History of the Rockaways: 1685 to 1917

HISTORY OF THE ROCKAWAYS
By Alfred H. Bellot


Contents

Foreword
Poem, "Indian Names and Memories"
General Characteristics of the Peninsula
Early History
Interesting Old Records
Cornell Partition Suit in 1809
Sales and Divisions of Lots
Rockaway During the War of Independence
Transit Facilities from the Earliest Period
Water Supply
Gas and Electric Supply
Banking Institutions
Fraternal Orders, Civic and Business Associations
Educational Facilities — Past and Present
Religious Life, Including a History of Every Church and Synagogue
Cemeteries
Jamaica Bay and Its Fisheries
Honor Roll of "Our Boys"
Histories of the Villages:
Woodmere and Hewlett
Cedarhurst
Lawrence
Rock Hall, Lawrence
The Rockaway Hunting Club
Inwood
Far Rockaway
Edgemere
Arverne
Rockaway Beach
The Secession Movement


Excerpt from Foreword

“What's past is prologue.”
— Shakespeare's Tempest

IN preparing this first issue of the History of the Rockaways it has been my earnest endeavor to complete a work containing only well authenticated facts and to search diligently into tradition, wherever possible, in order that surmise and guesswork may be totally eliminated. The present work is the result and is the product of considerable research and inquiry, extending over a period of several years. Portions of Colonial, State, County and Village records have been copied and many officials and old residents, whose knowledge and information I have availed myself of, have been interviewed.

A review of past events is not only a monument to the achievements of our forefathers, but it is a healthy mental exercise and a guide. It should prove to be a beneficent influence inasmuch as we may learn from their actions and experiences and fit ourselves accordingly during our own brief span of life before our time comes, as theirs did, to pass over into the Great Beyond.

This work would be incomplete without a heartfelt tribute and acknowledgment being paid to our brave sons, so many of whom have gone from our midst, with little warning, to risk their lives on behalf of their country and the freedom of mankind, and who are heroically doing their share to hasten the end of the present terrible world conflict. . .

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