LLOYD HARBOR – A BRIEF HISTORY
Lloyd Harbor Village covers 9.2 square miles and in area is the second largest incorporated Village in New York; however, with a population of approximately 3,400 (same as in 1970), it is one of the most sparsely populated. The Village includes Lloyd Neck and the northern portion of the West Neck peninsula. It is a blend of colonial manor, Gold Coast estate, small rural residential community, and suburb. Despite the fact that some more recently developed streets have a suburban feel, rustic dead-end streets still outnumber manicured subdivisions.
The Village has a rich history and has succeeded in preserving much of the rustic ambience for which it has always been known. By understanding the efforts that have been made in the interest of preserving the natural beauty and quiet privacy of our Village, we hope that you, too, will become a strong supporter of preservation of these assets, and of the low housing density needed to sustain them. In so doing, we will leave an invaluable legacy as to how preservation can be achieved and sustained despite proximity to a major metropolitan area.
The following brief history of the Village will give you an appreciation of its early years, and a look at some of the problems and threats to its “quality of life” that the Village has faced.
Early History
The neck of land called Caumsett (meaning “place by sharp rock”) by the Matinecock Indians was sold by them in 1654 to three Englishmen (Samuel Mayo, Daniel Whitehead, and Peter Wright) for a variety of items, including three coats, three shirts, wampum, six knives, and two pairs of shoes. The property changed hands several times during the next two decades, acquiring the name Horse Neck because Huntington farmers grazed horses there. In 1684, James Lloyd, a Boston merchant became the sole owner of Horse Neck. On March 8, 1685, the Lieutenant Governor granted James Lloyd the royal patent for Horse Neck and formally renamed it the “Manor of Queen’s Village.” Thus, James Lloyd became Lord of the Manor, and Lloyd Neck was annexed to the Town of Oyster Bay, Queens County. Although there had been many owners of Horse Neck, none had developed the land. Mr. Lloyd set out to create an amiable feudal estate with tenant farmers. He would continue to reside in Boston.
In 1711, James Lloyd’s son, Henry, took up residence in the manor, where he built a “Salt Box” dwelling (the restored Henry Lloyd Manor House). One of his slaves, Jupiter Hammon, was America’s first published African-American poet. After Henry’s death in 1763, his son Joseph built (in 1766) the Joseph Lloyd Manor House. The Henry Lloyd Manor House (the “1711 House”) has been restored and is maintained by the Lloyd Harbor Historical Society. The Joseph Lloyd Manor House is owned and has been restored and furnished by SPLIA (Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities). Both houses are open to the public.
During the Revolution, members of the Lloyd family found themselves on opposing sides, and the farms of two Lloyd patriots were confiscated by the British. Joseph, a patriot, fled to Connecticut and a fort (Fort Franklin, now known as Fort Hill) was built by the British in 1778 on the western end of Lloyd Neck overlooking the entrance to Cold Spring Harbor. Another fortification was built on the east side of Lloyd Neck near a large rock. This rock is called Target Rock because British warships were said to have used it for target practice. The last Lloyd to own the estate was Henry Lloyd IV, who acquired it in 1841 and built a dock near the Causeway in 1852 as a stop for Oyster Bay-to-New York steamboats. In the early 1880s, steamboats brought tourists to a beach recreation complex at the end of the Causeway called Columbia Grove. The Lloyd property continued to change hands, but it remained sparsely developed.
The early history of the West Neck portion of the Village included early settlers with greater ties to Huntington. During the Revolution, the residents of the West Neck area were avid patriots and opposed to the Loyalists on Lloyd Neck. One of the earliest tidewater gristmills (milling wheat into flour) was constructed in 1794 on the Mill Pond adjacent to “Puppy Cove” which is an extension of Huntington Harbor. The Van Wyck-Lefferts Mill was accessed by traveling on Lefferts Mill Road (no longer a road) from Southdown Road. The Tidal Mill has been restored and is owned and preserved by The Nature Conservancy. It is accessible by boat tours arranged periodically by The Nature Conservancy (telephone: 631-367-3225).
Later it was found that the clay deposits along Cold Spring Harbor (at the current Village Park location) were ideal for brick making and a large brick-making foundry called Crossman Brick Company was built. Barges shipped loads of bricks to New York City from the shore near the Village Park boat dock.
