Welcome to the Newtown Historical Society
The Newtown Historical Society was founded to educate the public about the history of the villages that comprised Newtown Township in Queens County, NY. Newtown Township stretched from the East River to the Flushing River. Towns covered include: Maspeth, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Middle Village, Glendale, Ridgewood, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodside, Jackson Heights and Corona.
Upcoming events for 2025
We'll be adding more as the year unfolds.
Highland Park Photo Exhibit
Highland Park straddles the Brooklyn-Queens border between Glendale and Cypress Hills-East New York. It was built from 1901-1905 around the Ridgewood Reservoir which was part of the Brooklyn Waterworks. Historic images of the park collected by Newtown Historical Society are now part of an exhibit entitled Highland Park 1879-1939 on display at Council Member Robert Holden’s office.
Visitors may peruse the exhibit anytime during normal business hours at 58-38 69 Street, 2nd floor, in Maspeth. There is a printed guide available that explains what is featured in each photo.
Visitors may peruse the exhibit anytime during normal business hours at 58-38 69 Street, 2nd floor, in Maspeth. There is a printed guide available that explains what is featured in each photo.
NHS cosponsors street co-namings
The following street co-namings were requested by Newtown Historical Society and took place in 2024:
Patrolman Arthur Kenney, NYPD - Woodhaven, April 6
Captain Paul Schmalzried, FDNY - Astoria, April 9
Patrolman Charles Reynolds, NYPD - Ridgewood, April 13
Stanislaw Kozikowski, Lost Battalion, WWI - Maspeth, April 20
SSA Orville Williams, NYPD - Woodhaven, May 4
P.O. Robert Walsh, NYPD - Maspeth, May 18
Patrolman John Madden, NYPD, - Middle Village, June 1
Lieutenant Henry Schmiemann, NYPD - Middle Village, June 22
P.O. Paul Heidelberger, NYPD - Queens Village, September 22
Patrolman Joseph Norden, NYPD - Ridgewood, September 28
Patrolman Robert Rogerson, NYPD - Ridgewood, October 13
Detective Richard Arundell, NYPD - Rego Park, October 19
Sergeant Thomas O'Grady, NYPD - Woodhaven, October 26
Patrolman Arthur Howarth, NYPD - Maspeth, November 16
P.O. Anthony Mosomillo, NYPD - Glendale, November 22
Patrolman Joseph Rauchut, NYPD - Maspeth, December 14
Scheduled in 2025:
Patrolman Benjamin Bruno, NYPD - Douglaston, February 1
Captain Richard McHale, NYPD - Whitestone, March 13
Patrolman Philip Meyer, NYPD - Glendale, TBD
Miss Billee Duncan, Dance Instructor - Elmhurst, TBD
Please check our Twitter feed for the latest information on the co-namings.
ONGOING
Fundraiser for fallen officer's headstone
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In 1929, Albert Bruder of NYPD Motorcycle 2 was killed in the line of duty. He left behind a wife and five children who didn't have enough money to erect a headstone at Mount Olivet Cemetery and his grave remains unmarked. In 2024 we obtained permission to place a headstone and raised enough funds to cover the purchase of a monument and associated cemetery fees.
Korean hero buried in Maspeth returns home
Read the fascinating story of WWI veteran and Korean freedom fighter Carl Whang, born Whang Ki-hwan. This year he was exhumed from his Maspeth grave and returned to his native Korea as a national hero.
Presenting the Glendale Rewind Slideshow!
NHS presented a slideshow in early April 2021 that is available for viewing at your convenience. "Glendale Rewind" presents the history of the town of Glendale from the early 1920s to the present in a series of photos. Forgotten NY's Kevin Walsh, historian and urban planner Paul Graziano and former Glendale residents Donna and Richie Salmon joined NHS President Christina Wilkinson on the journey through time.
Elmhurst Historic Photo Discussion
Historic Marker Dedicated to DeWitt Clinton Home
Installed in Maspeth
(MASPETH, NY; December 22, 2019) The Newtown Historical Society’s 2-year mission to replace a long-lost roadside historic marker that notes the former location of the mansion of Governor DeWitt Clinton, the “Father of the Erie Canal,” was finally accomplished this month. The marker replaces one that was originally installed in the 1930s and is located at the triangular park at the intersection of Maspeth Ave, 56th Terrace and 58th Street.
