Oakdale, New York
Encyclopedia
Oakdale is a hamlet
(and census-designated place
) in Suffolk County
, New York
, United States
. The population was 8,075 at the 2000 census. Oakdale is in the Town of Islip
.
Oakdale Originated from a tavern owned by Eliphalet (Liff) Snedecor in what is now Connetquot River State Park. Soon after its founding in 1820, Snedecor's Tavern began drawing New York bluebloods and business barons who wined and dined in remote joy when they weren't fishing and hunting nearby. ``Liff's food is as good as his creek, a magazine writer declared in 1839, referring to the Connetquot River, ``and the two are only second to his mint juleps and champagne punch; whoever gainsays either fact deserves hanging without benefit of clergy. In 1866, as the railroad reached the area, Liff's wealthy patrons formed the Southside Sportsmen's Club, and soon the race was on to see who could create the most superb spread in the thick forests adjoining Great South Bay.
The most prominent were William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt
; Frederick G. Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Co., and Christopher Robert II, an eccentric heir to a sugar fortune. Meanwhile, William Bayard Cutting, a lawyer, financier and railroad man, built his estate next door in Great River, which had once been west Oakdale.
Oakdale was part of the royal land grant given to William Nicoll, who founded Islip Town in 1697. Local historian Charles P. Dickerson, writing in 1975, said Oakdale's name apparently came from a Nicoll descendant in the mid-19th century. The community has other claims to historical distinction: St. John's Episcopal Church
, built in 1765, is the third oldest church on Long Island. In 1912, Jacob Ockers of Oakdale organized the Bluepoint Oyster Co., which became the largest oyster producer and shipper in the country.
But the mansions dominated Oakdale's past. In 1882, Vanderbilt built the most noted one, Idle Hour, his 900 acres (3.6 km²) estate on the Connetquot River. The lavish, wooden 110-room home was destroyed by fire April 15, 1899, while his son, Willie K. II, was honeymooning there. Willie and his new wife escaped. It was promptly rebuilt of red brick and gray stone, with exquisite furnishings, for a princely $3 million. The building at the time was considered among the finest homes in America. Probably the social event there was the 1895 wedding reception of Vanderbilt's daughter, Consuelo, to the duke of Marlborough. After Vanderbilt's death in 1920, the mansion went through several phases and visitors, including a brief stay during Prohibition by gangster Dutch Schultz. Around that time, cow stalls, pig pens and corn cribs on the farm portion of Idle Hour were converted into a short-lived bohemian artists' colony that included figures such as George Elmer Browne
and Roman Bonet-Sintas. Now the estate is the home of Dowling College
, a fast-growing commuter school.
By 1888, Robert built a spectacular castle just east of Idle Hour called Pepperidge Hall, magnificently furnished in the French style for his young wife. But the pair didn't get along. On January 2, 1898, she told police she found Robert shot to death in his Manhattan apartment. It was ruled suicide and she moved to Paris. The mansion fell into disrepair and was razed in 1940.
In 1897, Bourne, who began with 438 acres (1.8 km²) but later owned several thousand acres reaching to West Sayville, completed his mansion, Indian Neck Hall, on the east side of Oakdale. Bourne was active locally, as commodore of the Sayville Yacht Club, and was generous to the local fire department. The eastern part of his estate now comprises the West Sayville County Golf Course and the Suffolk County Marine Museum, while much of the middle portion is covered with homes. Bourne died in 1920. Six years later the mansion, on the western end, became the site of LaSalle Military Academy, operated by the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order. In 1993, the brothers converted the academy into a kindergarten-through-high school ``global learning community.In 2001, LaSalle was closed and it was bought by St. John's University, New York.
Between St. John's University and the West Sayville Country Club is an approximately 250-cottage private summer colony called West Oak Recreation Club (or W.O.R.C.). Although people believe it to be a summer camp or religious community, it is a 75-year-old exclusive, members-only colony. The word LILCO was scratched into the W.O.R.C. pay phone located adjacent to the "big house" in the days before the utility changed its name to LIPA, but after the period when people had to "do their business", either sitting or standing, at the communal toilets located at what was known as the big house.
