Wantagh, New York

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Wantagh, New York
settlement_type = CDP
nickname = The Gateway to Jones Beach
motto =

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pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of New York
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = U.S. Census Map


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New York
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Nassau
government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
leader_name =
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area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 10.7
area_land_km2 = 10.0
area_water_km2 = 0.8
area_total_sq_mi = 4.1
area_land_sq_mi = 3.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.3

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 18971
population_density_km2 = 1905.9
population_density_sq_mi = 4936.3

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 7
elevation_ft = 23
latd = 40 |latm = 40 |lats = 29 |latNS = N
longd = 73 |longm = 30 |longs = 38 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 11793
area_code = 516
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 36-78146GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0968763GR|3
website = http://www.wantagh.li/
footnotes =

Wantagh ("pronounced" /WAHN-taw/) is a hamlet and census-designated place (an unincorporated section of the Town of Hempstead) in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of Wantagh was 18,971 at the time of the 2000 census.

Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones Beach" due to its location directly north of the famous Robert Moses developed State Park.

History

The Wantagh area was inhabited by the Merokee (or Merikoke) tribe of Algonquin Native Americans prior to the first wave of European settlement in the mid-1600s. The Merokee were part of the greater Montauk tribe that loosely ruled Long Island's Native Americans. Wantagh was the sachem (chief) of the Merokee tribe in 1647, [E.M. Ruttenber, History of the Indian Tribes of Hudson's River, 1872.] and was later the grand sachem of the Montauk tribe from 1651-1658. The Dutch settlers came west from their New Amsterdam colony, and English settlers came south from Connecticut and Massachusetts settlements. When the English and Dutch settled their competing claims to Long Island in the 1650 treaty conducted in Hartford, the Dutch partition included all lands west of Oyster Bay and thus the Wantagh area. Long Island then was ceded to the Duke of York in 1663-64, but then fell back into Dutch hands after the Dutch regained New York in 1673. The Treaty of Westminster in 1674 settled the land claims once and for all, incorporating Long Island into the now-British colony of New York. [Hugh Chisholm, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911 Edition, p. 983.]

Wantagh was originally known as Jerusalem, although some early accounts do refer to the area as "Wantagh." The creek running north/south through Wantagh, and which has been covered up in many places but is still visible between Wantagh Parkway and the housing developments west of Wantagh Avenue, was originally the Jerusalem River. The original post office was built in 1837, for Jerusalem, but mail service from Brooklyn began around 1780. The town's first school was established in 1790. [http://www.wantagh.li/museum/information_window/2004_10_information_window.pdf, p. 2.] At some time around the 1880s, Jerusalem was renamed Ridgewood, and the town's original LIRR station was for "Ridgewood Station." Later, Ridgewood was renamed Wantagh to avoid confusion with another town in New York State with the same name.

George Washington rode through Jerusalem on April 21, 1790, as part of his 5-day tour of Long Island. The Daughters of the American Revolution have placed a plaque on Hempstead Turnpike to commemorate Washington's travels, which took him from Hempstead on Jerusalem Road (now North Jerusalem Road) to Jerusalem, on to Merrick Road. He then went on to head east, then circle back west on the north shore. During the Revolutionary War, British ships traveled up Jones inlet and came ashore to raid Jerusalem farms. [http://www.wantagh.li/museum/information_window/2004_11_information_window.pdf]

The oldest original settlers of the Wantagh/Jerusalem area were the Jackson and Seaman families, and their marks are still visible today. For example, the Cherrywood shopping center (at the corner of Jerusalem and Wantagh Avenues) was the site of prominent settler Capt. John Seaman's estate, which was named Cherrywood. Wantagh is home to a number of New York State Historical Markers (9 of Nassau County's 25), [ [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/historicmarkers/hisaction.cfm NYS Museum: Historic Markers ] ] including:

*Cherrywood, Capt. John Seaman's 300 acre estate and home, from 1644, on the corner of Wantagh and Jerusalem Avenues
*1666 Jackson House, the home of Col. John Jackson, Brig. Gen. Jacob Shearman Jackson, and Samuel Jackson Jones (in 1923), on Merrick Road east of Riverside Drive
*The Grist Mill Site, granted to Col. John Jackson on the Jerusalem River in 1704, on Merrick Road east of Riverside Drive
*The Cornbury Patent, given by Queen Anne conferring the present-day site of Jones Beach to Major Thomas Jones, whose family would later provide the land that would become Jones Beach State Park in 1929
*The 1644 home of Robert Jackson, Jerusalem's pioneer settler, on Wantagh Avenue south of Hempstead Avenue
*North Jerusalem Road, originally constructed in 1644 between Hempstead and Jerusalem
*The 1777 home of Richard Jackson, Capt. in the Queens County Militia in the Revolutionary War, and where his daughter, Jane, lived with her husband, ex-Hessian soldier Lt. John Althause, on Wantagh Avenue and Island Road

