Chronological History of Amityville

The following is a chronological history of Amityville by Village Historian William T. Lauder and the Amityville Historical Society:

1653 Huntington settlers traveled to the south shore for salt hay

1658 1st deed to Amityville south of Merrick Road obtained from Chief Wyandance

1664 King Charles II gave our area to his brother, James, Duke of York

1692 Further deeds obtained by Ketcham, Platt, Chichester and Conklin

1776 General Washington lost battle of Long Island, and we fell under British military rule with foraging parties and hunts for deserters covering the area

1784 First Methodist Church organized and opened on Kings Highway/Merrick Rd.

1790 President George Washington visited and had dinner at Zebulon Ketcham's.

1812 During the war, our school district No. 23 was created

1816 First Public School building erected in Village, on Merrick Road

1836 There were 75 homes, two general stores, two mills, a blacksmith, one shoe shop, a stage stop, tavern, school, a church, and 117 school age children

1840 Our area was called Huntington West Neck South or West Neck South, and the Post Office was at Carmen's Lane and Main Street (Merrick Road)

1846 Name changed to Amityville after a noisy public meeting

1850 A Post Office designated Amityville opened NE corner, Main and Broadway

1854 A new school house was built on west side of Broadway, north of Wanser Pl.

1856 Col. Richard J. Cornelius, former School Board Clerk and Town Assessor, was our NY State Assemblyman, one of two from Suffolk County

1860 Our population reached 1000

1861 Company E of the 127th Infantry Regiment recruited here for war

1867 The South Side Railway (LIRR) began operations in Amityville

1869 Simpson Methodist Church established on North Broadway

1872 We become part of the new Town of Babylon formed out of Huntington; a new school built on Park Avenue, and District 23, became number 6

1881 John Louden opened the L. I. Home for Nervous Invalids

1884 Amityville experienced an earthquake which cracked building walls

1886 St. Mary's Episcopal Parish established; Louden Hall opened

1886 First real Fire House was built; now located on north side of Ireland Place

1887 Brunswick Home, later Hospital, opened

1888 First woman ran for school board: Phoebe E. Ketcham received one vote.

1889 The newspaper, Dispatch, published; The Chronical also circulated 1890; the Jewish community commenced organized worship

1891 The Bank of Amityville opened as the first bank in the Town of Babylon

1892 Ireland Place and Greene Avenue opened; The Triangle Building and The Lyceum built; Albertson's Drug Store opened

1893 New Point Hotel built; seven students graduated from grammar school; population, 1800; air temperature fell to one degree above zero

1894 Village incorporated [March 3rd]; Charles Wood, first President (Mayor); new red brick school house built on Park Avenue; diphtheria epidemic

1895 New school opened and integrated; free books furnished the following year.

1897 St. Martin's Catholic Church opened

1897 New York State's first Social Club, The Amityville Club founded

1898 First High School class graduated; lightning struck school bell tower; Teddy Roosevelt visited

1900 Unqua Corinthian Yacht Club opened on land donated by J. E. Ireland

1904 Henry deLanguillette, founder and owner of Dispatch, sold newspaper to Charles F. Delano, who renamed it the Record and owned it until he died

1906 Tramp Steamer Bodo, known as the Banana Boat, ran aground off Amityville

1907 First National Bank & Trust Co. opened; extension to school approved; William Skinner elected first president of Library Board

1908 School bell tower hit again by lightning and caught fire; Steamship Roda ran aground off Amityville

1909 Bank of Amityville opened new building, now Lauder Museum; trolley to Halesite opened with Assemblyman Al Smith, guest speaker

1910 Hathaway Inn and Hotel opened on the bay

1911 Amityville Sun, later the Long Island Sun, founded by Paul Bailey

1914 First kindergarten class began; there was a shortage of coal due to war

1916 Lawrence Sperry launched first unmanned guided missile from Amityville; School bell tower torn down, Ireland Mill closed down

1917 US at war, and 171 joined up; school extension finally completed

1919 Prohibition; local bayman became Rum Runners; Al Capone summered here.

1920 Children first bussed to school; Clock at Triangle dedicated to World War I vets

1923 New High School (Park South) built and dedicated in 1924

1924 New Village Hall, Fire House & Police Station built at 16 Greene Avenue

1925 Electric trains came to Amityville

1927 New Library building built on west side of Broadway, opposite Avon Place

1929 First National Bank moved to new building, corner of Greene and Broadway.

1930 St. Paul's Lutheran Church opened

1930 School completed condemnation and removal of old cemetery on Park Ave.

1932 Sunrise Highway extended through Amityville, Park Central School built.

1938 A hurricane hit Amityville causing extensive damage

1940 Village Beach opened on land formerly of Alfred G. Vanderbilt estate; population, 5058 in Village and 24,297 in Town

1941 Pearl Harbor and US at war; 650+ from Amityville area in military service.

1950 Memorial High School built on Merrick Road

1955 Oak Street extended west; Eisenhower, President; Korean War ended

1959 Broadway widened through Village, wiping out most of the east-side businesses.

1960s Bank takeovers and failures; Columbia Savings Bank opened

1962 Middle School built; later named in memory of teacher, Edmund Miles

1968 President Richard M. Nixon and Governor Nelson Rockefeller visited.

1969 Village 75 years old; Amityville Historical Society formed

1971 New Library built on Oak Street; Mount Clear Baptist Church opened

1972 Lauder Museum opened by Amityville Historical Society

1973 LIRR tracks elevated over Broadway; business district refurbished

1977 New fire house built on Oak Street, west of John Street

1978 16 Greene Avenue Police Headquarters refurbished with separate courtroom

1986 Amityville Theater closed and converted into office space

1988 Gazebo installed at Triangle; clock rededicated to all military veterans

1994 Triangle designated Memorial Triangle to all who have served the Village; Clock rededicated to D-Day 1944; time capsule buried at school; Municipal Building renamed William J. Kay Memorial Building; a year-long celebration of 100th anniversary of incorporation of Village