Hempstead is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, in New York, United States. The population was 59,169 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous village in New York. The Incorporated Village of Hempstead is the site of the seventeenth-century "town spot" from which English and Dutch settlers developed the Town of Hempstead, the Town of North Hempstead, and ultimately Nassau County. It is the largest community by population in both the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County.

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

is partially located in Hempstead.

Etymology

Hempstead may have been named after

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

in the English county of Hertfordshire, where village founder John Carman was born. Another theory regarding the origin of the village's name is that it is derived from the town of

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, as this was an area from which many Dutch settlers of New Netherland originated. In 1664, the new settlement adopted the Duke's Laws, an austere set of laws that became the basis upon which the laws of many colonies were to be founded. For a time, Hempstead became known as "Old Blue," as a result of the

blue law Blue laws (also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws, and Sunday closing laws) are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for Religion, religio ...

History

Foundation

The land on which the Village of Hempstead stands was under Dutch control from the early 1620s. In the fall of 1643, two followers of the Presbyterian minister Richard Denton, Robert Fordham and John Carman, crossed

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

by rowboat to negotiate with the local Native Americans for a tract of land upon which to establish a new community. Representatives of the Marsapeague (Massapequa), Mericock (Merrick), Matinecock and Rekowake (Rockaway) tribes met with the two men at a site slightly west of the current Denton Green in Hempstead Village. Tackapousha, who was the sachem (chief spokesman) of the Marsapeague, was the acknowledged spokesman for conducting the transaction. The Indians sold approximately 64,000 acres (260 km²), the present day towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead, for an unknown quantity of items; a 1657 revisit of this agreement names large and small cattle, stockings, wampum, hatchets, knives, trading cloth, powder, and lead given as payment by the English. Some items may have been valuable to the Native Americans in terms of the contemporary markets for European "trinkets," which may have held symbolic and spiritual importance to Native America peoples in the Northeast. In the spring of 1644, thirty to forty families left

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, crossed Long Island Sound, landed in Hempstead Harbor and eventually made their way to the present site of the village of Hempstead where they began their English settlement within Dutch-controlled New Netherland. The settling of Hempstead marked the beginnings of the oldest English settlement in what is now Nassau County. Subsequent trips across the Sound brought more settlers who prepared a fort here for their mutual protection. These original Hempstead settlers were

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s in search of a place where they could more freely express their particular brand of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. They established a Presbyterian church that is the oldest continually active Presbyterian congregation in the nation. In 1843, Benjamin F. Thompson wrote and published a history of the village, and an account of contemporary Hempstead Village. Thompson reported that there were 200 dwellings, and 1,400 residents; that the village was connected to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

by a turnpike and a railroad; that it had dry soil, excellent water, and pure air; and that it was the principal place of mercantile, and mechanical business, in the county. The village of Hempstead was incorporated on May 6, 1853, becoming the first community in Queens County (Nassau County did not exist as a separate county until 1899) to do so.

Rise

As the years passed, the population of Hempstead increased, as did its importance and prestige. Between 1703 and 1705, the newly formed St. George's Church received a silver communion service from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's Queen Anne. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Hempstead was a center of British sympathizers.Naylor, Natalie A. (2005).
Hempstead (Town)
. ''The Encyclopedia of New York State''. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. . p. 707. The British attempted to occupy Hempstead after the Battle of Long Island, and used St. George's as a headquarters as well as a place to worship. Judge Thomas Jones faulted a lax peace treaty for forcing the evacuation of the loyalists. In the 19th century, Hempstead became increasingly important as a trading center for

. In 1853 it became the first self-governing incorporated village. Many prominent families such as the Vanderbilts and the Belmonts built homes here, making Hempstead a center of Long Island society. Hempstead merchants established routes out to outlying farms and served as a distribution point for many firms. Wagons would leave Hempstead loaded with tobacco, candy, and cigarettes and return in a week to restock. Bakeries covered routes from Baldwin to Far Rockaway daily. Butchers ran routes to Seaford, Elmont, Valley Stream, Wantagh, East Meadow, Creedmoor, East Rockaway and Christian Hook. Drugs, medicines, perfumes, extracts, aprons, children's coats and dresses and men's clothes were peddled about the country by Hempstead merchants. People came from all sections of Queens to purchase stoves, and there were few places outside Hempstead where stoves could be purchased. Hempstead was the shopping center for Nassau County and the eastern portion of Queens, those settlements east of Jamaica before 1900 when Nassau County was established, following the creation of the

