Nassau News

Click here for a map of Hempstead Village points of interest.

But, when many Long Islanders think about taking a step back in time, one place that may not jump immediately to mind for a heritage vacation is Hempstead Village.

With a history of celebrity residents, status as a major fashion capital of Long Island, as well as being a major transportation center, Hempstead Village may be a place for Long Islanders wanting to connect to their earlier roots, and look toward new beginnings.

Hempstead Village was part of a land purchase from the natives in 1643 by a "committee" of settlers from Stamford, Conn., including John Carman and Rev. Robert Fordham, in an attempt to find a place of escape from warring native tribes.

A little later in its history, Hempstead was a town of "tories," -- the name given to Americans loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War.

The British attempted to occupy Hempstead Village after the Battle of Long Island, using the St. George Church, located at 319 Front Street, where it still remains today, as a "headquarters as well as a place to worship."

Though the St. George Church may stand (after being rebuilt in 1822), the area today is quite different demographically from its Tory days.

With a population of about 56,000 people, a large increase since 1910 where Hempstead Village had just around 5,000 inhabitants, (according to Appendix 9, "The Roots and Heritage of Hempstead Town," 1994; p. 227) Hempstead Village is now home to a majority of African-American and Hispanic residents (52.5% and 31.8%, respectively, according to the 1999 Census of Hempstead Village.)

Instead of local "Tory" hangouts, Hempstead Village now contains a metro bus transportation hub, a terminal on the Long Island Rail Road and a large number of bodegas (small convenience stores), ethnic eateries and shops.

While people back in the 1600's may have spoken English in Hempstead Village, over 37 percent of today's residents suggest Spanish is the preferred language spoken at home.

Celebs in Hempstead

Though few may know it, Hempstead Village has been a place that has attracted celebrities for years.

According to Geri E. Solomon, assistant dean for special collections and university archivist of Hofstra University, Hempstead Village was home to Elliot Roosevelt, who was Eleanor Roosevelt's father, as well as August Belmont, and of course, Mr. and Mrs. William Hofstra, the founders of Hofstra University.

The well-known actor, director, writer and composer Lionel Barrymore also called Hempstead Village home, as did Gwendolyn Bennett, an "African-American writer and artist" (according to Natalie A. Naylor, professor emerita, Hofstra University) as well as American revolutionary leaders.

Town folklore has George Washington stopped overnight in Hempstead Village to visit Sammis Tavern, even though some, including Professor Naylor use Washington's own diary entry (and the fact that tavern owner Nehemiah Sammis was a "noted Tory,") to suggest that Washington actually stopped at a local resident's house opposite Sammis Tavern instead, and not the actual tavern itself.

According to the Hempstead Village Chamber of Commerce, by 1843, Hempstead Village was known as the "Hub" due to its status as a great trading market.

At this time, the little town had changed from a farming area to a "principle place of mercantile and mechanical business in this part of the country."

Prior to the opening of the Roosevelt Field mall in 1956, "the Hub,'' was described as "much more upscale that it is today," said Joan Kent, Town of North Hempstead Village historian for over a decade.

According to Ms. Naylor in the "Encyclopedia of New York State," Hempstead operated as the business and commercial center of the county, with multi-story apartments and department stores by the 1930s.

Additionally, Hempstead Village became a shopping capital on Long Island, supporting A&S, Grants, Woolworth's and a number of "mom-and-pop" operations.

Before it was popular for everyone to own a motor vehicle, the bus was a great way to get around, and the island's largest bus terminal, located in the heart of Hempstead Village, made it easy for people to commute into this center of commerce and culture from all parts of New York.

Since the building and opening of Roosevelt Field Mall, there have been many changes for Hempstead Village.

It is the belief of some historians, like Ms. Naylor, that the mall made it impossible for many local Hempstead Village shopping institutions to stay open because they could not compete with the excitement, advertising, sales and "buzz" that surrounded the new shopping complex.

Others, like Ms. Solomon, note that Roosevelt Field Mall "coexisted with the stores of Hempstead Village for 10 to 15 years," before a great economic decline was seen in that area, leading to an uncertainty over whether "there was a situation of cause and effect" between the mall and the village.

Ms. Solomon attributed the decline more toward the development of other towns, suggesting that "one of the causes of the demise of "The Hub" could have been because "other towns grew and people called for services closer to their homes."

Economically, Hempstead Village has seen some definite changes since 1956. Today, compared to the United States percentage of 12.4 percent of people who fall below the poverty level, in Hempstead Village around 17.7 percent of the village’s residents are in this economic bracket.

Some experts, like Ms. Naylor and Ms. Solomon, feel that the poverty level in Hempstead Village may closely correlate to the quality of education available for those in the Hempstead Village school district.

Socio-economic class, as Ms. Naylor suggests, is most likely to blame for the fact that Hempstead Village is "towards the bottom in terms of [educational] achievement levels." According to Solomon, the economics of Hempstead Village school district could also be due to low "expenditures per pupil" in the area and "ESL [English as a Second Language] issues".

While this may be a problem for the area, both Ms. Naylor and Ms. Solomon agree that Hempstead Village is unfairly portrayed in the media, which tends to focus on crime and low education levels rather than positive changes for the area, leading some, like Hofstra undergraduate student Kelly Hayward, to "not feel safe in Hempstead Village."

As Ms. Solomon explained, "Anytime you have that sort of perception, even if it doesn't correlate to reality, then you have a problem."

Though some may see immigrant diversity as a negative, the increase in the area's Hispanic population, has led to a "wonderful undercurrent of culture and dance in the Hispanic communities that not many people know about," said Solomon. Now, there are groups "performing on a regular basis," such as the Tango Lover's Society, "Columbian performances," and "a ton of different ethnicities that have brought their dance and music groups" to Hempstead Village as a way of preserving their national pride, she said.

Ms. Solomon notes that the African-American community, through the African-American Museum, as well as historic communities in the Hempstead Village area, are also "trying to flourish" through organized programs and exhibits at Hempstead Village library. As Ms. Solomon further explained, "I think the long- time residents have a sense of history and pride, and those go hand in hand."

Still others see Hempstead Village as a place that will be changing rapidly in the next few years. With large commercial development plans like the establishment of "500 condominiums priced at market rates," as originally reported by the New York Times, Hempstead Village may be seeing lots more changes in the decades to come.

These developing transformations for Hempstead Village have led some, like and 21-year-old Hofstra undergraduate student and three-year Hempstead Village resident, Rachel Zabinski, to feel that that Hempstead Village "has improved," making her "feel safer" because of "the positive changes" to the area."

Before there were any of us, there was Hempstead Village, a place rich in American cultural history. Though many things have changed, one thing remains the same, most Long Islanders are tied to the area in one way or another, whether they realize it or not, and for many of us, we do not have to look any further than this town to get a sense of our history as well as a peek into our possibly changing future.

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