Situated on western Long Island, theCounty of Nassau borders New York City'sborough ofQueens to its west, and Long Island'sSuffolk County to its east. It is the most densely populated and second-most populous county in theState of New York outside of New York City, with which it maintains extensiverail and highway connectivity, and is considered one of the central counties within theNew York metropolitan area.
A 2012Forbes article based on theAmerican Community Survey reported Nassau County as the most expensive county and one of the highest income counties in the U.S., and the most affluent in New York state, with four of the nation's top ten towns by median income located in the county.[9] As of 2024, the median home price overall in Nassau County is approximately US$800,000, while theGold Coast of Nassau County features some of the world's most expensive real estate.
Several alternate names had been considered for the county, including "Bryant", "Matinecock" (a village within the county currently has that name), "Norfolk" (presumably because of the proximity to Suffolk County), and "Sagamore".[12] However, "Nassau" had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself,[13] and was the name most mentioned after the new county was proposed in 1875.[14][15][16]
The area now designated as Nassau County was originally the eastern 70% ofQueens County, one of the original twelvecounties formed in 1683, and was then contained within two towns:Hempstead andOyster Bay. In 1784, the Town of North Hempstead, was formed throughsecession by the northern portions of the Town of Hempstead. Nassau County was formed in 1899 by the division of Queens County, after the western portion of Queens had become a borough of New York City in 1898, as the three easternmost towns seceded from the county.
When the firstEuropean settlers arrived, among theNative Americans to occupy the present area of Nassau County were theMarsapeque, Matinecoc, and Sacatogue.Dutch settlers inNew Netherland predominated in the western portion of Long Island, while English settlers from Connecticut occupied the eastern portion. Until 1664, Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau and Suffolk counties, between the Dutch in the west and Connecticut claiming the east. The Dutch did grant an English settlement in Hempstead (now in western Nassau), but drove settlers from the present-day eastern Nassauhamlet ofOyster Bay as part of a boundary dispute. In 1664, all of Long Island became part of the EnglishProvince of New York within theShire of York. Present-day Queens and Nassau were then just part of a larger North Riding. In 1683, the colonial territory ofYorkshire was dissolved, Suffolk County and Queens County were established, and the local seat of government was moved west from Hempstead to Jamaica (now inNew York City).[17]
By 1700, virtually none of Long Island's area remained unpurchased from the Native Americans by the English colonists, and townships controlled whatever land had not already been distributed.[18] The courthouse in Jamaica was torn down by the British during theAmerican Revolution to use the materials to build barracks.[19]
In 1784, following theAmerican Revolutionary War, the Town of Hempstead was split in two, whenPatriots in the northern part formed the newTown of North Hempstead, leavingLoyalist majorities in the Town of Hempstead. About 1787, a new Queens County Courthouse was erected (and later completed) in the new Town of North Hempstead, near present-dayMineola (now in Nassau County), known then as Clowesville.[20][21][23][24]
TheLong Island Rail Road reached as far east asHicksville in 1837, but did not proceed toFarmingdale until 1841 due to thePanic of 1837. The 1850 census was the first in which the combined population of the three western towns (Flushing, Jamaica, and Newtown) exceeded that of the three eastern towns that are now part of Nassau County. Concerns were raised about the condition of the old courthouse and the inconvenience of travel and accommodations, with the three eastern and three western towns divided on the location for the construction of a new one.[25] Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved toLong Island City from Mineola.[24][26][27] As early as 1875, representatives of the three eastern towns began advocating the separation of the three eastern towns from Queens, with some proposals also including the towns ofHuntington and Babylon (in Suffolk County).[14][15][16]
In 1898, the western portion of Queens County became a borough of theCity of Greater New York, leaving the eastern portion a part of Queens County but not part of the Borough of Queens. As part of the city consolidation plan, all town, village, and city (other than NYC) governments within the borough were dissolved, as well as the county government with its seat in Jamaica. The areas excluded from the consolidation included all of the Town of North Hempstead, all of the Town of Oyster Bay, and most of the Town of Hempstead (excluding theRockaway Peninsula, which was separated from the Town of Hempstead and became part of the city borough).