City of Greater New York The City of Greater New York was the Merger (politics), consolidation of the New York City, City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, which took effect on January 1, 1898. New York had already annexed the Bronx ...

in 1898. Hempstead has historically been the center of commercial activity for the eastern counties of Long Island. In Nassau County, all major county roads emanate from this village. During the 18th and 19th centuries, all stagecoaches en route to eastern Long Island from Brooklyn passed through Hempstead. Today, seventeen bus routes and three interstate buses leave from the village every day. In addition, the Hempstead Branch of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

has its terminal here. At one time, there were three railroad companies with terminals within the village. In March 1898, Camp Black was formed on the

Hempstead Plains The Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island, in what is now Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, in New York State. It was once an open expanse of native grassland estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the Nort ...

(roughly the shared location of Hempstead and Garden City), in support of the impending

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. Camp Black was bounded on the north by Old Country Road, on the west by Clinton Road, and on the south by the Central Line rail. Camp Black was opened on April 29, 1898, as a training facility and a point of embarkation for troops. Early Long Islanders made their living in agriculture or from the sea. Hempstead, with its central location, became the marketplace for the outlying rural farming communities. It was a natural progression, as the surrounding areas developed from small farms into today's suburbia, that Hempstead Village would remain as the marketplace. Chain department stores such as Arnold Constable and Abraham & Straus called Hempstead home for many years. Hempstead's Abraham & Straus was the largest grossing suburban department store in the country during the late 1960s. Hempstead was Nassau's retail center during the 1940s through the 1960s. The advent of regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

s such as the one at nearby Roosevelt Field, the demise of nearby Mitchel Air Force Base in 1961 as well as the changing

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

put the retail trade in the village into a downward spiral that it was unable to recover from during the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s. A plethora of businesses left the village in the 1980s and early 1990s, including Abraham & Straus.

Recent years

In the course of the 1990s the village saw redevelopment as a government center as well as business center. There are more government employees from all levels of government in the village than there are in Mineola, the county seat. According to James York, the municipal historian, writing in 1998, the population during the day might rise to nearly 200,000, from a normal census of 50,000. Retailers' interest in the village was rekindled, due to the aggressive revitalization efforts of former Mayor James Garner, who served from 1989 to 2005, and former Community Development Agency Commissioner, Glen Spiritis, who served under Garner's administration. Specifically, two large tracts of retail property have recently undergone redevelopment. The former Times Squares Stores (or TSS) property on Peninsula Boulevard and Franklin Street has been redeveloped as Hempstead Village Commons, a retail center. The former Abraham & Straus department store on has recently undergone demolition and been replaced by a large retail development and many other smaller establishments. A considerable infusion of state and federal funding as well as private investment have enabled the replacement of blighted storefronts, complete commercial building rehabilitations and the development of affordable housing for the local population. The replacement of the 1913

Hempstead Terminal with a modern facility was completed in 2002, and a four-story, 112-unit building for senior housing, with retail on the ground level was completed at Main and West Columbia Streets in January 1998. Thirty-two units of affordable townhouses known as Patterson Mews at Henry Street and Baldwin Road was completed and fully occupied in 1997. In 1989, Hempstead residents elected James A. Garner as their mayor. He was the first Black or African-American mayor ever elected to office on Long Island, and he served for four consecutive terms. Subsequently, Wayne Hall, a former Village of Hempstead trustee who is also African American, served as mayor for three terms, from 2005 to 2017.Hempstead Village gets new mayor as Don Ryan defeats Wayne Hall
(preview only; subscription required). ''Newsday''. March 22, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017. The first African-American male judge, Lance Clarke, was elected in 2001. Cynthia Diaz-Wilson was the first female justice in the Village of Hempstead and first African American village justice in the state of New York. In recent years, there has been concern regarding ongoing gang activity in certain neighborhoods, notably the "Heights", in addition to the issue of illegal rentals (homes/apartments that are illegally-subdivided by slumlords) and racial steering. Hempstead was also one of the first Long Island communities to contend with the Salvadoran gang, MS-13. The continual intra-violence this gang has exhibited has led to the formation of their arch-rivals, "SWP" or "Salvadorans with Pride". These issues have contributed to Hempstead's high crime rate as compared to other communities in the area. A 2019 investigation by ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' revealed widespread racial discrimination by real estate agents on Long Island, including in Hempstead.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.5 km²), all land. The Village of Hempstead differs from the majority of Nassau County as its population density is about 15,000 people per square mile—almost four times that of its neighbor on its northern border, Garden City.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 53,891 people, 15,234 households, and 10,945 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 21.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 44.2%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, 48.3%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 22.8% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. There were 16,034 households, out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 27.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.41 and the average family size was 3.76. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the village was $45,234 and the median income for a family was $46,675. Males had a median income of $29,493 versus $27,507 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $15,735. About 14.4% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

