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Image provided by: Freeport Memorial Library
The Freeport Story: Over 300 years...from 1659 to 1981 From its days of early settlement, in the 1600s, to 1981. Freeport's chroni cle — as recorded by the first historians and those who came after — show an inventiveness, a hardy and proud spirit, a stoty of progtess and growth. Freeport, or a f it w u origin^Iy called , Raynor South Oater Raynortown), was founded in 1659 by Edward Raynor, aftpr he came from Hempstead village. The early Hempstead settlers had them selves arrived there in 1644, foUowersof Rev. Mr. Denton of Salem, Mass. ^ What ^ d Raynor South look like to those early settleisT Here were the Great South Woods and beautiful streams, well-supplied with fish', flowing to a bay that yielded plenty of shellfish. The land and the waters provided a double means of earning a livelihood. In colonial days, Raynor South was known as'a “ free port’’ by seafarers. It was here that boat captains landed cargo to avoid the fees charged for bringing goods into Sag Harbor.or New Yor^ Oty. But the name Raynortown remained until 1853 when it was changed by a vote of the people. Some tell us that it took more than one vote for. the proponents of changing the name to claim victory and we are told that the vote went their way only when it was finaljy taken when most of the older families were out at sea. -Much of the first real changes in the area occurred after 1868, when the South Side Railroad began to bring out city residents' seeking country homes. These “settlers” and their need for goods encouraged new stores to open. This influx of city people also created , a need for such.improvements as paved - roads, electric lighting. and police seaaity. A referendum in 1892 decided the issue of incorporation mth 214 “yes\ and only 132;‘ “ no.“ Carman ' Cornelius was elected the first Village President, the then-equivalent of Mayor. He was 71.years old at the time. • In. the Gay Nineties etfi, ’ John J; ■ Randall Sr. and his' partner, William G. ' Miller — who was Village President from 1893 to 1900— introduced the idea df raising the level of the lowlands by pumping fill from the bottom of man- ' made canals.- Wooddeft Canal and Randall Bay ate examples of how this hel]Kd make Freeport the boating and. fishing capita] of the East. Hotels on or neat the waterfront soon sprung up and Freeport became a popular vacation . spot. A 200-room hotel, for example, overlooked-Wood- cleft Cana] and on Front' Street' there was a beach with bathhouses. Amuse ment parks, hotels and itms, and other popular bathing beaches were responsi ble for bringing the rich and- famous to the area. Show business people found Freeport a perfect place to relax and many homes were built by or for such people as Gabriel Heatter, Joan Crawford,. and Leo Carillo. They built, they bought, they rented and they formed an actors* organization that became world-known. The Lights Oub had its clubhouse on Fairview Place and its members, mostly vaudevillians, often gave far-reaching publicity to Freeport when they men tioned the-village in their stage shows all over the world. Until his death several years ago, famed band leader/ composer/produeer Guy Lombardo liv^ on Wooddeft Canal and often spoke of Freeport over the international airwaves. After his death, the street on which he lived and the town marina at * its southern tip were renamed in his U.S. CongrMsman N o rm a n F. Lent (4th C.D., N.Y.) Wolcomos Oak Park Exchange Congress Delegates to Freeport, N.Y. A Community Dodicated To Equality honor. Todiy’s Freeport is a bustling w^ter- fr/nt community of 40.0QO people, many of whom commute just a little more than halfohour on the Long bland Railroad to New York City where they work. Others own their own businessea or are em*‘ ployed within the village: as retailers, office workers of in the modem Indus trial Park on the eastern side of Freeport Creek. Still others make theb livings as did their fathers, grand-. fathers and others before them — on the waters surrounding the village. boating and fuhiog. both sport and commercial, abound here, and the village’s Nautical Mile (Wooddeft Avenue)^.b a well-known working port complete with docks fqr the commercial fbhing boats, retail fbh stores, boat dealers where anything bom a small sailboat to a sea-going yacht can be purchased..boutiques and restaurants. Village of Freeport residents are abo proud of. their, municipal assets. The village has its own water department, its own wells and enjoys the cleanest, freshest, healthiest and —• residents say — \best tasting\ water around. ✓ Both residents — homeowners and the many apartment dwellers ~ and commercial property owners brag about Freeport’s low clectridty rates. As one of three incorporated villages on Long ' bland with its own power plant. Freeport receives low-cost hydro- electricity from Niagra Falls, purchased through the Power Authority of the State of New York. ^ ■ listed along with its water and clectridty, Freeporters enjoy their own ' J80-person police force and their own volunteer fire department, both staffed with dedicated personnel and possess ing the fhost up-to-date equipment. Other a^ets of thb village include a modem Recreation complex which obers indoor and outdoor swimming, steam and sauna, exerdse room, gymnasium* and an enclosed, all- w ^ h e t,.. \under-the-bubble\. ■ ice- skating rink. The Freeport Recreation Department, one of several munidpal servicejs. offers a host of programs ~at the Center and in the village's parks for the residents of all ages. Freeporters* fihd their village unique and work to keep it so, by joining many cultural organizations, by supporting an excellent school system, working on programs at the extensive library, and serving on munidpal commbsions and committees. These . Frec^rters, • all 40.000 of them, are proud of their village and proud that it was chosen the site of the 1981 Oak Park Exchange Congress. They are pleased to share \The Freeport Story\ with the dele gates from airover the country. , r BRIGHT AND SHINY as the newest Freeport Fire Department hook-and- ladder, *'JumbQ/* the Freeport Exempt Firemen’s Association 1906 horse- drawn Nott Steam Pumper often leads the way at parades. The well-loved, well-cared tor prize-winning vehicle was motorized by American La France In 1916. Th« FREEPORT MALL Welcomes OAK PARK Exchange Congress Delegates and Their Families WE CARE. The Retail Division Freeport Chamber of Commerce about-Fr««port about our cuttomort and about you I H€fRU DIVISION rnccpom CMPMBCa «f COMM€RCC The Leader/Oct 1. 193’ page nine/s