The oldest cemetery in Wantagh is the Jackson Cemetery, located just north of the St. Frances de Chantal Roman Catholic Church on Wantagh Avenue. [http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Cemetery/Jackson.html] There are 63 confirmed graves that include descendants from the Seaman and Jackson families, with the most notable including Thomas Jackson, who served in the Revolutionary War in the Second New York Regiment and participated in the Battle of Long Island and the storming of Fort St. George under Major Talmadge in 1780 [ [http://www.carman.net/fort_st_george.htm Fort St George ] ] , and who was the original landowner of the site of land around the Wantagh Public Library, and General Jacob Seaman Jackson, a Brigadier General in the War of 1812 and senior warden of Long Island's first chartered Masonic lodge in 1797.

The Rierson burial plot was located in what has been redeveloped into Bunker Road. This cemetery includes members of the Rierson family who served as loyalists during the Revolutionary War. [http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Cemetery/Rierson.html]

The Jerusalem Society of Friends Cemetery is located behind (east of) the current Christian Tabernacle Church. The Society of Friends were Quakers who maintained meeting houses in Jericho, Bethpage, and Hempstead, and met in then-Jerusalem as early as 1697. Capt. John Seaman allowed the Society to conduct meetings on his land in 1699, but the congreation later traveled to Bethpage to worship. The Jerusalem Society of Friends purchased land from another Seaman, Arden Seaman, and then constructed their own meeting house on the site of the current Christian Tabernacle Church in 1827, and added the cemetery in 1861. By the 1940s, the congregation had dwindled significantly, and the property was sold in 1952 to the newly-formed Wantagh Baptist Church and then recently sold to the newly-formed Christian Tabernacle Church in 2007. The cemetery contains the graves of three Civil War veterans: Lt. H.R. Jackson, Gilbert Seaman, of the 139th Regiment of NY Voluneers, and Charles Wilson, of the 119th Regiment of NY Volunteers and who was wounded in Gettysburg. [http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Cemetery/Jerusalem.Friends.html]

The St. John of Jerusalem Cemetery served the German Methodists, who moved to Jerusalem from New York City around 1850 to farm. The cemetery can be found west of Wantagh Avenue a few hundred yards north of North Jerusalem Road (now North Wantagh). The congregation began to meet in 1854 and held services entirely in German. The cemetery was constructed in 1862 and was intended only for use by congregation members and their families. Later generations of congregants grew weary of the services in German, and numbers dwindled until the last German service was held in 1911. From 1912 to 1926, the church remained unused. The church has since been used by a local Lutheran congregation from 1926 to 1940, and a United Christian congregation from 1949 to 1969. Since then, however, the church has remained unused, although the cemetery has been fenced in and maintained by a Board of Trustees. The cemetery contains graves of veterans from the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. [http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Cemetery/St.John.Jerusalem.html]

The area that became today's Wantagh continued primarily as a farming area until the construction of Sunrise Highway and Jones Beach in the early 20th Century, when tourism and fishing took hold, centering around Jones Beach. The Long Island Railroad has served the town since 1885 (and possibly as early as 1867), but the town did not take on a suburban character until the housing development between the 1950s and 1970s. The LIRR tracks were elevated in 1966 with the rest of the Babylon LIRR Line.

Geography

Wantagh is located at coor dms|40|40|29|N|73|30|38|W|city (40.674697, -73.510548)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.7 km²), of which, 3.8 square miles (9.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (7.25%) is water.

Because of non-conforming postal codes, Wantagh has a different border than does the "Wantagh, NY 11793" postal zone. There are a small number of places in Wantagh that have a "Bellmore, NY 11710" mailing address; and, at the same time there are places in Levittown, North Bellmore, North Wantagh, Seaford and Jones Beach State Park that have a "Wantagh, NY 11793" mailing address.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 18,971 people, 6,179 households, and 5,215 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,936.3 per square mile (1,907.5/km²). There were 6,250 housing units at an average density of 1,626.3/sq mi (628.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.75% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.26% of the population.There were 6,179 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.37.

