Greenlawn:: A Long Island Hamlet (Images of America)

From the archives of the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association comes this striking visual history of the north shore Long Island hamlet of Greenlawn. Originally known as Oldfields, the area was settled in the early 1800s by farmers. The extension of the Long Island Railroad through the farmlands in 1867-1868 provided the impetus for the development of a profitable pickle and cabbage industry, the growth of the community, and the arrival of vacationers, many of whom soon became year-round residents. Greenlawn includes stories of the Halloween eve conflagration, the Adirondack-style vacation retreat, the opera house, the farmhouse murders, the vaudevillians, and the Pickle King, among others. Today, houses cover the old farmlands; yet Greenlawnwith -one main street of small shops, a railroad crossing that halts traffic throughout the day, and many historical buildings-still retains its small-town charm.