Newtown Historical Society - Queens County, NY
Flushing Avenue photos now available online for purchase
Woodward Avenue at Flushing Avenue
The photos from our exhibit, "A Walk Down Flushing Avenue, 1929" are now available for purchase. Please click here to go to photo gallery.
Recent articles about St. Saviour's park fight
Preservationists present plans for St. Saviour’s site [Ridgewood Ledger]
EPF cuts endanger St. Saviour’s plans [Queens Chronicle]
Vision for a New Park [Times Newsweekly]
Vision for St. Saviour's Parkland is Unveiled [Forum West]
EPF cuts endanger St. Saviour’s plans [Queens Chronicle]
Vision for a New Park [Times Newsweekly]
Vision for St. Saviour's Parkland is Unveiled [Forum West]
Newtown exhibit featured in local newspapers
Bank’s exhibit offers glimpse at history [Queens Chronicle]
Take A Look Back At History And A Walk On Flushing Ave. [Times Newsweekly]
Take A Look Back At History And A Walk On Flushing Ave. [Times Newsweekly]
Newtown Pippin lecture at the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown Sun, Feb 21st
Newtown Pippin on the tree
(February 12, 2010) The Newtown Historical Society will be presenting a free lecture and slideshow about the historic Newtown Pippin apple at the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown located at Queens Blvd & 54th Avenue in Elmhurst, on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 12:30pm. The venue was the site of a planting in 2002 which brought the apple back to its area of origin for the first time since the early 19th century. The presentation will explain the history of the apple in Queens and the new replanting project that has been underway for the past year. Speakers will include Bob Singleton, Vice President of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, Erik Baard, Co-founder of the Newtown Pippin Project, and Marjorie Melikian, Historian for the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown. Council Member James Gennaro’s 2009 resolution calling for recognition of the Newtown Pippin as the official apple of the City of New York will also be discussed and samples of the apples will be available for tasting. For more information, please call the Newtown Historical Society at 718-366-3715 or e-mail newtownhistory@gmail.com.
NEWTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS "A WALK DOWN FLUSHING AVENUE, 1929" AT MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS
Flushing & Grand Avenues, 1929
(December 14, 2009) The Newtown Historical Society is proud to present our first exhibit, “A Walk Down Flushing Avenue, 1929” at Maspeth Federal Savings, located at 58-15 69th Street in Maspeth, Queens starting Monday, December 21st, 2009. This photo series is presented to create awareness and foster appreciation of the history of western Queens communities. The exhibit will be displayed in the windows of the recently renovated and upgraded bank building through the end of February and will be viewable from the street.
The photos represent a snapshot of life in Maspeth and Ridgewood on November 1, 1929, just days after the “Black Tuesday” stock market crash that many associate with the beginning of the Great Depression. Several of the buildings featured in the series are still standing, with different uses today. The photos also offer a fascinating glimpse into how people from our communities went about their daily activities 80 years ago.
“Maspeth Federal Savings is pleased to host this photo series highlighting the history of Flushing Avenue and we look forward to working with the Newtown Historical Society to bring more educational exhibits to the public in the future,” said David Daraio, Assistant Vice President of Maspeth Federal Savings.
The Newtown Historical Society will be presenting more photo exhibits, as well as slideshows, lectures and walking tours throughout the upcoming year. Winter 2010 slideshows will include topics such as the development of western Queens neighborhoods, the story of the Newtown Pippin apple and the history of the Ridgewood Reservoir.
For more information about the Flushing Avenue photo exhibit or to join the Newtown Historical Society, please visit www.newtownhistorical.org or call 718-366-3715.
The photos represent a snapshot of life in Maspeth and Ridgewood on November 1, 1929, just days after the “Black Tuesday” stock market crash that many associate with the beginning of the Great Depression. Several of the buildings featured in the series are still standing, with different uses today. The photos also offer a fascinating glimpse into how people from our communities went about their daily activities 80 years ago.
“Maspeth Federal Savings is pleased to host this photo series highlighting the history of Flushing Avenue and we look forward to working with the Newtown Historical Society to bring more educational exhibits to the public in the future,” said David Daraio, Assistant Vice President of Maspeth Federal Savings.
The Newtown Historical Society will be presenting more photo exhibits, as well as slideshows, lectures and walking tours throughout the upcoming year. Winter 2010 slideshows will include topics such as the development of western Queens neighborhoods, the story of the Newtown Pippin apple and the history of the Ridgewood Reservoir.
For more information about the Flushing Avenue photo exhibit or to join the Newtown Historical Society, please visit www.newtownhistorical.org or call 718-366-3715.
