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OCEANSIDE/ISLAND PARK GUIDE
www.liherald.com
Island Park
HISTORICAL TIMELINE • 1665
The English were the first white settlers in Island Park. They raised hogs on the drier portions of the island, and coined its first name: Hog Island.
• 1851
Peter Barnum purchased various lands on the South Shore of Long Island, which were then part of Queens County, amassing a fortune.
• 1874
Barnum’s widow, Sara Ann, purchased Hog Island and sold it to Queens County for $13,000, at which point it became the site of the county’s poor farm and a smallpox hospital. It was at this point that Hog Island was renamed to Barnum Island in her honor.
• 1921
The Island Park-Long Beach Corporation purchased the lands of Barnum and Harbor islands, renaming the area Island Park, with the intention of turning it into a resort center. The corporation backfilled many of the low-lying marsh areas with mud and established some of Island Park’s first utilities.
• 1920s
Island Park’s first school, firehouse and church were established, but the area remained a summer destination for many, and not a permanent place of residence.
• 1945
Pop’s Liquor Store opens on Long Beach Road.
• 1956
The Long Island Lighting Company constructs unit one of the E.F. Barrett power station, straddling the border between Oceanside and Island Park.
• 1780
During the American Revolution, Hog Island was the site of multiple battles, including when the British warship “Galatea” pursued an American sloop through Jones Inlet, forcing it ashore on Hog Island, where the British captured most of its 52-man crew.
Courtesy Wikipedia
• 1870
The Long Island Rail Road laid its first track through the area in a line that ran from New York City to Long Beach.
• 1910
Developers Frank Lawson and William Austin sought to develop Barnum Island into the “Venice of the United States,” with canals running throughout. The plans were shelved, however, with the outbreak of World War I.
• 1926
The Village of Island Park is founded, with a population of roughly 1,000 who had largely moved into the area during the building boom in the 1920s that occurred on the southern portion of the island. Harbor Island remained largely undeveloped, with only a handful of fishing shacks.
• 1940s
Casino Beach, which would later be renamed Masone Beach, becomes a popular destination for summer vacationers.
• 1950s
A population influx leads to the development of Barnum and Harbor islands.
• 1960s
Beach bungalow homes in Island Park are converted to winter homes for year-round use.
• 1963
LILCO constructs unit two of E.F. Barrett, bringing its power generation capacity up to nearly 400 megawatts.
• 1970
A United States census reveals Island Park’s population had peaked at nearly 6,000.
Vacationers at Casino Beach in the summer 1932. The beach was a popular summer destination from the 1930s through the 1970s. It was eventually renamed Masone Beach.
• 1969
Island Park students are barred from attending Oceanside High School over a dispute over tax revenue from the E.F. Barrett plant. Graduating middle schoolers begin attending West Hempstead High School.
• 1981 • 1984
A United States Department of Housing and Urban Development audit reveals that 44 federally subsidized homes in Island Park intended for low-income families had been given to friends and family of politically connected officials.
• 1998
Chuck Schumer unseats D’Amato in a blowout Senate election.
• 2012
The Island Park village board agrees to settle the HUD lawsuit for $1.96 million.
• 2017
Bank of America agrees to gift its Island Park branch building to the village government for use as its Village Hall.
A Look through the years
Island Park native Alfonse D’Amato is elected to the United States senate.
• 1990
A federal judge files a civil-rights suit against Island Park, alleging village officials excluded black and Hispanic applicants for federally subsidized housing intended for low-income residents, instead awarding them to friends and family.
• 2008
Island Park schools introduce the option for middle school graduates to attend Long Beach High School.
• 2012
Hurricane Sandy sweeps through the area, devastating the community and displacing hundreds, leaving few structures untouched, including Village Hall, which was demolished the next year.
• 2018
Island Park school officials end their partnership with the West Hempstead School District, opting to send Island Park middle school exclusively graduates to Long Beach High School.