In 1899, following approval from theNew York State Legislature, the three towns were separated from Queens County, and the new county of Nassau was constituted.
In preparation for the new county, in November 1898, voters had selectedMineola to become the county seat for the new county[28] (before Mineola incorporated as a village in 1906 and set its boundaries almost entirely within the Town of North Hempstead), winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead.[29]
The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs ofAlexander Turney Stewart)[30] donated four acres of land for the county buildings in the Town of Hempstead, just south of the Mineola train station and the present day village of Mineola.[31] The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present dayVillage of Garden City,[32] which did not incorporate, nor set its boundaries, until 1919.
In 1917,[33] the hamlet ofGlen Cove was granted a city charter, making it independent from the Town of Oyster Bay. In 1918, the village ofLong Beach was incorporated in the Town of Hempstead. In 1922, it became a city, making it independent of the town. These are the only twoadministrative divisions in Nassau County identified as cities.
From the early 1900s until the Depression and the early 1930s, many hilly farmlands on the North Shore were transformed into luxurious country estates for wealthy New Yorkers, with the area receiving the"Gold Coast" moniker and becoming the setting ofF. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novelThe Great Gatsby. One summer resident of the Gold Coast was PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, atSagamore Hill. In 1908,William Kissam Vanderbilt constructed theLong Island Motor Parkway as atoll road through Nassau County. With overpasses and bridges to remove intersections, it was among the firstlimited access motor highways in the world, and was also used as a racecourse to test the capabilities of the fledgling automobile industry.
Nassau County, with its extensive flat land, was the site of manyaviation firsts.[34] Military aviators for both World Wars were trained on theHempstead Plains at installations such asMitchel Air Force Base, and a number of successful aircraft companies were established.Charles Lindbergh took off for Paris fromRoosevelt Field in 1927, completing the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight from the United States.Grumman (which in 1986 employed 23,000 people on Long Island[35]) built many planes forWorld War II, and later contributed theApollo Lunar Module to the Space program.[34]
TheUnited Nations Security Council was temporarily located in Nassau County, from 1946 till 1951. Council meetings were held at theSperry Gyroscope headquarters in the village ofLake Success, near the border with Queens County. It was here that on June 27, 1950, the Security Council voted to back U.S. PresidentHarry S Truman and send acoalition of forces to theKorean Peninsula, leading to theKorean War.
Until World War II, most of Nassau County was still farmland, particularly in the eastern portion. Following the war, the county saw an influx of people from thefive boroughs of New York City, especially from Brooklyn and Queens, who left their urban dwellings for a more suburban setting. This led to a massive population boom in the county. In 1947,William Levitt built his firstplanned community in Nassau County, in the Island Trees section (later renamedLevittown; this should not be confused with the county's first planned community, which in general isGarden City). In the 1930s,Robert Moses had engineered curvingparkways and parks such asJones Beach State Park andBethpage State Park for the enjoyment of city-dwellers; in the 1950s and 1960s the focus turned to alleviating commuter traffic.
In 1994, Federal Judge Arthur Spatt declared the Nassau County Board of Supervisors unconstitutional and directed that a 19-member legislature be formed.[36] Republicans won 13 seats in the election and choseBruce Blakeman as the first Presiding Officer (Speaker).[37]
According to aForbes magazine 2012 survey, residents of Nassau County have the 12th highest median household annual income in the country and the highest in the state.[9] In the 1990s, however, Nassau County experienced substantial budget problems, forcing the county to nearbankruptcy. Thus, the county government increased taxes to prevent a takeover by the state of New York, leading to the county having highproperty taxes. Nevertheless, on January 27, 2011, a State of New York oversight board seized control of Nassau County's finances, saying the wealthy and heavily taxed county had failed to balance its $2.6 billion budgets.[38]
Nighttime aerial view of much of the density of Nassau County, from the west-northwest;Hempstead is in the center, with roads projecting out in various directions; bridges toJones Beach Island are at the upper right. TheGrand Central Parkway–Cross Island Parkway interchange, barely visible at the lower left, is just outside the county, withinQueens.Greenery of theNorth Shore of Nassau County, looking west. TheCow Neck Peninsula is visible as the first peninsula at the center, withManhasset Bay immediately above it andHempstead Harbor immediately below it.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453.2 square miles (1,174 km2), of which 284.7 square miles (737 km2) is land and 168.5 square miles (436 km2) (37%) is water.[39]
Nassau County borders theLong Island Sound on the north and the openAtlantic Ocean on the south. The highest point in the county isHarbor Hill on the north shore. The county occupies a portion of Long Island immediately east of the New York City borough of Queens. It isdivided into two cities and three towns, the latter of which contain 64 villages and numerous hamlets. The county bordersConnecticut across the Long Island Sound.