News coverage of the Queens Plaza millstone controversy
Colonial-era millstones in danger at Queens Plaza construction site, preservationists peeved [Daily News]
Community Seeks To Preserve Dutch Kills History In Millstones [Queens Gazette]
Civic groups want to preserve colonial-era artifacts at Queens Plaza site [Daily News]
Preservationists want Astoria stones honored [Astoria Times]
Planners Mull Future For Queens Millstones [Queens Tribune]
Community Seeks To Preserve Dutch Kills History In Millstones [Queens Gazette]
Civic groups want to preserve colonial-era artifacts at Queens Plaza site [Daily News]
Preservationists want Astoria stones honored [Astoria Times]
Planners Mull Future For Queens Millstones [Queens Tribune]
Newtown's slideshow featured in the Times Newsweekly
Steven Nobel, Bob Singleton & Christina Wilkinson
The Times Newsweekly in their November 12, 2009 edition, published an article entitled "Spanning Queens for its History" about Newtown Historical Society's Queensboro Bridge lecture at the Middle Village branch of the Queens Borough Public Library.
Newtown Historical's statement with regards to the Payntar millstones at Queens Plaza
The Payntar millstones are endangered by the reconstruction of Queens Plaza. Please read the following and see Newtown Historical's letter to the Queens Civic Congress below.
Colonial-era millstones in danger at Queens Plaza construction site, preservationists peeved [Daily News]
Where there's a mill...there's a way [Forgotten-NY]
History of the millstones [Greater Astoria Historical Society]
There will be a meeting about the preservation of the millstones on Wednesday, November 18th at the Quinn Building, located at 35-20 Broadway, 4th Floor in Astoria.
Colonial-era millstones in danger at Queens Plaza construction site, preservationists peeved [Daily News]
Where there's a mill...there's a way [Forgotten-NY]
History of the millstones [Greater Astoria Historical Society]
There will be a meeting about the preservation of the millstones on Wednesday, November 18th at the Quinn Building, located at 35-20 Broadway, 4th Floor in Astoria.
Special event at the Middle Village Library October 26th:
The Newtown Historical Society is pleased to present a slide illustrated talk about the history of the Queensboro Bridge as part of our free programming.
The Queensboro Bridge, perhaps even more than the Unisphere, is the symbol of the borough. For decades after its completion in 1909, writers would report statistics about Queens - population growth, employment, real estate valuation – by comparing the years before the bridge was built to the decades following. A vast tract of farms and meadows broken only by scattered hamlets became a home for millions almost overnight. The opening of the bridge was the single most important event that made the modern borough of Queens.
Noted author and historian, Bob Singleton, will share his work in a free slide illustrated talk at the Middle Village Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library on Monday, October 26 at 6 PM. Singleton is past president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, which teamed up with the Roosevelt Island Historical Society this year for the 100th Anniversary of the Queensboro Bridge.
The Middle Village Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library is located at 72-31 Metropolitan Avenue. For more information about this event, please call the library at 718-326-1390 or log onto www.newtownhistorical.org.
The Queensboro Bridge, perhaps even more than the Unisphere, is the symbol of the borough. For decades after its completion in 1909, writers would report statistics about Queens - population growth, employment, real estate valuation – by comparing the years before the bridge was built to the decades following. A vast tract of farms and meadows broken only by scattered hamlets became a home for millions almost overnight. The opening of the bridge was the single most important event that made the modern borough of Queens.
Noted author and historian, Bob Singleton, will share his work in a free slide illustrated talk at the Middle Village Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library on Monday, October 26 at 6 PM. Singleton is past president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, which teamed up with the Roosevelt Island Historical Society this year for the 100th Anniversary of the Queensboro Bridge.
The Middle Village Branch of the Queens Borough Public Library is located at 72-31 Metropolitan Avenue. For more information about this event, please call the library at 718-326-1390 or log onto www.newtownhistorical.org.
NEWTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PLANTS HISTORIC APPLE TREES IN MASPETH, MIDDLE VILLAGE & RIDGEWOOD
(L to R) David Daraio, Assistant Vice President, Maspeth Federal Savings, Christina Wilkinson, President, Newtown Historical Society & Council Member Elizabeth Crowley celebrate the planting of the Newtown Pippin tree at Maspeth Federal Savings.
(October 5, 2009) The Newtown Historical Society, in conjunction with The Newtown Pippin Project, identified 3 locations at which to plant historic Newtown Pippin apple trees, bringing the fruit back to its place of origin. The fruit trees were planted today at Maspeth Federal Savings, the Middle Village 75th Street Block Association’s community garden and at Ridgewood’s Onderdonk House.
