...
, from 1940 to its closing in 1988.
The Plains and the planes
Another pioneering industry on the Hempstead Plains was aviation. In July 1909, aviator and manufacturer Glenn CurtissGlenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
relocated his base of operation from his native upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
to Mineola
Mineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
. Curtiss, at the controls of his biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
the Golden Flyer, circled the plains' Washington Avenue field for more than 52 minutes, demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities and earning the Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
prize for a flight of more than 25 kilometres (15.5 mi).
Some 15 years later, the Hempstead Plains had earned the appellation "Cradle of Aviation". Facilities such as Hazelhurst Field, Roosevelt Field, Mitchel Field and Curtiss Field provided the eastern US's hub of private, and even military, air activity.
The most famous flight from the Hempstead Plains was Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's 1927 journey to France. On May 20-May 21, Lindbergh, aboard the single-engine monoplane Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
, was the first pilot to fly from the U.S. solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Roosevelt Field to Le Bourget
Le Bourget
Le Bourget is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.A very small part of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Le Bourget, which nonetheless gave its name to the airport. Most of the airport lies on the territory of the...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in 33½ hours. (His grandson Erik Lindbergh
Erik Lindbergh
Erik Lindbergh is an aviator, a promoter of space tourism, and an artist. Grandson of pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris in 1927, in 2002 Erik honored the 75th anniversary of his grandfather's historic flight by retracing the...
repeated this trip in 2002, 75 years later, in 17 hours 17 minutes.)
Current trends
With the mid-century period came suburbanizationSuburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
and commercial development of the Plains region. The west section of Roosevelt Field (once known as Curtiss Field before its 1929 merger with Roosevelt) ceased operations in 1951 and has been occupied since 1956 by the Roosevelt Field Mall
Roosevelt Field Mall
Roosevelt Field is an American shopping mall. It is the largest high-end shopping mall in the state of New York and eighth in the country as measured by gross leaseable area at 2,189,941 ft² . The mall is located in East Garden City, New York part of the Town of Hempstead on Long Island...
, one of the world's largest indoor shopping centers.
To the east, the former Roosevelt Raceway section is occupied by Roosevelt Raceway Center, which includes several stand-alone stores and the current Raceway Theatre. The section north of the raceway, development on which dates back to the 1960s, is occupied by The Source Mall (anchored by the flagship of the Fortunoff
Fortunoff
Fortunoff was a New York-based retailer of home, jewelry and furniture stores founded in 1922 by Max and Clara Fortunoff. The original Fortunoff store was on Livonia Avenue in Brooklyn, New York...
department stores) and the Costco center.
Mitchel Field, which includes the Hempstead Plains site formerly known as Camp Mills
Camp Mills
Camp Mills was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains near Garden City....
, housed an Air Force base until 1961 and is currently used for multiple sites, including the Cradle of Aviation Museum
Cradle of Aviation Museum
The Cradle of Aviation Museum is an aerospace museum located in East Garden City, New York on Long Island to commemorate Long Island's part in the history of aviation. It is located on land once part of Mitchel Air Force Base which, together with nearby Roosevelt Field and other airfields on the...
, Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College is a two-year college. It is located in East Garden City, New York, USA. The school is in Nassau County on Long Island. NCC maintains a nationwide reputation for academic excellence and ease of transferability to four-year institutions.- History :Created as part of the...
, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, United States. Home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, the Coliseum is located approximately east of New York City on Long Island...
and some of the housing and recreational facilities for Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
.
The last remaining few acres of untouched Hempstead Plains ground are thought to exist near Nassau Community College and in back of The Wheatley School
The Wheatley School
The Wheatley School is a public high school serving grades 8 through 12 located in Old Westbury, Long Island, New York and part of the East Williston Union Free School District...
, the high school of the East Williston School District, in Old Westbury
Old Westbury, New York
Old Westbury is a village in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 4,671....
. The area is known as the Wheatley Woods for the trees that hide the acres of plains. There are also plains in Eisenhower Park
Eisenhower Park
Eisenhower Park is centrally located in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At , it is larger than Central Park, with much of the area devoted to three 18-hole golf courses, including the Red Course, host to the annual Commerce Bank...
. The plains stretched east to the Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
border. Several acres also remain in Plainview
Plainview, New York
Plainview is a hamlet located on Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population of the CDP as of 2010 was 26,217. The Plainview post office has the ZIP code 11803....
. The existing area was slated to be an extension of the Bethpage State Parkway
Bethpage State Parkway
The Bethpage State Parkway is a 2.49 mile long state parkway in Nassau County, New York, United States. Its southern end is an interchange with the Southern State Parkway, and its northern end is a traffic circle within Bethpage State Park. In between are three interchanges that service...
which was not built, and the land was never developed.