10
Living In Rockville Centre
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a look into the
PAST
Courtesy Rockville Centre Public Library
Voters elected John Lyon as the first village president on Aug. 19, 1893.
As the 19th century unfolded, one of the most important events in transforming the hamlet of Rockville Centre into the thriving village it is today occurred when Robert Pettit, in 1849, applied to the United States Post Office for permission to open a post office in his general store. Several names for this postal address were rejected in Washington, including Smithville, Smithtown, and Rockville, but the addition of “Centre” created what the Post Office agreed was a distinctive-sounding designation. Pettit had chosen the name to honor Mordecai “Rock” Smith, a Methodist preacher and community leader, whose father had operated DeMott's Mill. Smith was a blacksmith, a farmer, and the justice of the peace. From its roots as a village for the Reckouackie Indians, to its settlement as Near Rockaway in the 17th century by Dutch and English pioneers, Rockville Centre grew and prospered. The arrival of the railroad in 1867 heralded the entry of Rockville Centre into the modern era. It was now possible to get into New York City faster and more frequently than had ever
A home in what would become to be the Village of Rockville Centre at at 664 Hempstead Ave., in 1747.
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Courtesy Gloria and Steven Bryan
