Neither the Wandowenock fire station nor Newtown still exists. The
fire station (which was staffed by volunteers) was replaced in 1913 by
a city fire department; later the land was sold, and a restaurant now
stands there. The town of Newtown became Elmhurst, in the borough of
Queens.
While researching this, I discovered that 'Wandowenock' is sometimes
spelled 'Wandowenck' or 'Wandowenack'. According to a document
published by the New York City Fire Department, the Wandowenck Engine
Company #1 at 86-22 Broadway was founded on September 1, 1843. The
Engine Company ceased to be on September 1, 1913. The ladder division,
at the same address, was founded in 1890, and also closed on September
1, 1913.
Source:
NYFD: Queens Volunteer Fire Department
http://www.nyfd.com/history/queens_vol.pdf
A restaurant called "86 Seafood Restaurant" now occupies the location
where the fire station once stood, 86-22 Broadway.
Source:
InfoSourceUSA: Eating Places in Elmhurst, New York, NY
http://www.infosourceusa.com/CAT/Eating-Places/NY/Elmhurst.htm
Here you'll find an old photograph, with useful information in its caption:
"Steam pumper of the Wandowenock Engine Company #1 in front of its
house on the west side of Broadway opposite Justice Avenue about 1910.
All the local volunteer companies went out of business in 1913 and
were replaced by a paid city fire department."
Juniper Park Civic Association: The Incredible Shrinking Elmhurst
http://www.junipercivic.com/berry/0703/shrinking_elmhurst.html
A brief history of Newtown:
"Elmhurst, once a much larger entity, had its beginning about 350
years ago when the Maspeth colony, devastated by native Americans,
moved in 1652 to safer grounds to what is now Broadway and Queens
Boulevard. The English colonists, required by the Dutch authorities to
take a Dutch name, chose Middleburgh. New Amsterdam fell to the
English in 1664 and in 1683 Queens was reorganized on the English
model into a county and five towns.
Newtown, one of the five towns, (so named because it was a new town
then), consisted of all northwest Queens, including the entire JPCA
area, the other four towns were Flushing, Jamaica, Hempstead and
Oyster Bay, the latter two now Nassau County. Middleburgh became the
Village of Newtown...
In 1896, Cord Meyer bought up some farms and began his high class
housing development along Elmhurst and Whitney Avenues... Cord Meyer
had the postal authorities change the name of Newtown Village to
Elmhurst in 1897 because of the stench in the Newtown Creek caused by
industrial pollution.
With consolidation in 1898, Queens became one of New York City's five
boroughs and all the old towns, including Newtown, went out of
business on December 31, 1897."
Juniper Park Civic Association: The Incredible Shrinking Elmhurst
http://www.junipercivic.com/berry/0703/shrinking_elmhurst.html
"The town of Newtown, now known as Elmhurst, was at one time known as
Wandowenack, and was within the jurisdiction of the Rockaway tribe of
Indians. It was later called Middleberg, because it lay half way
between Vlissengen (Flushing) and Maspat (Maspeth). The English
renamed the town Newtown in 1683 when Queens County was organized.
The town of Newtown originally comprised all of the northwestern
portion of Queens until Long Island City was given a separate charter
in 1870. The Elmhurst area was developed and renamed in the 1890s by
Cord Meyer, who wanted to disassociate the area with polluted Newtown
Creek, although the Newtown name remains in the Grand Avenue/Newtown
subway station."
Queens Chamber of Commerce: Elmhurst
http://www.queenschamber.org/QueensInfo/NeighborhoodPages/elmhurst.html
"Elmhurst:
The Native Americans originally dubbed this area Wandowenack. In 1652,
the British settled it and gave it the Dutch name Middleberg to
indicate its position halfway between Flushing and Maspeth. When the
British replaced the Dutch governor in 1664, it was renamed Newtown.
Then, when a millionaire developed the land in the 1890s, Elmhurst ('a
grove of elms') took its present name to disassociate itself from the
foul-smelling, industrially polluted Newtown Creek."
NurseVillage: Northwest Queens
http://www.nursevillage.com/nv/content/personalside/travel/new_york/neighborhoods/ny_nei_queens_nw.jsp
In case you're curious about the name Wandowenock, it is Native
American in origin. The Wandowenock were one of the Algonquin Nations,
of the Long Island/Montaukett Confederacy. Wandowenock means "they dig
pits."
Source:
WilkesWeb: The Major Alqonquin Nations
http://www.wilkesweb.us/cac-nations.htm
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "newtown" + "wandowenock"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=newtown+wandowenock
Google Web Search: "newtown" + "wandowenack"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=newtown+wandowenack
Google Web Search: "newtown" + "wandowenck"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=newtown+wandowenck
I hope this information is helpful. If anything is unclear, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll be glad
to offer further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
