Central Park Historical Society

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Central Park Historical Society

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Central Park Historical Society, Nonprofit Organization, 47 Powell Avenue, Bethpage, NY.

The Central Park Historical Society was founded in 1986 and is dedicated to stimulating pride and interest in the rich, historical heritage in which Bethpage is entrenched.

11/03/2026

A gentle reminder that today is Election Day.

“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote"
— George Jean Nathan

A car taking part in a Women's Suffrage parade on Long Island in 1913. The photo is from 113 years ago!

11/01/2026

POLITICAL PARTY BEGINNINGS IN CENTRAL PARK (BETHPAGE)

After Election Day last week, a little history of our early political party beginnings.

The Theodore Roosevelt Republican Club of Bethpage was formed on June 14, 1920. However, its roots go back further. The Farmer’s Republican Club of Central Park held its first meeting on October 9, 1891. This was before Nassau County came into existence. There was a Lincoln Republican Club that met at Lincoln Hall on Central Avenue. The hall was eventually demolished. That Club was formed in 1918 and a Ladies Auxiliary was established in 1919. In the 1930s, an Italian-American Republican Club was formed and later was absorbed by the Theodore Roosevelt Republican Club. The present meeting hall, the American Legion Hall was purchased by the Theodore Roosevelt Republican Club from the U. S. Government and used as its headquarters. It was sold to the Archie McCord Post #86 American Legion on October 3, 1949 with a proviso that the Republican Club be permitted the use of the building for fifteen meetings a year. The club was named after Teddy Roosevelt Sr., the 26th President of the United States.

The Central Park Democratic Club was founded in 1914. On March 2, 1932, the club met and was presented with a bank book with a balance of $20.00 from Richard Winters, Sr., who was treasurer of the organization. The sum represents a balance belonging to the Club that existed about 18 years earlier. About 70 members attended the meeting of which some of the speakers were James Amendola, Joseph Ellinger and Albert Guerin. The committeemen reported that they had been successful in having the Town of Oyster Bay hire all married men in Central Park for relief work. Dances and other entertainment was planned so that those profits would be used in employing single men in the village one day a month.

10/25/2026

LAND AUCTION IN CENTRAL PARK (BETHPAGE)

Just 92 years ago, this poster for a land auction ran in Central Park (Bethpage) in 1931. This available land was a new sub division of 400 lots to be built behind where the current Bethpage Public Library is located today. It is being advertised as “One of the fastest growing towns in the State of New York.” It comprised the area of Norcross, Cambridge, Concord, Lexington and Revere Avenues.

The poster depicts a very developed town with a public school which is the Powell Avenue School, Saint Martins Roman Catholic Church, Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church, the Central Park Train Station, a strip of stores and merchants on Broadway, the Central Park Fire Department, and the Beau Se Jour Hotel on Stewart Avenue.

“Buy now before the boom…”

10/18/2026

FROM BETHPAGE TO CENTRAL PARK TO BETHPAGE (PART IV)

The name Bethpage was declared officially by both the Post Office and the LIRR on October 1, 1936. The Bethpage Progress Celebration Committee was organized and plans were made for a week of celebration. The many volunteers made the week of October 7th through the 12th a noteworthy event, with a parade, ceremonies at the railroad station including the installation of a new “Bethpage” sign, a beauty contest, a pageant, and a block party on Broadway.

Pictured is the certificate that declares the name officially changed to Bethpage in October, 1936.

Pictured is Broadway, south of the tracks, and getting ready for the parade and the day of celebrations.

Pictured are Bethpage residents along the parade route celebrating the name change to Bethpage. Children dressed in period costumes. The boys dressed as Indians and the girls dressed in Puritan costumes in 1936.
N. Robert Damn Street is named after Robert Damm who is pictured in the center, wearing hat and holding a r***e. Robert's sister Charlotte, is the girl on the far left.

10/11/2026

FROM BETHPHAGE TO CENTRAL PARK TO BETHPAGE (PART III)

In 1929, the Long Island Park Commission took over the lease operating the Lenox Hills Country Club as a public facility, and in 1931, the Park Commission purchased the Yoakum Estate in Farmingdale, the Botto farms, and other area farms to create an area that we know as the Bethpage State Park.

It was at this time, many members of the Central Park Improvement Association formed and suggested that a change of name for the town would be desirable. Some people also felt that the name Central Park had no historical background and they preferred the original name given by the original owner, Thomas Powell. William Ahern wrote to Mr. Robert Moses, President of the Long Island Park Commission, and pointed out that the name Central Park had caused difficulties for the Postal Service. The mail was always being sent to nearby towns like Central Islip, Center Port, Center Moriches and even sent to the actual Central Park in New York City.

•Pictured is one of the letters written by William Ahern to the Long Island State Parks Commission asking for permission to change the name from Central Park to Bethpage.

Farmingdale also considered the name change to Bethpage for their town, and stated that Central Park is not incorporated, has no village board and is non-existent politically. Farmingdale continued to argue this change while Central Park organized a committee and circulated a petition to change the name. The disagreements continued through the communities, regarding the name and location of the railroad, all done in an effort to gain leverage.