Between the1990 U.S. census and the2000 U.S. census, the Nassau County exchanged territory with Suffolk County and lost territory to Queens County.[40] Dozens of CDPs had boundaries changed, and 12 new CDPs were listed.[40]
Nassau County has a climate similar to other coastal areas of theNortheastern United States; it has warm, humid summers and cool, wet winters. The county's climate is classified ashumid subtropical (Cfa) according to theKöppen climate classification. According to theTrewartha climate classification the climate is oceanic (Do) since six to seven months average above 50″F (10″C). The Atlantic Ocean helps bring afternoon sea breezes that temper the heat in the warmer months and limit the frequency and severity of thunderstorms. Nassau County has a moderately sunny climate, averaging between 2,400 and 2,800 hours ofsunshine annually.[41] Thehardiness zone is 7b.[42]
In July 2017, the approval was granted by state legislators to the plan proposed byNew York GovernorAndrew Cuomo to add a third railroad track to theLong Island Rail Road corridor between the communities ofFloral Park andHicksville in Nassau County. The nearly US$2 billiontransportation infrastructure enhancement project was expected to accommodate anticipated growth in rail ridership and facilitate commutes between New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.[45]
Nassau County also has a public bus network known asNICE (Nassau Inter-County Express, formerly MTA Long Island Bus) that operates routes throughout the county into Queens and Suffolk counties. 24 hour service is provided on the n4, n6, and most recently the n40/41 lines.
U.S. Decennial Census[47] 1790–1960[48] 1900–1990[49] 1990–2000[50] 2010–2020[1]
At the 2019American Community Survey, the population of Nassau County stood at 1,356,924, an increase of 17,392 since the 2010 census.[51] At the2010 U.S. census, there were 1,339,532 people, 448,528 households, and 340,523 families residing in the county. The population of Nassau County was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to have increased by 2.2% to 1,369,514 in 2017, representing 6.9% of the census-estimated State of New York population of 19,849,399[52] and 17.4% of the census-estimated Long Island population of 7,869,820.[53][54][55][56] At the2000 United States census, there were 1,334,544 people, 447,387 households, and 347,172 families residing in the county.
In 2010, there were 340,523 family households. 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 60.0% were married couples living together. 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present. 24.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals. 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94. The average family size was 3.38.[57]
In 2010, the population was 23.3% under the age of 18. 18.7% were 62 years of age or older. The median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.[57] In 2019, there were 474,165 housing units and 446,977 family households.[58] From 2015 to 2019, there was an average of 2.99 persons per household, and 21.4% of the population was under 18 years of age.
At the 2019 American Community Survey, Nassau had a median household income of $116,100. The per capita income was $51,422. About 5.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.[58] The median income for a household in the county in 2010 was $72,030. and the median income for a family was $81,246. These figures had risen to $87,658 and $101,661 respectively according to a 2007 estimate.[59] Males had a median income of $52,340 versus $37,446 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $32,151. About 3.50% of families and 5.20% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 5.80% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.
Thepopulation density in 2010 was 4,700 people per square mile (1,800 people/km2). In 2000, the population density was 4,655 inhabitants per square mile (1,797/km2). In the 2010 census, there were 468,346 housing units at an average density of 1,598 per square mile (617/km2).
†American Indian, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander make up just 0.5% of the population of Long Island, and have been included with "Other".
