View of the interior of the Amityville Post Office, circa 1900.

Amityville, 1894

The two year old "Bank Building" (Triangle Building) was the focal point of Amityville in 1894, as it is a hundred years later in 1994.

In 1894 the building was destine to become the seat of village government following an election to incorporate on Feb. 27 of that year. On that date 335 residents within a two and thirty-six hundredths square mile area cast their votes. When the polls closed at 3 p.m., 174 people had voted for incorporation and 159 voted against.

Expenses incurred to achieve incorporation were $250. The amount had been borrowed on a note from a reliable community institution, The Bank of Amityville.

An election was held on April 10, 1894 to select the officers for the new village. The Union Party candidates were victorious, defeating the slate of the Citizens League.

One of the first actions of the new village government was to rent office space at $20 per month in the Triangle Building and to engage the services of a clerk for the sum of $50 per year.

There were no paved streets or sidewalks. But there were three fire companies equipped with horse and hand drawn equipment, three churches and a new brick school nearing completion on Park Avenue. Residents were kept informed by two weekly newspapers, The Dispatch, forerunner of the Amityville Record, and The Chronicle. A major source of community income was realized from numerous summer rentals in the hotels and private residences.

To improve life in the village and protect the citizens, the village board hired a constable in July of ’94 at $15 per month to enforce the ordinances. One of the constable’s tasks was to collect fifty cents for dog licenses. Unlicensed dogs were to be kept in his care for fifty cents per day until redeemed by the owner.

In November, 1894 the village entered into an agreement with the Amityville Electric Company to provide thirty, sixteen candlepower lamps at $1.50 per lamp per month. The residents were not ready for this improvement. A proposition to set aside $1000 for street lights was voted down.

But the installation of several fire hydrants by the Amityville Water Company and an arrangement to sprinkle the streets to lay the dust met with approval.

After a little more than a year of living in the incorporated village, eighty-nine citizens filed a petition to disincorporate. A special election was called for October 18, 1895 to nullify the action of the previous year. Two hundred sixty-three votes were recorded; 162 for incorporation, 101 to disincorporate.

And, so it was in Amityville in l894.

—Compiled by Seth Purdy