Governor Clinton (1769-1828) is believed to have planned the Erie Canal at his Maspeth summer home, which he and his wife Maria inherited from his father-in-law, Walter Franklin. The mansion stood very close to Newtown Landing, the historic town dock. The house burned down in 1933 after many years of neglect. Shortly after, an historic marker was placed to note the location of the local landmark by the NYS Department of Education’s State History Office, indicating that it had statewide importance. It is believed that the marker disappeared decades ago when the roads were widened and reconfigured.
“While doing historic research back in 2017, I came across a photo of the old marker that was at the intersection,” said Newtown Historical Society President Christina Wilkinson. “I thought to myself, why couldn’t NHS replace it? There’s a tree-lined plaza at the location now and it would enhance the area while teaching residents about the history of Maspeth.”
State Senator Joseph Addabbo’s office did the research determining that the plaza was owned by the NYC Dept of Transportation. Funding from Council Member Robert Holden covered the cost of the marker. It was purchased from Catskills Castings, which also created the original marker for the State History Office.
Last March, Community Board 2 unanimously voted in favor of supporting the placement of the marker and this past July the NYC Design Commission approved NHS’ application. When Juniper Park Civic Association President Tony Nunziato heard about the project, he arranged for Marco Properties to install the marker, and on December 16th the work was completed. Money collected via a Facebook fundraiser covered the cost of installation.
“Montauk has long been known as ‘The End’ of Long Island,” said Nunziato. “Well, Maspeth is actually ‘The Beginning’ both geographically and historically and this project helps acknowledge that.”
The mansion had a long history that predated Clinton’s time there, including a Revolutionary War connection.
This is the second historic marker that NHS has installed. The first was erected last December at the Ridgewood Reservoir.
NHS and JPCA team up to install flag collection box at
Maspeth Federal Savings
Local residents now have a convenient place to dispose of their retired American flags. Newtown Historical Society and Juniper Park Civic Association teamed up to acquire and assemble a flag collection box which Maspeth Federal Savings Bank has graciously offered to host at its Main Branch located at 56-18 69th Street.
From L-R: MFS Marketing Supervisor Kristen Sapienza, JPCA President Tony Nunziato, NHS President Christina Wilkinson, MFS Marketing Manager Jill Nicolois
From L-R: MFS Marketing Supervisor Kristen Sapienza, JPCA President Tony Nunziato, NHS President Christina Wilkinson, MFS Marketing Manager Jill Nicolois
Victory! Ridgewood Reservoir is permanently protected!
January 7, 2019
The Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park has officially been designated a wetland by the NYS DEC after 11 years of advocacy by a coalition of environmental and historic preservation activists. Here is a link to a copy the official declaration. The order was signed by DEC on October 24, 2018 although the Queens Parks Commissioner was not made aware of it until late December. This is a huge victory for all of us who advocated for protection as well as park goers who enjoy visiting the Reservoir.
There are dozens of individuals and organizations that deserve credit for this, especially Queens Community Board 5, who was on board from the beginning, but for a concise history of who did what and when, please see Page 8 of The Clapper Rail.
Background:
The Bloomberg Administration, under its PlaNYC 2030 initiative wanted to spend $40 million to turn Highland Park into a "destination park" by removing the natural habitats and replacing them with active recreation. An opposition effort was spearheaded in 2007 by birders and artists, mainly from Brooklyn. They grew a coalition that included organizations such as Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates as well as heavy hitters like NYC Audubon and Riverkeeper. Comptroller William Thompson and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s 2008 NY Times op-ed raised the visibility of the reservoir's predicament citywide. In 2009, certified wetlands delineator Mickey Cohen volunteered to map the wetlands inside the Ridgewood Reservoir basins for the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance (previously known as the Ridgewood Reservoir Education & Preservation Project) and wrote a detailed report. A review of the activists' 2010 application to the DEC was delayed due to Hurricane Sandy and other environmental issues in the state. DEC later claimed each basin was an individual wetland, each of which were too small to meet the criteria for designation.
A lack of funding caused Parks to abandon their development plan, but they proceeded with phase 1 and 2 of restoration of the paths around the perimeter and between basins 2 and 3. Historic preservation and natural conservation eventually won over, but the DEC had the reservoir classified as a "high-hazard" dam, and the Parks Dept then was put in the position of having to breach the walls of the basins in order to comply with DEC's safety regulations, which would have put the habitats in peril. In 2014, the Parks Dept requested that the DEC reclassify the reservoir as a "low hazard" dam, and in 2017 then-Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski announced that she completed the application to accomplish that, which eliminated the need to alter the walls of the basins.