H Mart inJericho – one of the busiest H Mart stores on Long Island and one of the busiest Asian-grocery stores outsideAsia
In 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 73.0% White (65.5%non-Hispanic white), 10.1%African American, 0.2%Native American, 7.6%Asian (3.0% Indian, 1.8% Chinese, 1.0% Korean, 0.7% Filipino, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Vietnamese, 0.9% Other Asian), 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.6% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.Hispanics orLatinos of any race were 15.6% of the population.[57] In 2019, Nassau County's racial and ethnic makeup was 58.2% non-Hispanic white, 11.3% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 10.3% Asian, 0.7% some other race, and 1.9% two or more races. The Hispanic and Latin American population increased to 17.5% of the population.[61]
Nassau County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
In 2011, there were about 230,000Jewish people in Nassau County,[71] representing 17.2% of the population, (as compared to 2% of the total U.S. population).Italian Americans also made up a large portion of Nassau's population. The five most reported ancestries were Italian (23%),Irish (14%),German (7%),Indian (5%), andPolish (4%). The county's population was highest at the1970 U.S. census. More recently, aLittle India community has emerged inHicksville, Nassau County,[72] spreading eastward from the more established Little India enclaves in Queens. Rapidly growingChinatowns have developed inBrooklyn andQueens,[73][74][75] as did earlier European immigrants, such as the Irish and Italians.
County police services are provided by theNassau County Police Department. The cities ofGlen Cove andLong Beach, as well as a number of villages, are not members of the county police district and maintain their own police forces. The following village police departments exist in Nassau County: Brookville (Brookville P.D. provides police protection for Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck), Centre Island, Floral Park, Freeport, Garden City, Great Neck Estates, Hempstead, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Lynbrook, Malverne, Muttontown-Upper Brookville, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Oyster Bay Cove, Rockville Centre and Sands Point.
ThePort Washington Police District is not a village department but is authorized by a special district, the only such district in the State of New York. These smaller forces make use of such specialized county police services as the police academy and the aviation unit. All homicides in the county are investigated by the county police, regardless of whether or not they occur within the police district.
In June 2011, the Muttontown Police Department commenced operations. The Old Brookville Police had formerly provided police services to the Village of Muttontown.
On June 1, 2022, the Old Brookville Police Department reverted to serving only the Village of Old Brookville and moved its headquarters to the grounds of the Old Brookville village hall. The Village of Brookville formed a new police department, established headquarters on the grounds of the Brookville Nature Park and assumed policing duties for the villages of Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck, that were formerly served by the Old Brookville Police Department. The Village of Upper Brookville joined the Muttontown Police Department which was subsequently renamed the Muttontown-Upper Brookville (MUB) Police Department. The former Old Brookville Police headquarters is now the Upper Brookville village hall and also a substation for the Muttontown-Upper Brookville Police Department.
In 2006, village leaders in the county seat ofMineola expressed dissatisfaction with the level of police coverage provided by the county force and actively explored seceding from the police district and having the village form its own police force. A referendum in December 2006 decisively defeated the proposal.[85]
The Nassau County Police Department posts the mug shots ofDWI offenders as press releases on their website. This practice has come under the scrutiny of residents, media, and those pictured in these press releases. This practice has been criticized as being able to cost potential employees, students, or public figures their positions.[86]
The Nassau County Auxiliary Police are a unit of theNassau County Police Department. These volunteer police officers are assigned to 1 of 38 localcommunity units and perform routine patrols of the neighborhood. They provide traffic control for local parades, races and other community events. Auxiliary Police officers are empowered to make arrests for crimes that occur in their presence.
Nassau County Auxiliary Police are required to complete a 42-week training course at the Nassau County Police Academy. Qualified officers are offered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training. Auxiliary Police officers are certified and registered by the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services as full-time "peace officers". TheCity of Long Beach has an independentauxiliary police force which is part of its municipal police force. These officers are represented by the Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association of Long Island.
Nassau County is currently protected and served by 71 independentvolunteer or combination paid/volunteer fire departments, organized into 9 battalions. The Nassau County Fire Commission also provides logistical support to all 71 departments.[87]
1st Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
100
Bellerose Village
110
Bellerose Terrace
120
Floral Park
130
Floral Park Centre
140
Garden City
150
Garden City Park
160
Mineola
170
New Hyde Park
180
South Floral Park
190
Stewart Manor
2nd Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
200
Baldwin
210
Freeport
220
Village of Island Park
230
Long Beach
240
Oceanside
250
Point Lookout-Lido
3rd Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
300
Hewlett
310
Inwood
320
Lawrence Cedarhurst
330
Meadowmere Park
340
Valley Stream
350
Woodmere
4th Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
400
East Rockaway
410
Lakeview
420
Lynbrook
430
Malverne
440
Rockville Centre
Roslyn Highlands Fire Department inRoslyn Heights in 2012.