Public services

Post offices

*Main Wantagh United States Postal Service Office is located at 3300 Park Avenue Wantagh NY 11793-1217
*(North) Wantagh Branch USPS Office is located at 1250 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, NY 11793-1217

WFD

Wantagh is protected by a volunteer fire department that is responsible for one of the largest fire districts in Nassau County covering 12 square miles. The Wantagh Fire Department has approximately 225 members using 18 pieces of apparatus located throughout seven stations.

Jones Beach State Park is located within the departments jurisdiction, during large gatherings the WFD deploys various apparatus and its new mobile command center.

WLVAC

The Wantagh-Levittown Volunteer Ambulance Corps has been serving the community since 1956, and the all volunteer paramedic and EMT unit is located at 3702 Hempstead Tpke, Levittown.

Parks, recreation and museums

Wantagh's Parks

Library

*The [http://www.wantaghlibrary.org Wantagh Public Library] , at 3285 Park Avenue, Wantagh, NY 11793, holds events throughout the year for community members, children, teens, and seniors, and displays local artwork and collections.

Museums

* The [http://www.wantagh.li/museum/index.htm Wantagh Museum of the Wantagh Preservation Society] displays Wantagh's original Long Island Railroad Stationhouse, the "Jamaica" (an original 1912 LIRR car), and the original Wantagh Post Office building.

Wantagh Nightlife

Wantagh is known throughout Long Island to have a very energetic and vibrant nightlife. Centered around the Wantagh Long Island Rail Road Station there are nine bars, pubs, and clubs all within a quarter mile of the station. Last call in New York State is 4 a.m. thus keeping the area very active into early morning hours. Bars in the area include Quinn's Sports Bar (owned by Tommy Riordan and Gary Frankie), Johnny Malone's (formerly Lily Flanagan's), Boss Croker's, Guido's Irish Pub, Hemingway's Bar & Grill, the Wantagh Inn, and Thom Thom Restaurant.

Notably, Wantagh is home to Mulcahy's Pub and Concert Hall. This large establishment hosts live music Wednesday to Saturday from local to nationally-known bands.

Houses of Worship

*Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center (Conservative Judaism)
*Temple B'nai Torah (Reform Judaism)
*Christ Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran)
*Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church {Church of Christ)
*The Church of St. Jude (Episcopal)
*Wantagh Baptist Church (Baptist)
*St. Markella Greek Orthodox Church (Greek Orthodox)
*St. Frances De Chantal Roman Catholic Church] (Roman Catholic)
*Christian Tabernacle Church

Education

Wantagh is primarily served by the [http://www.wms.wantaghufsd.k12.ny.us/ Wantagh Union Free School District] , which is composed of three elementary schools (Wantagh Elementary School, Mandalay School, and Forest Lake School), Wantagh Middle School, and Wantagh High School. All of these schools have been recognized as New York State Schools of Excellence. In addition, Wantagh is the only school district in New York State in which every school has been recognized as National Schools of Excellence.

Small areas in Wantagh's peripheral neighborhoods are also served by the Levittown School District, [http://www.northbellmoreschools.org/ North Bellmore Union Free School District] and [http://www.seaford.k12.ny.us/ Seaford Union Free School District] .

Wantagh is also home to the [http://www.maplewoodschool.com/ Maplewood School] , a private school that offers nursery, pre-school, kindergarden, and summer camp programs.

Transportation

Commuter rail service in Wantagh is provided by the Wantagh station on the Long Island Rail Road's Babylon Branch. Parking at the station is limited to Town of Hempstead residents and requires a permit. Express trains to Penn Station average roughly a 45 minute one way trip. Bus service in Wantagh is provided by the N19, N73/N74 and N87 lines of the MTA Long Island Bus.

Merrick Road, the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, Sunrise Highway and the Wantagh State Parkway all traverse and have major intersections or exits/entrances within Wantagh.

