Freeport is a lively village on Long Island’s South Shore. It has slips that access the Great South Bay and it is just a bridge away from Jones Beach, one of the most visited state parks in the country. The current library was erected in 1924 and it serves as a war memorial to those from Freeport who died in our nation’s wars. New York’s Constitution commands each village with a school to establish a public library. In 1924 on Memorial Day, the Beaux Arts building was dedicated as the first war memorial library in New York State, just six years after the end of World War I. While the building was dedicated to the local dead of all wars, the building itself has the names of World War I battles. There are a few battles from other wars, including Gettysburg. [Freeport’s other Civil War monument]
The building will celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2024. It is located at 144 W. Merrick Rd, Freeport, New York 11520, the second most heavily traveled road in the village. There is free parking around the library, it is within walking distance of the Freeport Long Island Railroad Station, and the NICE bus lets off nearby.
The library is heavily used by the community. The neighborhood has a fairly large number of immigrants and the library has good bilingual and ESL programs.
Until 1854, the area was called Raynortown. That year, the voters changed the name to Freeport. At the time of the Civil War, Freeport was part of Queens County, not then a part of New York City. According to the local historical society;
“A saw mill and a gristmill were located on Mill Road at the northern end of the [Freeport] River. A pond, Daddy Bill Smith’s, at present day East Dean Street, led to a stream that flowed down the east side of Main Street to the Freeport River….The estimated 600 residents were farmers, fisherman and baymen. There were 25 places of business: grocery stores, a general store, blacksmith shops, gristmills, paper mills, a saw mill, a harness shop, a candy store, a carpenter shop, three hotels, two saloons, a wholesale liquor store, a lumber yard and two boat builders. Scott’s Hotel, on South Main Street near Ray Street, had a history back to 1837. Most residents made their own clothing, soap, candles and other necessitates but did patronize the local shops as well as the stores in Hempstead village. The first one room schoolhouse was located at the triangle where Main Street and Church Street met. There were two churches: the Methodist on Main Street and the Presbyterian on Raynor Street now Church Street. Main Street was indeed the main street. It extended from the meadow lands (starting around Ray Street) up to Woodside Avenue where there were 61 houses. Half of them were below Merrick Road. Merrick Road, known as the Merrick and Jamaica plank road, was completed in 1852-1853 and a toll gate was near present day Long Beach Avenue. Stagecoaches took passengers to Brooklyn. There was no railroad. Sloops sailed to New York from either Freeport River or Milburn with clams, paper or cordwood….
Forty Freeporters went to war and 14 did not return. They were Treadwell Bedell (farmer), John Combs (farmer/fisherman), William T. Golder (harness maker), John Hutchinson (wheelwright), Benjamin Losee (fisherman), William R. Mead (fisherman), brothers Dandridge and Joseph Mott (baymen), Enoch Mulliner (fisherman), Elijah Raynor (farmer), William Seaman (laborer), Cornell Simonson (bayman), brothers Asa (farmer) and Vanderveer Smith (bayman). Many Freeport men joined the 119 Regiment New York Volunteers Company H. Also known as the Willis Company, they were recruited by Benjamin Willis a New York lawyer. They were mustered in September 4, 1862, and mustered out June 7, 1865. The H stood for Hempstead. They fought at Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, in Sherman’s March to the Sea and the capture of Atlanta.”
Twenty years after the war, Freeport veterans set up their own chapter of a national veterans organization. On Dec. 2, 1884, Freeport chartered the Grand Army of the Republic Post, the Dandridge B.P. Mott Post 527. According to the local newspaper, the post was “named after Freeporter Dandridge Beverly Pitts Mott, who died at age 17 in Pine Mountain, Ga., in 1864 under the command of Gen. Joseph Hooker. Capt. John Anderson, a Freeport GAR member, served as the Mott post’s first commander, and was known for his participation in the New York City funeral procession for President Ulysses S. Grant in 1885, historical records show. Members also attended the dedication of the Civil War memorial in Greenfield Cemetery in 1888…”
The exterior of the library displays tributes to soldiers. Below you can see two battles from World War I carved into the building, “Chateau Thierry” and “St. Mihiel”. A “Yellow Star” stained glass window dedicated to the local dead soldiers forms the centerpiece. On its flanks are dedicatory plaques and underneath is the Bald Eagle.
Here, you can see “GETTYSBURG” carved into the Library.
Here is the dedicatory plaque.
In front of the building is a monument to the area’s dead soldiers that was put up in 1928. The memorial says “In this Memorial / As in the hearts of the people of Freeport / The Memorial of the Men and Women who served in the / Wars of our Country will be enshrined forever.”
On the left had side are the names of a dozen men who lost their lives during the Civil War.
Oystering, fishing, and shipping were the main sources of economic activity in mid-19th Century Freeport. By Reconstruction, the population had grown to about 1,000. Today it has 44,000. By the beginning of the 20th Century, with the railroad coming to town, it became a popular resort for well-heeled New York City residents. When I was a boy we would hear about Guy Lombardo and other entertainers holidaying there. Much of the summer playground is now gone as the area was suburbanized after World War II, but you can go down to Nautical Mile where the fishing boats dock to buy some fresh seafood or eat at the (overpriced) restaurants along side the canal. One that is good for lunch is the Nautilus Cafe 46 Woodcleft Avenue Freeport NY 11520 at 516.379.2566. The prices for lunch are in the $20-$30 range and the fish is fresh.
The Gold Star Window at night.
After returning to photograph the Gold Star Window at night I went to Nautical Mile and had a restorative dinner at the Nautilus Cafe. It is a nicely maintained seafood place right across from where fishing boats return from the sea.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
Sources:
New York Heritage Digital Collections
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