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: August 2024 mask ban. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024)
The head of the county's governmental structure is the county executive, a post created in Nassau County in 1938. The current county executive isBruce Blakeman, aRepublican who was elected in 2021. The chief deputy county executive is Republican Arthur Walsh. The district attorney isRepublican Anne T. Donnelly, who was elected in 2021, replacing Acting District Attorney Joyce Smith. Smith succeededMadeline Singas after she was nominated and confirmed as an associate judge on theNew York Court of Appeals in June 2021.
The countycomptroller isElaine Phillips, a Republican who formerly served in theNew York State Senate. Thecounty clerk is RepublicanMaureen O'Connell. Former elected offices chairman of the County Board of Assessors, county treasurer, and county sheriff were made appointed and serve at the pleasure of the county executive (county assessor in 2008 via referendum, changing it from a six-year term to appointed).[88]
The chief deputy county executive[89] is the highest appointed official in the Nassau County government, serving second-in-command under the auspice of the county executive. The Chief Deputy is responsible for managing the activities of all departments of the Nassau County government, which provides services to its 1.36 million residents. The chief deputy also officially serves as the acting county executive in the absence of, or disability of the County Executive. The current chief deputy county executive is Arthur T. Walsh, who was appointed by Executive Bruce Blakeman in 2022.
The comptroller of Nassau County is thechief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the County who presides over the Nassau County Comptroller's Office. The comptroller is elected countywide to a four-year term and has no term limit.
Nassau County Comptrollers (Nassau County Comptroller's Office)
For most of the twentieth century, residents of Nassau County and neighboringSuffolk County primarily supported the Republican Party in national elections. In presidential elections during the first half of the century, the Republican candidate often received more than twice as many votes as the Democratic candidate. Between the county's incorporation in 1899 and the 1980s, Democrats only won Nassau County in the elections of1912 (whereTheodore Roosevelt'sProgressive Party split the Republican vote) and1964 (whereLyndon B. Johnson won in a landslide).
The county began trending Democratic in the 1990s, like many of New York City's suburbs. From 1992 to 2020, it voted for a Democrat in every presidential election.Bill Clinton carried the county in1992 and1996, as didAl Gore in2000, the latter two times by margins of nearly 20 points.John Kerry's margin in Nassau County was considerably slimmer (5.6 points) in2004, as he won the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead but lost the town of Oyster Bay. The county went solidly forBarack Obama in2008 and2012, both times by around 8 points.Hillary Clinton did marginally worse in2016, winning by 6 points.Joe Biden in2020 fared better than Obama to win the county by 9.5 percentage points, but still not as well as Bill Clinton and Gore.
The streak Democratic candidates carrying the county ended in2024, asDonald Trump carried the county by over four percentage points, the first time Nassau was won by a Republican presidential candidate since1988.[91]
Republican voters are primarily concentrated in the middle to upper middle class southeastern portion of the county, which developed during the "post-war boom era". Heavily Republican communities such asMassapequa,Massapequa Park,Seaford,Wantagh,Levittown,Bethpage, andFarmingdale are the political base of many county GOP officials such as former CongressmanPeter T. King and former County ExecutiveEdward P. Mangano. In the western portion of the county, wealthyGarden City is solidly Republican, as is the middle-class community ofFloral Park. Additionally, some of the more rustic areas of the North Shore, particularly in the Town ofOyster Bay usually vote for the GOP.
Areas of the county containing large numbers of swing voters includeEast Meadow,Oceanside, andRockville Centre on the South Shore andMineola on the North Shore. Several areas have changed in partisan affiliation. Formerly Democratic strongholds such as theFive Towns and parts ofGreat Neck have trended to the GOP while previously Republican areas such asElmont,Valley Stream andBaldwin have become Democratic bastions.
