| |
Muttontown Beginnings:
This upscale village in northern Oyster Bay Town traces its name to the early English and Dutch settlers of the mid-1600s who found the rolling hills ideal for thousands of sheep that grazed there, providing mutton and wool. First mention of Muttontown in town records occurred just after 1750, identifying it as a "former great sheep district" between Wolver Hollow (now Brookville) and Syosset.
Turning Points:
Around the turn of the century, wealthy families from New York City established large homes in Muttontown as part of Gold Coast fever. A majestic example was Knollwood, a 60-room mansion erected by Wall Street tycoon Charles I. Hudson in 1906-1907. It had elements of Greek Revival, Italian Renaissance, and Spanish styling, with towering Ionic front columns. Two other estates became the Woodcrest Club and the Muttontown Golf and Country Club, the village's major private sanctuaries. Another seminal change for Muttontown was its post-World War II growth, from 382 people in 1950 to 3,500 in 2006 in a village of 6.1 square miles, and where the median family income in 2006 was one of Long Island's highest: $185,000.
The Albanian Connection:
The 550-acre, Nassau County-owned Muttontown Preserve, which is open to the public, is in the village. Part of it used to be Hudson's Knollwood estate, which was sold in 1951 to King Zog I of Albania. Zog never lived there, and sold it in 1955 to Lansdell K. Christie, who had made a fortune mining iron ore in Liberia. The 60-room mansion was razed by Christies in 1959 after extensive vandalism. But the county at various times purchased a total of about 430 acres from Christie for the reserve.
Church Site:
Because of the way village boundaries were drawn when Muttontown was incorporated in 1931, the landmark Brookville Reformed Church, completed in 1734 and historically linked with Brookville, is located a short distance into Muttontown, at Brookville and Wheatly Roads, where Brookville, Upper Brookville, and Muttontown converge.
Where to Find More:
"Long Island Country Houses and their Architects, 1860-1940," and local history collection, including newspaper and Long Island Forum files, at Syosset Public Library.
| |
