The Hempstead Plains is a region of central
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, in what is now
Nassau County, in New York State. It was once an open expanse of native
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the
North Shore of Long Island
The North Shore of Long Island is the area along the northern coast of New York's Long Island bordering Long Island Sound. Known for its extreme wealth and lavish estates, the North Shore exploded into affluence at the turn of the 20th centur ...
by the
Harbor Hill Moraine
The Harbor Hill Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the northern of two ridges along the "backbone" of Long Island.
Description
The Harbor Hill Moraine, skirting the North Shore, represents the terminal moraine of the most recen ...
, later approximately
Route 25. The modern
Hempstead Turnpike
New York State Route 24 (NY 24) is a east–west state highway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The highway is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from an interchange with ...
approximately traces the separation of the plain from the
South Shore of Long Island
The South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, is the area along Long Island's Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
Description
Though some consider the South Shore to include parts of Queens, particularly the beach co ...
. The east-west extent was from somewhat west of the modern
Queens, New York City
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
border to slightly beyond the Suffolk County border.
The Town of
Hempstead, now America's most populous civil township, was first settled by
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
s around 1644. Although the settlers were from the English colony of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, a patent was issued by
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
after the settlers had purchased land from the local Native Americans. The town may have been named for either
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...
in England, or the city of
Heemstede
Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands.
History
Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...
in
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
.
In early US history, the Hempstead Plains region was cited as one of the few natural
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s east of the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. Long Island historians George Dade and Frank Strand wrote that it was created by an
outwash of glacial sediment more than ten thousand years ago. The result was vast, flat open land.
The site is considered highly ecologically and historically significant. The Hempstead Plains supports populations of federally endangered and globally rare plants among its 250 different kinds of vegetation as well as several plant species that are now considered rare in New York State. It represents one of the most rapidly vanishing habitats in the world, along with scores of birds, butterflies, and other animals that are vanishing with it.
Horse racing
Horse racing in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and on the
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n continent dates back to the establishment of the Newmarket course on the Salisbury Plains section of the Hempstead Plains of Long Island in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor,
Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province.
Early life
Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls (1 ...
. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County region of Greater
Westbury and
Garden City.
The year 1905 saw the opening of
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...
on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
The South Westbury section of the plains is (appropriately) known as
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
, and Nassau County's largest park (more than 800 acres (3 km²)) was established in the region as Salisbury Park in the 1940s, on the site of the former Salisbury Golf Links. The county facility has been known as
Eisenhower Park since 1971.
Even during the later era of air flight activity on the Hempstead Plains, part of the east section of privately owned Roosevelt Field became
Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...
, first a popular
auto-racing site and then the pioneering
standardbred
The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...
track in
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
, from 1940 to its closing in 1988.
Aviation
Another pioneering industry on the Hempstead Plains was aviation. In July 1909, aviator and manufacturer
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early ...
relocated his base of operation from his native
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
to
Mineola. Curtiss, at the controls of his
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
the ''Golden Flyer,'' circled the plains' Washington Avenue field for more than 52 minutes, demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities and earning the ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...
'' prize for a flight of more than .
Some 15 years later, the Hempstead Plains had earned the appellation "Cradle of Aviation". The Hempstead Plains Aerodrome was renamed to in 1917 to Hazelhurst Field, and again in 1918 to
Roosevelt Field
Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
on the eastern half, and
Curtiss Field to the west. These facilities and
Mitchel Field
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
provided the eastern United States' hub of private, and even military, air activity.
The most famous flight from the Hempstead Plains was
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
's 1927 journey to France. On May 20-May 21, Lindbergh, aboard the single-engine monoplane ''
Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...
'', was the first pilot to fly from the U.S. solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Roosevelt Field to
Le Bourget
Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris.
The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, in 33½ hours. (His grandson
Erik Lindbergh repeated this trip in 2002, 75 years later, in 17 hours 17 minutes.)
Development and preservation
With the mid-century period came
suburbanization
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
and commercial development of the Plains region. The west section of Roosevelt Field (once known as Curtiss Field before its 1929 merger with Roosevelt) ceased operations in 1951 and has been occupied since 1956 by the
Roosevelt Field Mall
Roosevelt Field is a shopping mall in East Garden City, New York and Uniondale, New York. It was designed by I. M. Pei and is the largest shopping mall on Long Island, in the state of New York, and the eighth largest shopping mall in the United ...
, one of the world's largest indoor shopping centers.
To the east, the former
Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...
section is occupied by a multiplex cinema,
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
department store, and luxury condominiums. The section north of the raceway, development on which dates back to the 1960s, is occupied by The Source Mall anchored by
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
(and formerly by the flagship of the
Fortunoff
Fortunoff is a New York-based retailer of outdoor furniture and jewelry.
The company started as a home, jewelry and furniture retailer founded in 1922 by Max and Clara Fortunoff. After being sold to private equity companies in 2005 and 2009, t ...
department stores).
Mitchel Field
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
, which includes the Hempstead Plains site formerly known as
Camp Mills
Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September 1 ...
, housed an Air Force base until 1961 and is currently used for multiple sites, including the
Cradle of Aviation Museum
The Cradle of Aviation Museum is an aerospace museum located in Garden City, New York on Long Island, established to commemorate Long Island's part in the history of aviation. It is located on land once part of Mitchel Air Force Base which, to ...
,
Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York.
History
Nassau Community College was cre ...
,
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...
, and some of the housing and recreational facilities for
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
.
The last remaining few acres of untouched Hempstead Plains ground exist:
*Hempstead Plains Preserve near Nassau Community College,
immediately adjacent to the power plant and directly behind the Long Island Marriott
*In the area behind
The Wheatley School
The Wheatley School is a public high school serving grades 8 through 12 located in Old Westbury, New York and part of the East Williston Union Free School District. The school district encompasses all of East Williston and parts of Mineola, ...
(the high school of the East Williston School District in
Old Westbury
Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census.
The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury i ...
), known as the Wheatley Woods for the trees that hide the acres of plains
*In the plains in
Eisenhower Park
*In the plains which stretch east to the
Suffolk County border
*In several acres in
Plainview; the existing area was slated to be an extension of the
Bethpage State Parkway
The Bethpage State Parkway (or simply the Bethpage Parkway) is a parkway in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at a trumpet interchange with the Southern State Parkway in the village of North Massapequa and s ...
which was not built, and the land was never developed
References
External links
{{Commons, Hempstead Plains, Hempstead Plains
Friends of the Hempstead Plains official website
Geography of Nassau County, New York
Geography of Long Island
Geography of New York (state)
Plains of the United States