LOCUST VALLEY- Lavish Estates in the Woods

Beginnings: Oyster Bay Town's hamlet of Locust Valley originally was part of a larger region called Matinecock, settled in 1667, that covered what is now northern Nassau County. The English Farmers in 1730 changed the local name to Buckram, probably after Buckenham, a town in Norfolk County, England, from which some of the pioneers had come. At a public meeting in 1856, the name became Locust Valley because of the many locust trees in the area.

Turning Point: Rail service reached Locust Valley by 1870, and by the start of the century the community and its environs were attracting rich people who built lavish woodland estates. The horse farms, polo fields and private clubs soon followed.

Pride of the Valley: The area is steeped in Quaker tradition. The Matinecock Friends meeting House at Piping Rock and Duck Pond Roads, now in Glen Cove but historically part of Locust Valley, was built in 1725. It was destroyed by fire in 1985 and rebuilt the next year. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Two Privately owned dwellings built about 1698 are now official town landmarks: the Joseph Weeks Jr. and William Hawxhurst houses on Oyster Bay Road. Two private schools in Locust Valley, Friends Academy and the Portledge School, each on more than 60 acres, have national reputations.

Today's one-square-mile, un-incorporated hamlet of about 2,000 people is off the beaten path for most Long Islanders. Locust Valley has always had a wide identity: its generally agreed that the surrounding incorporated villages of Lattingtown, Matinecock and Mill Neck, at least, are also apart of what is so called Locust Valley. Several communities are under the postal and school umbrella of Locust Valley. Many neighborhoods such as, Brookville, Old Brookville and Upper Brookville consider the Locust Valley town and shoppes as part of their own.

Where to Find More: Please visit the local history collection at the Locust Valley Public Library
Some of Our Neighboring Towns Are: Bayville, Centre Island, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, Glen Head

This article was taken from NEWSDAY Long Island Our Story Sunday, Feb.22,1998 Our Towns