Education features strongly in Nassau County's culture.[citation needed]
Nassau County has 58 publicschool districts,[92] which like post office districts use the same names as a city, hamlet, or village within them, but each sets the boundaries independently.[93] School district and community are not the same, and residences often have postal addresses that differ from the hamlet and/or school district in which they are located. Several of Nassau County's school districts are among the highest ranked public school systems in the country,[citation needed] including theJericho Union Free School District,Great Neck Public Schools, and theSyosset Central School District.
Nassau County is home to theNew York Islanders of theNational Hockey League, who played at theNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum inUniondale from their inception in 1972. However, the Islanders announced in 2012 that starting in the fall of 2015, the team would be moving toBrooklyn and would play at theBarclays Center. Due to issues with Barclays Center being unable to adequately support ice hockey and declining attendance, the Islanders announced that for the2018–19 season they would split their home games between Barclays Center and the newly renovatedNassau Coliseum. In December 2017, the Islanders won a bid to build a new 18,000-seat arena nearBelmont Park inElmont, returning them to Nassau County;UBS Arena opened in 2021.
TheBrooklyn Nets of theNational Basketball Association, then known as the New York Nets, formerly played their home games in Nassau County at the now-demolishedIsland Garden arena inWest Hempstead from 1969 to 1972 and then at the Coliseum from 1972 to 1977, before the franchise moved to New Jersey—its original home for several years before coming to Long Island in the late 1960s – and eventually, to Brooklyn.
The first case ofCOVID-19 was reported in March 2020.[97] As of January 12, 2021, there have been 104,078 cases, 3,044 deaths, 2,102,900 tests conducted, and a 4.9% positivity rate.[98] According toThe New York Times' COVID-19 tracker, Nassau County's average daily case count is 1,567 (116 per capita), with 1 in 13 testing positive (the third-worst of any county in the state) and 1 in 545 dying.[99]
In August 2024, Nassau County passed into law a ban on wearing face masks in public, making it a misdemeanor subject to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison to wear a facial covering in public, a move that was criticized by theNew York Civil Liberties Union as a "dangerous misuse of the law to score political points."[100] The law does not apply to facial coverings "worn to protect the health or safety of the wearer," but does appear to ban wearing a mask in order to protect the health or safety of others, including persons withcompromised immune systems.[100]
^Nassau County Atlas, 6th Large Scale Edition, Hagstrom Map Company, Inc., 1999
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties.Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^Toy, Vivian S. (March 30, 2003)."For Sale: Nassau's County Seat".The New York Times.Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2017.The county's properties all have mailing addresses in Mineola, the official county seat, but are actually within Garden City's boundaries.
^"Early Five Borough's History".Hope Farm Press. Archived fromthe original on October 21, 2010. RetrievedDecember 30, 2007.When Queens County was created the courts were transferred from Hempstead to Jamaica Village and a County Court was erected. When the building became too small for its purposes and the stone meeting house had been erected, the courts were held for some years in that edifice. Later a new courthouse was erected and used until the seat of justice was removed to North Hempstead.
^*"Historical Essay: A Thumbnail View". Official History Page of the Queens Borough President's Office. Archived fromthe original on December 18, 2007. RetrievedDecember 29, 2007.From the final withdrawal of the British in November, 1783, until the 1830s, Queens continued as an essentially Long Island area of farms and villages. The location of the county government in Mineola (in present-day Nassau County) underscores the island orientation of that era. Population grew hardly at all, increasing only from 5,791 in 1800 to 7,806 in 1830, suggesting that many younger sons moved away, seeking fortunes where land was not yet so fully taken up for farming.
Jon A. Peterson and Vincent Seyfried, ed. (1983).A Research Guide to the History of the Borough of Queens and Its Neighborhood.
Peterson, Jon A., ed. (1987).A Research Guide to the History of the Borough of Queens, New York City. New York: Queens College, City University of New York.
"New York State History". Genealogy Inc. 1999. Archived fromthe original on January 8, 2008. RetrievedDecember 28, 2007.Under the Reorganization Act of March 7, 1788, New York was divided into 120 towns (not townships), many of which were already in existence.
