A series of articles on the role that the Town of Babylon has played in building America

by William H. Frohlich

One hundred thirty years ago, the Town of Babylon was created from an area then known as "Huntington South." A line was drawn one mile north of the Long Island Rail Road's "main line" to separate the new Town of Babylon from Huntington. The area we know today as the Town of Babylon was once, in pre-Colonial days, a place Huntington farmers used to grow salt hay, the feed for their cattle.

They knew that the natural streams could be used to furnish waterpower for turning their grinding stones. Those grist mill wheels could turn grain into flour. There were also tidal gristmills in use at that time on Long Island. These captured the inflow of ocean water up a stream or canal. When the tide went out, the water that was held back was directed back toward the sea through a sluice that turned a mill wheel. The south shore also had the advantage of steady winds to turn windmills.

The many advantages of the area known as Babylon finally encouraged the town fathers to create a separate town, a new town, in the State of New York in 1872. (Many people think these are "townships." But, the State of New York does not use that designation. We use "towns" in New York, as is always pointed out to me by the Lindenhurst Historian Evelyn Ellis!)

The Long Island Rail Road had already been operating its main line through the area for 30 years when the Town of Babylon was created. The line, which was then completely in the Town of Babylon, had a major advantage. Unfortunately, in those early years, the line made few stops as it traveled through the loneliest part of the island's mid-section. There was little reason to stop, except for the hamlet of Deer Park.

Babylon's "northern frontier" with Huntington, where I live in Wheatley Heights, was sparsely settled in the early years of the Town of Babylon. (Although, the northern hills of the Town of Babylon hold some very interesting history that we will explore in future columns.) The oldest house in the Town is also located there, on Main Avenue in Wheatley Heights, and was built in the 1840s.

The real action in the Town was on the south shore. The villages of Amityville, Lindenhurst and Babylon Village were well established when the Town was created in 1872.

In the weeks ahead, we will explore how the Town of Babylon has changed and evolved in the past 130 years. We will look at the many people who built the Town and made it the wonderful place we live in today. we will see how their legacy has come down to us today in our place names, the streets we live on, and in our institutions.

We will talk to the village historians and long-time residents who will tell us how our Town grew up. We will look for the stories of the great people who called Babylon Town their home. We will try to discover how America has influenced the Town of Babylon and how Babylon has had its impact on America.

So, Happy Birthday Babylon. We want to be part of your next 130 years!

(If you have a question for the Babylon Town Historian, send an e-mail message to billfrohlich@hotmail.com.)

The writer is the Babylon Town Historian