Huntington Village Apts history

Rogers and David C. Brush had opened the Suffolk Hotel just to the west of the corner lot in 1840.

In 1852, the Odd Fellows Hall was re-dedicated as Euterpean Hall (The Long-Islander, November 12, 1852). The location of this hall has not been determined yet.

According to the 1860 agricultural census, Rogers grew a variety of crops: wheat, rye, oats, Indian corn, Irish potatoes, barley buckwheat and hay.

Miles leased the old store to Baylis & Wells starting in 1862.

In 1865, Timothy Baylis purchased the property apparently for his son Hiram Vail Baylis, one of the partners operating the store.

The school had started in the basement of St John’s Church on Park Avenue in 1881.

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 12, 1888, an employee of the Brush firm noticed smoke rising from the rear of the post office, which was in the middle of the block.

But the 1895 trolley strike in Brooklyn, during which Troop A of neighboring New York City was called in to help control, “demonstrated the value of cavalry for State service, and the need of an organization in Brooklyn.”

The Long-Islander, March 25, 1899

In 1903, Huntington celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding.

The first classes in the new building were held just four months later on December 2, 1905.

By 1909, Troop C had a membership of 150 and a waiting list twice as long.

They started with only a handful of horses and by 1912 had 300 of the finest quality military horses in the country.

On October 30, 1919, Troop K was transferred to Brooklyn.

The Long-Islander, November 4, 1921

A 1924 newspaper article in the “Plainview” column refers to it as being “on the Jericho Turnpike near Huntington.” So it may have been in Nassau County.

The Long-Islander, March 20, 1925

After the hotel was torn down in 1927, the second floor rooms were converted to office use.

How did this commercial building end up in a residential neighborhood? Ben Tasman, one of the first glaziers in the Town of Huntington, acquired the almost half acre property in 1928.

Thomas’ two brothers, Walter and Joseph, joined him and in 1929 incorporated as Thomas H. Gorman Brothers, Inc.

The Long-Islander, March 30, 1934

According to William Stefurak, who joined the Squadron in 1936, older members mentioned Roosevelt’s visits.

The rest of the third floor was removed in 1937 when the Long Island Lighting Company extensively rebuilt that part of the building.

While the men were training at Fort Devens in April 1942, club officials came up and told them to sign their rights to the Farm over to Squadron C Cavalry Club.

The new incarnation was known as Raay-Nor’s Inn, the north shore companion to Baldwin’s Raay-Nor’s Cabin, which opened in 1946.

In 1949, the Irish American Club held its first Irish Field Day at the Farm.

In fact, the Huntington school district in 1955 had a referendum to approve the purchase of 54 acres of the Farm to build a new high school to replace the crowded Main Street school (now Huntington Town Hall). The voters rejected the proposal by a vote of 1162 to 848.

M&D made coats on the premises and sold at factory prices, or as they advertised in 1958 “A little out of the way; less to pay.” According to Building Department records, in 1958, the roof on the building was re-shingled, the rotted cornices replaced and the building was painted.

Squadron Hill is a 1960 subdivision located about a half mile west of Huntington village.

Rough Riders Farm, Inc filed a subdivision map with the county on June 4, 1964.

In 1965, the Town purchased the building to help alleviate crowding at the Old Town Hall building.

The first residents of Squadron Hill’s new incarnation arrived in 1966.

The current owner acquired the property in 2000 and the upper floor is now the production studio of a shop that sells monogrammed gifts.

Posted in Historic Buildings, Huntington Village, tagged David W. Trainer, Euterpean Hall, Suffolk Hotel, Town Meetings on December 4, 2012| 1 Comment »