•Pictured is one of the letters written by William Ahern to the Long Island Railroad asking for permission to change the name of the train station from Central Park to Bethpage.

However, the name Bethpage was already in use by an adjacent community, which resisted suggestions of a merger. That community wanted no part of the fight for the name and insisted they were the original Bethpage and instead renamed itself Old Bethpage.

Ahern asked if the Commission would object to the town taking the name Bethpage. In 1932, Jessie Merritt, the Nassau County Historian and direct descendent of Thomas Powell, proposed naming the newly created park properties Bethpage State Park.

•Pictured is one of the letters written by William Ahern to the Post Office Department in Washington asking for permission to change the name from Central Park to Bethpage

A petition signed by 435 residents of Central Park, over half the number of patrons of the Post Office, was prepared and sent to Mr. W. W. Howes, First Assistant Postmaster General. Mr. Ahern also wrote to Mr. George LeBoutiller, Vice President of the LIRR for support. They also got Park Commissioner, Robert Moses, to approve the new name, as well as officials of the railroad. Finally, in August 1936, the United States Post Office approved the name change to Bethpage. The change from Central Park to Bethpage was one of the last complete name changes of Nassau County’s post offices.

10/04/2026

FROM BETHPAGE TO CENTRAL PARK TO BETHPAGE (PART II)

When the Central Railroad of Long Island was extended through Bethpage in 1841, this would prove to be one of the most important events in the history of the town. The first railroad station was built near Stewart Avenue, and in 1850 was named Jerusalem Station. The local post office opened in 1857 bearing the name Jerusalem Station.

Land speculators purchased large sections of land near the tracks upon which they began building. In order to introduce more people to settle here, the land speculators decided to called the town Central Park. In 1867, the residents voted to change the name of the local post office to Central Park. Both the names Central Park and Jerusalem appeared on LIRR schedules until 1884, when the station was named Central Park Station. The railroad brought Central Park to the attention of land buyers. Many businesses opened up around the station in the heart of town and people began building homes and businesses. Soon it became the center for settlement and development. The rapid transportation system of the railroad to other communities and to New York, turned Central Park into a modern town.

Pictured is the Central Park Railroad Station circa early 1900s.

The largest land dealers were Alexander McConochie, a merchant from Brooklyn, his son-in-law Jeremiah T. Weaver, and Baltis M. Fowler. McConochie first started buying land here in the early 1840s from local people. It was not odd to buy many large tracts of land, and McConochie did. He and the Weavers controlled a good deal of land in Central Park for over twenty years. At one time or another, they owned the land west of Stewart Avenue and about half of the state park land in Bethpage. The tracing of the deeds and land transfers for this period is difficult to follow because the land was sometimes sold four or five times within the family. McConochie, like many well-to-do people, did not live here permanently. He lived in Brooklyn and used his mansion, now known as the Beau Sejour, in the summer. Weaver also lived in the Beau Sejour as he was married to Adelia McConochie, Alexander’s daughter. Baltis Fowler had a partnership with a man named Henry Franklin. While they did most of their land purchasing in the Hicksville area, Fowler was recorded as the owner of two homes here: one on Stewart Avenue just south of Central Avenue and the other on Central Avenue near Seaman Avenue. The latter home was originally owned by Weaver, and served as Central Park’s first Post Office, with Weaver as Postmaster. Fowler was a minor dealer compared to Weaver and McConochie.

Pictured is the Dry Goods Store. The dry goods store is shown ca 1915, when it was run by Lorenzo Maggi. The young man on the porch is Louis J. Maggi; the women in the yard include his mother (holding a grandchild) and two sisters or sisters-in-law.)

Pictured is a Shoe Shop located in Central Park at Railroad Plaza ca 1910. The shoe repair shop was operated by the Caronia family, later run by Louis Maggi's oldest brother John.

Pictured is a typical grocery store and house in Central Park.

09/27/2026

FROM BETHPAGE TO CENTRAL PARK TO BETHPAGE (PART I)

October is the month we acknowledge the name change from Central Park to Bethpage. The name Bethpage was declared officially by both the Post Office and the LIRR on October 1, 1936. Today we shed some light on the name changes of Bethpage.

"BETHPHAGE" - THE FIRST NAME

Thomas Powell Sr. was born in 1641 in a settlement of Puritans in the New Haven Colony which was in present-day New Haven, Connecticut. Powell moved and lived for several years in Huntington, New York and held many positions within the administration of Huntington, including recorder, surveyor, overseer, trustee, and constable. But in 1682, Powell declined to serve again as constable because the job required the officer to swear to levy and collect rates for the Church of England, and by then, he had become a Quaker and sought land to make his homestead.

In 1687, Thomas Powell Sr. bought more than 15 square miles in central Long Island from local Indian tribes in a land transaction know as “The Bethpage Purchase.” The area is approximately 3.5 miles east to west and 5 miles north to south. The three tribes were the Marsapeque (Massapequa), Matinecoc, and Sacatogue. This land purchase included present-day Bethpage, Old Bethpage, Farmingdale, East Farmingdale, South Farmingdale, Plainedge, Plainview, and part of Melville.