Famous Residents

Philip Campisi AKA CAMP hangs out in Quinn's Bar in Wantagh.
*Arthur Apicella, originally from Wantagh, was a contestant on .
*Craig D. Button, WHS graduate, US Air Force pilot noted for his mysterious flight and crash.
*Rob Cesternino, originally from Wantagh, was the third place finisher in and also appeared on .
*John Hampson of the 1990s-2000s band Nine Days wrote their hit song Absolutely (Story of a Girl) about Wantagh High School teacher and then-girlfriend (and now wife) Teresa Savino. Both now teach at Wantagh High School.
*Robert McMahon, cargo foreman for Air France at JFK Airport who was a suspect in the 1978 Lufthansa heist and was later murdered by unknown gunmen in 1979 because of his alleged involvement.
*Alan Zweibel author and comedy writer went to Forest Lake Elementary School in the late 1950s.
*General Eric T. Olson (ret) was 67th Commandant of the US Military Academy at West Point and later had operational command of all coalition forces in Afghanistan. [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050226/26olson.htm] He wrote about his Desert Storm experiences in "Leaders in War: West Point Remembers the 1991 Gulf War" by F. Kagan. He graduated from Wantagh High in 1968.
*Checkers, President Richard Nixon's dog was buried along with 50,000 other dogs, cats, chimpanzees, etc., in Long Island's Bide-a-Wee Pet Cemetery on Beltagh Ave.
*Chris Smith who was the #7 overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2001 MLB First Year Player Draft, was born and raised in Wantagh and was part of the 1998 New York Class B State Championship team.
*Michael Howley, an All-American in lacrosse at the University of Maryland, College Park on defense, plays in the Major League Lacrosse league and was on the 2002 U.S. Lacrosse Men's National Team that won the International Lacrosse Federation World Lacrosse Championship in Perth, Australia.
*Joe Villani, standout OG and C for the Pitt Panthers and undrafted free-agent signee with the New York Jets, was born and raised in Wantagh and went to high school at St. Anthony's High School (New York).
*Matt Hunter played in the Major League Lacrosse league for a number of teams, including the Long Island Lizards, New Jersey Pride, Philadelphia Barrage, and Bridgeport Barrage. Hunter went to Wantagh High School and New York Tech.
*Frances Fragos Townsend, current Homeland Security Advisor to United States President George W. Bush.
*Amy Fisher went to Mandalay Elementary School and Wantagh Junior High before she moved to Merrick and famously met "Joey B".
*Vincent Accardi, the guitarist from the band Brand New, is from Wantagh.
*TJ Penzone, Rick Penzone, and Chris Wrigley of the rock band Men, Women & Children all went to Wantagh High School.
*Dan Pfeffer and Rob Pfeffer, the principals of the NYC hard rock band FEFF, went to Wantagh High School and were active the school and town music scenes.
*Chris Wrigley and Adam Schrager, leads from the NYC punk band Sixgun Radio, both went to Wantagh High School.
*Trent Kowalik, star of Billy Elliot

Trivia

* The 2001 World Championships in tether car racing where held at the Wantagh Tether Car Speedway which is located within Cedar Creek Park.
* The highest recorded temperature was 103°F in 1999.
* During the month of August in 1954 a United States Air Force fighter traveling from Delaware to Massachusetts crashed into the middle of the street on Denver Road in Wantagh. The crash and ensuing fire damaged several homes on Denver Road, Dover Road and Roxbury Avenue.
* John F. Kennedy made a whistlestop tour during the 1960 presidential campaign and spoke to a large crowd at the Wantagh Railroad Station.
* Wantagh's famous 4th of July Parade and celebration was in a Life Magazine feature article July 6, 1962.
* The Long Island Marathon goes through Wantagh along Wantagh State Parkway as it heads to Sunrise Highway and back to East Meadow.
* Wantagh is one of the few towns that doesn't have its own theater. However, it "used" to have two. [http://home.comcast.net/~chabrol/Wantagh-daydream.html]
* Wantagh is the home of TFS.

References

External links

* [http://www.wantagh.li/ Wantagh.li]
* [http://www.wcc.li/ Wantagh Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.nassaulibrary.org/wantagh/ Wantagh Public Library]
* [http://www.wantaghfiredept.com/index.html/ Wantagh Fire Department]
* [http://www.wms.wantaghufsd.k12.ny.us/ Wantagh Union Free School District]
* [http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/lirr/html/ttn/wantagh.htm/ LIRR Wantagh Timetables]
* [http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=46/ Jones Beach State Park- Official Site]
* [http://home.comcast.net/~chabrol/Wantagh-daydream.html Wantagh Daydream (Old photos)]