The Newtown Pippin variety of apple was named after the western area of Queens, once known as Newtown Township. The original apple tree was located on the Gershom Moore farm along a tributary of Newtown Creek in the 1700s. From it, cuttings were taken and planted in orchards throughout the world. The apples were cultivated by some of our country’s founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
As part of a history and environmental project, the Newtown Pippin Project is offering free Pippin trees for planting throughout the city, with added emphasis on locations in western Queens, where the Pippin once grew and was first discovered by colonial Americans. Thanks to a sponsorship from Green Apple Cleaners, care and guidance from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and pioneering local orchard replenishment by Slow Food NYC, a distributed orchard is being created among the city’s open spaces.
The Newtown Historical Society scouted out locations suitable for the trees and volunteers planted them in Maspeth and Middle Village on Monday, October 5th. (The staff of the Ridgewood Historical Society planted the trees at the Onderdonk House after Newtown delivered them.) The planting consists of a Newtown Pippin tree and a pollinator tree. The Onderdonk House received an Elstar apple tree as a pollinator, which is a Dutch variety. The other two locations received St. Edmund's Russet trees.
“The Newtown Pippin represents an important part of our agricultural history which is often overlooked,” said Christina Wilkinson, President of the Newtown Historical Society. “We hope by bringing a little bit of it back, we can use it as a teaching tool to help people understand the rural past of this area and the once-pristine condition of Newtown Creek.”
Erik Baard, Outreach Coordinator for the Newtown Pippin Project, said, “Let the abundance of these trees, and those to come, remind us of how lush and fertile the Newtown Creek and the surrounding city once were, and inspire our actions.”
"I commend Christina Wilkinson for her leadership in bringing back Maspeth's own Newtown Pippin tree," said Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. "As a member of the Environmental Protection committee, I am working with my colleagues to restore the growth of these beautiful trees through New York City and to declare the Newtown Pippin the official apple of the Big Apple!"
The trees may bear their first fruits by 2011. For the next planting in Spring 2010, Newtown Historical Society will focus on bringing the trees to area schools, houses of worship and cemeteries.
For more information about the Newtown Pippin Project, please visit www.newtownpippin.org or www.newtownhistorical.org.
The Newtown Pippin variety of apple was named after the western area of Queens, once known as Newtown Township. The original apple tree was located on the Gershom Moore farm along a tributary of Newtown Creek in the 1700s. From it, cuttings were taken and planted in orchards throughout the world. The apples were cultivated by some of our country’s founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
As part of a history and environmental project, the Newtown Pippin Project is offering free Pippin trees for planting throughout the city, with added emphasis on locations in western Queens, where the Pippin once grew and was first discovered by colonial Americans. Thanks to a sponsorship from Green Apple Cleaners, care and guidance from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and pioneering local orchard replenishment by Slow Food NYC, a distributed orchard is being created among the city’s open spaces.
The Newtown Historical Society scouted out locations suitable for the trees and volunteers planted them in Maspeth and Middle Village on Monday, October 5th. (The staff of the Ridgewood Historical Society planted the trees at the Onderdonk House after Newtown delivered them.) The planting consists of a Newtown Pippin tree and a pollinator tree. The Onderdonk House received an Elstar apple tree as a pollinator, which is a Dutch variety. The other two locations received St. Edmund's Russet trees.
“The Newtown Pippin represents an important part of our agricultural history which is often overlooked,” said Christina Wilkinson, President of the Newtown Historical Society. “We hope by bringing a little bit of it back, we can use it as a teaching tool to help people understand the rural past of this area and the once-pristine condition of Newtown Creek.”
Erik Baard, Outreach Coordinator for the Newtown Pippin Project, said, “Let the abundance of these trees, and those to come, remind us of how lush and fertile the Newtown Creek and the surrounding city once were, and inspire our actions.”
"I commend Christina Wilkinson for her leadership in bringing back Maspeth's own Newtown Pippin tree," said Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. "As a member of the Environmental Protection committee, I am working with my colleagues to restore the growth of these beautiful trees through New York City and to declare the Newtown Pippin the official apple of the Big Apple!"
The trees may bear their first fruits by 2011. For the next planting in Spring 2010, Newtown Historical Society will focus on bringing the trees to area schools, houses of worship and cemeteries.
For more information about the Newtown Pippin Project, please visit www.newtownpippin.org or www.newtownhistorical.org.