"State of New York; Local Government Handbook; 5th Edition"(PDF). January 2000. pp. Ch 4, p 13, Ch 5 p 2. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on February 15, 2010.The 1777 New York State Constitution, Article XXXVI, confirmed land grants and municipal charters granted by the English Crown prior to October 14, 1775. Chapter 64 of the Laws of 1788 organized the state into towns and cities...The basic composition of the counties was set in 1788 when the State Legislature divided all of the counties then existing into towns. Towns, of course, were of earlier origin, but in that year they acquired a new legal status as components of the counties.
"History Mysteries: Shelter Island Ferry/Mineola Building". Archived fromthe original on July 6, 2008. RetrievedApril 1, 2008.The building shown below "is one of the most important buildings in the history of Mineola," wrote Jack Hehman, president of the Mineola Historical Society. Built in 1787 and known as the "old brig," it was the first Queens County courthouse and later a home for the mentally ill. The building was at Jericho Turnpike and Herricks Road until 1910, when it burned to the ground.
"The Mineola Asylum; Witnesses who testified that it is and has been a model institution".New York Times. August 29, 1882.Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. RetrievedApril 1, 2008.The investigation of the charges made against the Superintendent and keepers of the Mineola Asylum for the Insane, which was begun last Tuesday, was continued yesterday by the standing Committee on Insane Asylums of the Queens County Board of Supervisors-- Messrs. Whitney, Brinckerhoff, and Powell. The committee were shown through the asylum, which is the old building of the Queens County Court-house over 100 years old
John L. Kay & Chester M. Smith, Jr. (1982).New York Postal History: The Post Offices & First Postmasters from 1775 to 1980. American Philatelic Society.There was only one post office established in present Nassau County when the Long Island post road to Sag Harbor was established September 25, 1794. It appears that the mail from New York went to Jamaica. This was the only post office in the present day Boroughs of Queens or Brooklyn before 1803. From Jamaica the mail went east along the Jericho Turnpike/Middle Country Road route and ended at Sag Harbor. The only post office on this route between Jamaica and Suffolk County was QUEENS established the same date as the others on this route 9/25/1794. This post office was officially Queens, but I have seen the area called "Queens Court House" and was located approximately in the Mineola-Westbury area. The courthouse was used until the 1870s when the county court was moved to Long Island City. Later it served as the Queens County Insane Asylum and still later as an early courthouse for the new Nassau County, during construction of the present "old" Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola. It was demolished shortly after 1900 ... after about 120 years of service of one type or the other.
"1873 map of North Hempstead". Archived fromthe original on June 10, 2007. RetrievedDecember 31, 2007.bottom right by spur road off Jericho Tpk – location is now known asGarden City Park. Clowesville was the name of the nearest station on the LIRR, approximately at the location of the presentMerillon Avenue station. The courthouse was north of the station.
^The former county courthouse was located northeast of the intersection of Jericho Turnpike (NY Route 25) and the aptly named County Courthouse Road in an unincorporated area of the Town of North Hempstead, variously referred to in the present day as Garden City Park or New Hyde Park. The site is now a shopping center anchored by a supermarket and is located in the New Hyde Park 11040 ZIP Code. A stone marker located on the north side of Jericho Turnpike (NY Route 25), between Marcus Avenue and Herricks Road, identifies the site.[22]
^abRhoda Amon."Mineola: First Farmers, Then Lawyers".Newsday. Archived fromthe original on October 15, 2008. RetrievedNovember 11, 2012.That was the year when the "Old Brig" courthouse was vacated after 90 years of housing lawbreakers. The county court moved from Mineola to Long Island City.
^*"Queen's County Court House"(PDF).New York Times. February 14, 1870.Archived(PDF) from the original on January 30, 2022. RetrievedNovember 11, 2012.
"Long Island"(PDF).New York Times. December 5, 1870.Archived(PDF) from the original on May 1, 2020. RetrievedNovember 11, 2012.
^*"A Queens Timeline".The Queens Tribune. Archived fromthe original on November 9, 2007. RetrievedDecember 23, 2007.1874 – Queens County Courthouse and seat of county government moved from Mineola (in present-day Nassau County) to Long Island City.
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