LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending the Neighborhood of Middle Village,
Queens, New York, upon the occasion of celebrating its 200th Anniversary

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and honor
the history of our state and the counties, cities, towns, villages and
neighborhoods that together make up the whole of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Middle Village, Queens, had its real genesis as an area phys-
ically located between the settled farmlands of Jamaica, Queens, and the
town of Williamsburgh in Kings County, where the ferry to Manhattan was
located in the early 19th Century; and
WHEREAS, In 1816, a private wooden-plank toll road, known as the
Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turnpike, opened after several years of
construction by brothers Stephen and Samuel Masters, running along an
old Indian path and colonial route; and
WHEREAS, At this time 200 years ago, a small hamlet grew up along the
new turnpike and was dubbed Middle Village, owing to its location half-
way between Jamaica, Queens and the Brooklyn ferry docks; and
WHEREAS, Restaurants, inns, stores and blacksmiths opened in Middle
Village to cater to travelers along the turnpike, many bringing their
wares to the ferry to sell in Manhattan markets, and the neighborhood
continued to prosper around the newly constructed road; and
WHEREAS, The Masters brothers ended their personal involvement with
the Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turnpike in 1834, but their company
continued to operate the toll road, with improvements in 1849 and later
efforts in 1869 to reconstruct the deteriorating roadway with train
tracks and a trolley after the end of the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, Middle Village became home to many German immigrants in the
1840s, which increased the size of the town; the opening of Lutheran
Cemetery in 1852 also brought an influx of new companies related to the
funeral business to the area, which was further bolstered in 1879 by the
opening of St. John Cemetery and the Fresh Pond Crematory in 1884; and
WHEREAS, In later years, Middle Village saw a number of important
changes: James A. Herriman, the president of the Turnpike company, sold
the roadway in 1873 to the Town of Newtown for $15,000 in bonds, creat-
ing a public road still known as Metropolitan Avenue; electricity and
gas lighting came to the hamlet in the late 1800s; the gigantic Juniper
Swamp peat bog was filled in and ultimately became the extraordinary
Juniper Park; and an electric substation was constructed in 1923 to
serve the whole Queens Community Board No. 5 area; and
WHEREAS, In the intervening years, Middle Village, which also
attracted a sizable Italian population, has continued to grow and
thrive, is an integral part of Queens, and is an exceptional, close-knit
neighborhood where residents are able to happily live, work, do business
and raise their families; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the Neighborhood of Middle Village, Queens, New York, upon the
occasion of celebrating its 200th Anniversary; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the residents of Middle Village, Queens, New York.