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Elmhurst has several hundreds of years of history behind it, starting with its British founders in Middleburgh, New Amsterdam, in 1642. The town was first named Middleburgh. The people of the area were originally from Mespat (Maspeth).[1] After a conflict between the Dutch and the Native Americans, the colonists traveled elsewhere. Years later, they came upon the area between Maspeth Creek and Newtown Creek, which was seemed to be naturally abundant with resources and seemed like a logical distance away from Native American threats. Under Dutch rule (Peter Stuyvesant), the town was once again named Middleburgh, although the townspeople preferred to call the area Newtowne (Newtown). In 1644, when the English king was granted Dutch lands, New Amsterdam became New York, and a lot of reorganization occurred. Newtown was part of Queens County, along with Jamaica, Flushing, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay. By 1775, most of Newtown's land was taken up, and the population continued to grow. For the most part, Elmhurst progressed at a fair pace. In 1721, the first schoolhouse was established, along with four others, and the Dutch established a Reformed Church. The business Lord & Taylor was first established in Newtown, which brought an economic stimulus to the town. [2]
In the beginning, Elmhurst was mainly a Dutch and British town, but by the 1850’s and 1860’s, the Irish came, followed closely in number by the Germans. The Irish were mainly worked as laborers and servants. The Germans were usually barbers or tailors, focusing on their own trades. There were very few men who were actually wealthy in Newtown, with the exception of men such as Lord, Taylor, and Meyer. [2]
Cord Meyer, Jr. [3] was possibly the most significant man to be part of Newtown. He purchased land from Samuel Lord (of Lord & Taylor) and renamed it Elmhurst in 1896 to distinguish it from Newtown Creek’s bad reputation. He brought many changes to Elmhurst to improve the town’s life. Sewers were finally brought to Elmhurst’s streets, the streets themselves were finally laid out and divided, and the transportation system was upgraded to a trolley system to better connect the town. He brought a bank and retail businesses to town, spurring economic growth in Elmhurst. [3] As time went on, several other companies and places were established in Elmhurst. A firehouse and an auto garage were created, along with companies such as the New York Telephone Company, Elmhurst Ice Company, Newtown Gas Company, and many more. Along with the creation of companies and such, Newtown High School was created and certified in 1910. Many more churches were also established in the area, including St Mark’s, Zion German Reformed, and Bethany Lutheran. Elmhurst was steadily improving in several areas.[2]
One of the most important additions to Elmhurst’s landscape was the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), which was yet another change to the public transportation system. The LIRR brought with it many people as it served as one of the greatest connections to other towns and parts of the city of New York. Records show that the number of riders on the LIRR increased dramatically over the years. For example, the Elmhurst Avenue station had 275,900 riders in 1917 and 784,400 in 1920. The Junction Avenue station had 465,000 riders in 1917, and 1,235,300 riders in 1920.[2]
Elmhurst's landscape continually changed throughout time. Beginning as a small colonists' town, it eventually developed as more land plots were bought and sold. After the influences of Lord & Taylor and Cord Meyer, Jr., Elmhurst drastically changed again.
During the 1920’s, more changes came about Elmhurst as construction ensued and open land was quickly filled in. In 1919, the embargo on lumber and cement during the war was lifted and allowed for the construction of new homes. Houses were in high demand. Most of the homes built at the time were either 2-family or 1-family homes. They were built as brick and frame homes, with multiple rooms and a garage. The houses of the Cord Meyer area’s prices increased, from $8,500 to $25,000. Many land lots continued to be sold and developed, such as how William Sussman bought and established the Elmhurst Manor Inc., and sold 200 lots for development of 100 2-family homes. W.R. Gibson was also a developer, as he built 150 2-family houses. The old Moore estate was up for auction in 1921, and more than 400 lots were sold, amounting to about $206,000 in sales. The lots were divided into both residential and business land. There was also the Nassau Heights tract, which was put up for auction. The Jere Johnson Company divided it up into 459 plots, which were mostly developed as a business area with some residential homes. In 1923, the Leverich estate was up for development, resulting in the construction of 72 6-family homes that sold quite fast. The 1-family and 2-family homes sold for a range of $11,000 to $20,000. By 1925, it is seen that the next logical step for house building was to build taller homes for more families. The lot sizes shrank, but the houses grew to be about five or six stories high. The first apartment building, built by the Five Boroughs Land & Improvement Company, was called Virginia Court and cost about $300,000. In later years, many other tall apartment buildings, such as Tudor Hall and Berkshire Hall, were constructed.[2]
One of the more significant constructions of the time was the Queensborough Lodge of Elks, which was a $750,000 home built by the Ballinger & Company of New York. It was an impressive building with many recreational rooms and activities included, which were open to the public for use.[2]
Other constructions included the establishment of Public School 102 and the parochial schools St. Adalbert’s, and St. Bartholomew’s. At the same time, Newtown High School continued to grow as more and more students enrolled. Elmhurst was also home to a growing number of banks and the construction of two new theatres, the Jackson Theatre and the Corona.[2]
Elmhurst was quickly becoming a place of great urbanization, as it also included a number of factories, such as the growing Durkee factory and the Propper Silk Hosiery Company. In 1920, there were 75 houses, 10 stores, and 6 miscellaneous places. In 1926, the numbers grew to 610 houses, 125 stores, and 90 miscellaneous places. In only six years, the numbers grew to at least eight times greater than before. With the housing and development increases, Queens County’s public road system also dramatically improved. Roads were repaved and a subway system was developed. With the subway, the Queens Boulevard trolley company went out of business. Also, the subway system took out much of Elmhurst’s past during its construction. The subway was open in the 1930’s, and enjoyed 10,124,971 riders in 1930.[2]