Powell called the land he purchased Bethpage, meaning “house of figs”, because it was situated between the towns of Jericho and Jerusalem, just as the biblical town of “Bethphage” was situated between Jericho and Jerusalem in Israel. Jerusalem was renamed and now known as Wantagh today.

In 1699, Powell made a second purchase called the “Rim of the Woods Purchase,” which includes land to the west of the original Bethpage Purchase, including most of present-day Bethpage and all the land in the northern section of present-day Plainedge (Boundary Avenue, north to Old Motor Parkway, and Hicksville Road east to Cedar Drive).

Powell and his first wife had eight children and after his first wife died, he remarried and with his second wife had seven children. For years the Powells prospered in Farmingdale where Thomas built his home. Powell divided up this land between his children. As the family grew and fathers divided land among their sons, the farms began to spread further away from the Thomas Powell home tract. This started the break-up of the family ownership of Bethpage, especially after Powell died in 1721/1722.

For nearly 150 years the descendants of Powell were the sole inhabitants of the Bethpage Purchase area, having a largely self-sufficient agricultural economy.

09/20/2026

BETHPAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT BEGINS ITS EXPANSION
Over the years, school enrollment again began to show a rapid increase and plans were made for additional school facilities. In 1948, the district was forced to make plans for a new school due to the ever increasing population. The Broadway School building with its 23 classrooms, was built in 1951 for all grades from K to 8. That year, the Powell Avenue school was vacant.

Pictured is Broadway and Washington Street with the Powell Avenue School and Annex in the background in 1944.

In September, 1952, it was necessary to reopen the Powell Avenue School because Farmingdale could no longer take Bethpage’s High School children, and for the first time the 9th grade students were being educated in Bethpage. Realizing the need for Bethpage to provide its own high school for its growing community, the residents voted to build their own complete school system.

In January 1953, the District voted for the new Pine Avenue Elementary School to be located in the north edge of the district where a very rapid growth in new home construction was being experienced. Construction was started and soon the Pine Avenue School, with its 22 classrooms, opened in 1954. Soon plans were being made for a large school in the south end of Bethpage. This was the Central Boulevard school which was voted on in 1954, and opened in September, 1955 with 33 classrooms.

Because of an ever increasing high school enrollment at the Broadway School, it was necessary to use half of the building for the 7th and the 8th grades and the other half for K through 6. It was decided that another school needed to be built. The Kramer Lane Elementary School, with 22 classrooms and additions to the Broadway School (22 classrooms to be added) was placed before the voters in January 1955. In September 1955, a complete Junior / Senior High School program was in operation for the first time and the first graduation took place in June 1956, with 219 graduates. Both of these new structures were opened in February, 1957.

In 1959, Bloomingdale School with 14 classrooms opened. Charles Campagne School opened in 1962 (named for Charles Campagne, a board member of long standing). The Powell Avenue School was razed and the Bethpage Public Library was built on the property and opened on July 29, 1963.

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas Texas, which stunned the nation and the world. At that time, the community of Bethpage came together to have the Bethpage Junior High School, now known as the Bethpage Middle School, named to honor President Kennedy. It became the first school in the country to claim this distinction.

Pictured is a recent picture of the John F. Kennedy Middle School and the historic marker located at the school.

09/13/2026

POWELL AVENUE SCHOOL IN CENTRAL PARK (Bethpage)

Powell Avenue School was constructed on land purchased from Mr. Nibbe around 1911. It was built on School Street which is now known as Powell Avenue. It served the community through 1960. The first building was an eight room brick structure with central heating. When it was outgrown, the building was enlarged by an addition at the rear for a total of 12 classrooms. The additions were constructed in two sections, the first section was built in 1915 and the second section was added in 1923. Later, it was supplemented by a two-room wooden annex.

The Powell Avenue School was an elementary school, K - 8. In the early years, the students went by train to high school in Mineola and later to Hicksville. When Farmingdale put up a new high school building, the trustees agreed to accept Bethpage pupils at a lower tuition rate, and transportation was provided by bus in 1931. The Farmingdale School was K - 12 and was located on Main Street.

Some of the teachers that taught at Powell Avenue School:
• Kindergarten - Mrs. Terry
• Grade 1 - Mrs. Lacker
• Grade 2 - Miss Dick
• Grade 3 - Mrs. Moulton
• Grade 4 - Mrs. Allen
• Grade 5 - Mrs. Gesslein
• Grade 6 - Miss Hartz
• Grade 7 - Miss Callahan
• Grade 8 - Mrs. Dunton

Pictured is the Powell School class of 1922. (Courtesy Joyce Calo.)

Pictured is the historic marker located in front of the Bethpage Public Library on Powell Avenue today.

09/11/2026

Today is the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. We remember the heroes and all the lives lost, we honor the sacrifices made on that day and the ongoing sacrifices made because of 9/11.
We will never forget.

Address

47 Powell Avenue
Bethpage, NY
11714

Website

http://www.BethpageHistory.org/

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