As of August 2022, the Mayor of Hempstead is Waylyn Hobbs, Jr, the Deputy Mayor is Jeffery Daniels, and the Village Trustees are Kevin Boone, Noah Burroughs, Jeffery Daniels, and Clariona D. Griffith. In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the majority of Hempstead voters voted for Kamala D. Harris ( D).

Education

Primary and secondary education

The community is served by the Hempstead Union Free School District. Students attend Alverta B. Gray-Schultz Middle School and Hempstead High School for their secondary years of K-12 education. There is one private high school in Hempstead: Sacred Heart Academy, a private all-girls Catholic school. There are two charter schools located within the village: the Academy Charter School and Evergreen Charter School.

Higher education

's campus is partially located within the Village of Hempstead and is split between the village and its unincorporated neighbor, Uniondale.

Transportation

The Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center is one of the largest hubs in Nassau County. It serves as the terminus of the

's Hempstead Branch, and is served by a number of Nassau Inter-County Express routes. Hempstead Transit Center

Points of interest

* Hofstra University Arboretum * Hempstead Bus Terminal * Nassau County African American Museum * St. George's Episcopal Church * Christ's First Presbyterian Church – First Presbyterian church established in the US

Notable people

Residents (native or lived) about whom an article exists, by date of birth: Julius Erving UMass

* Samuel L. Mitchill (1764–1831), physician, naturalist, and politic; born in Hempstead * Walt Whitman (1819–1892; resident 1836–1838), poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist * William S. Hofstra (1861–1932), entrepreneur * Christopher Morley (1890–1957; resident during the 1910s), journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet * Frank Field (1923–2023), television meteorologist * Francis E. Dec (1926–1996), disbarred lawyer and outsider writer *

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

(1935–1982), singer * Walter Hudson (1944–1991; life resident), 4th most obese human, Guinness World Record for the largest waist *

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

(born 1950), basketball star, lived in the village of Hempstead as a child for at least two or three years from around 1953 to 1955 or 1956
* Sheryl Lee Ralph (born 1956), actress and singer * Eric "Vietnam" Sadler (born 1960; native 1960–87, music producer, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Slick Rick, Bell Biv Devoe, Vanessa Williams) * Rob Moore (born 1968; native), NFL football player *

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

(born 1971), rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor; spent his childhood living between Hempstead and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

* Trevor Tahim "Busta Rhymes" Smith, Jr. (born 1972), resident, rapper, producer, and actor * Prodigy (1974–2017; native), member of hip-hop duo

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

* Craig "Speedy" Claxton (born 1978; native), NBA basketball player * Tavorris Bell (born 1978), Harlem Globetrotter * Roc Marciano (born 1978), rapper and producer * The Product G&B,

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

/ R&B vocal duo consisting of David McRae (also known as Sincere Gubano) and Marvin Moore-Hough (also known as Money Harm), both born circa 1980 * Scott Lipsky (born 1981), tennis player * Hykiem Coney (1982–2006), anti-gang activist * A+ (born 1982; native and childhood), rapper, made albums in 1996 and 1999 during his school years * Tu Holloway (born 1989), basketball player for Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

References

External links

*
Village Code
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hempstead (Village), New York Villages in New York (state) New Netherland Villages in Nassau County, New York 1643 establishments in the Dutch Empire