In November 2017, Basil Seggos wrote to Assembly Member Cathy Nolan to explain that there was another criteria that could be used to designate the Reservoir as wetlands. The basins' "unusual local importance" made them eligible. A hearing was held and the comment period ended in March of last year. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for final approval.
The Newtown Historical Society is proud to have been a part of this amazing effort. We believe that environmentalism and historic preservation go hand-in-hand. We are still looking forward to seeing the pathway between basins 1 and 2 restored and for the invasive species within the basins to be replaced with native plants, and hope the gatehouse and pumphouse will someday be restored, but now is a time to celebrate achieving a long-sought victory.
Christina Wilkinson
President
Newtown Historical Society
The Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park has officially been designated a wetland by the NYS DEC after 11 years of advocacy by a coalition of environmental and historic preservation activists. Here is a link to a copy the official declaration. The order was signed by DEC on October 24, 2018 although the Queens Parks Commissioner was not made aware of it until late December. This is a huge victory for all of us who advocated for protection as well as park goers who enjoy visiting the Reservoir.
There are dozens of individuals and organizations that deserve credit for this, especially Queens Community Board 5, who was on board from the beginning, but for a concise history of who did what and when, please see Page 8 of The Clapper Rail.
Background:
The Bloomberg Administration, under its PlaNYC 2030 initiative wanted to spend $40 million to turn Highland Park into a "destination park" by removing the natural habitats and replacing them with active recreation. An opposition effort was spearheaded in 2007 by birders and artists, mainly from Brooklyn. They grew a coalition that included organizations such as Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates as well as heavy hitters like NYC Audubon and Riverkeeper. Comptroller William Thompson and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s 2008 NY Times op-ed raised the visibility of the reservoir's predicament citywide. In 2009, certified wetlands delineator Mickey Cohen volunteered to map the wetlands inside the Ridgewood Reservoir basins for the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance (previously known as the Ridgewood Reservoir Education & Preservation Project) and wrote a detailed report. A review of the activists' 2010 application to the DEC was delayed due to Hurricane Sandy and other environmental issues in the state. DEC later claimed each basin was an individual wetland, each of which were too small to meet the criteria for designation.
A lack of funding caused Parks to abandon their development plan, but they proceeded with phase 1 and 2 of restoration of the paths around the perimeter and between basins 2 and 3. Historic preservation and natural conservation eventually won over, but the DEC had the reservoir classified as a "high-hazard" dam, and the Parks Dept then was put in the position of having to breach the walls of the basins in order to comply with DEC's safety regulations, which would have put the habitats in peril. In 2014, the Parks Dept requested that the DEC reclassify the reservoir as a "low hazard" dam, and in 2017 then-Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski announced that she completed the application to accomplish that, which eliminated the need to alter the walls of the basins.
In November 2017, Basil Seggos wrote to Assembly Member Cathy Nolan to explain that there was another criteria that could be used to designate the Reservoir as wetlands. The basins' "unusual local importance" made them eligible. A hearing was held and the comment period ended in March of last year. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for final approval.
The Newtown Historical Society is proud to have been a part of this amazing effort. We believe that environmentalism and historic preservation go hand-in-hand. We are still looking forward to seeing the pathway between basins 1 and 2 restored and for the invasive species within the basins to be replaced with native plants, and hope the gatehouse and pumphouse will someday be restored, but now is a time to celebrate achieving a long-sought victory.
Christina Wilkinson
President
Newtown Historical Society
National Register marker now at Ridgewood Reservoir
The National Register marker that was granted to NHS by the William C. Pomeroy Foundation has been installed next to the main steps at the Ridgewood Reservoir. Thank you to NYC Parks for working with us to get this done!
Celebrating the 375th Anniversary of Maspeth's founding
The year 2017 is the 375th Anniversary of the founding of the town by English Puritans under a Dutch patent. We have dedicated a section of our site to Maspeth history in honor of the occasion. Please click on "Maspeth history" on the menu bar to the left. Some articles are taken from other sources, but most are written after extensive research.
Restoration of Ridgewood Plateau arches complete!
The Newtown Historical Society and Juniper Civic, with funding provided by Maspeth Federal Savings and O'Neill's restaurant, have completed the restoration of the Ridgewood Plateau arches! You can read more about it here.
Aluminaire House defeated at LPC
The Aluminaire House, a 1930s-era experimental home, was proposed for placement in Sunnyside Gardens. Newtown Historical Society opposed this in a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission due to the building being out of context in the surrounding historic district. The proposal was voted down by the board in January 2014.