Oakdale was founded around two Native American trade routes, where currently lay Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) of it (11.70%) is water.
of 2000, there were 8,075 people, 3,035 households, and 2,148 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 2,430.3 per square mile (939.1/km²). There were 3,207 housing units at an average density of 965.2/sq mi (373.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.88% White, 1.46% African American, 0.01% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.47% from other races
, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.01% of the population.
There were 3,035 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $68,793, and the median income for a family was $88,162. Males had a median income of $53,650 versus $36,056 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $31,239. About 0.8% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
(and census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
) in Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 8,075 at the 2000 census. Oakdale is in the Town of Islip
Islip (town), New York
The Town of Islip is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on the south shore of Long Island, the town population was 322,612 at the 2000 census. The smaller, unincorporated hamlet of Islip lies within the town.-Demographics:...
.
History
Oakdale is a scion of America's gilded age of a century ago, where powerful men of incredible wealth built South Shore gold coast mansions and dwelt in manorial splendor.Oakdale Originated from a tavern owned by Eliphalet (Liff) Snedecor in what is now Connetquot River State Park. Soon after its founding in 1820, Snedecor's Tavern began drawing New York bluebloods and business barons who wined and dined in remote joy when they weren't fishing and hunting nearby. ``Liff's food is as good as his creek, a magazine writer declared in 1839, referring to the Connetquot River, ``and the two are only second to his mint juleps and champagne punch; whoever gainsays either fact deserves hanging without benefit of clergy. In 1866, as the railroad reached the area, Liff's wealthy patrons formed the Southside Sportsmen's Club, and soon the race was on to see who could create the most superb spread in the thick forests adjoining Great South Bay.
The most prominent were William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
; Frederick G. Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Co., and Christopher Robert II, an eccentric heir to a sugar fortune. Meanwhile, William Bayard Cutting, a lawyer, financier and railroad man, built his estate next door in Great River, which had once been west Oakdale.
Oakdale was part of the royal land grant given to William Nicoll, who founded Islip Town in 1697. Local historian Charles P. Dickerson, writing in 1975, said Oakdale's name apparently came from a Nicoll descendant in the mid-19th century. The community has other claims to historical distinction: St. John's Episcopal Church
St. John's Episcopal Church
St. John's Episcopal Church, or variants thereof, can refer to the following:In the United States* St. John's Episcopal Church , listed on the NRHP in Alabama...
, built in 1765, is the third oldest church on Long Island. In 1912, Jacob Ockers of Oakdale organized the Bluepoint Oyster Co., which became the largest oyster producer and shipper in the country.
But the mansions dominated Oakdale's past. In 1882, Vanderbilt built the most noted one, Idle Hour, his 900 acres (3.6 km²) estate on the Connetquot River. The lavish, wooden 110-room home was destroyed by fire April 15, 1899, while his son, Willie K. II, was honeymooning there. Willie and his new wife escaped. It was promptly rebuilt of red brick and gray stone, with exquisite furnishings, for a princely $3 million. The building at the time was considered among the finest homes in America. Probably the social event there was the 1895 wedding reception of Vanderbilt's daughter, Consuelo, to the duke of Marlborough. After Vanderbilt's death in 1920, the mansion went through several phases and visitors, including a brief stay during Prohibition by gangster Dutch Schultz. Around that time, cow stalls, pig pens and corn cribs on the farm portion of Idle Hour were converted into a short-lived bohemian artists' colony that included figures such as George Elmer Browne
George Elmer Browne
George Elmer Browne was an American artist known in France and Massachusetts.-Biography:Browne was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1871. He studied in Boston at the Cowles School of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts before completing his education under Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury in...
and Roman Bonet-Sintas. Now the estate is the home of Dowling College
Dowling College
Dowling College is a private co-educational liberal arts college with three campuses spread across Long Island, New York. The college's main campus in Oakdale, NY sits on the site of William K. Vanderbilt's former Idle Hour estate, which is now known as Fortunoff Hall. The Brookhaven Campus in...
, a fast-growing commuter school.
By 1888, Robert built a spectacular castle just east of Idle Hour called Pepperidge Hall, magnificently furnished in the French style for his young wife. But the pair didn't get along. On January 2, 1898, she told police she found Robert shot to death in his Manhattan apartment. It was ruled suicide and she moved to Paris. The mansion fell into disrepair and was razed in 1940.
In 1897, Bourne, who began with 438 acres (1.8 km²) but later owned several thousand acres reaching to West Sayville, completed his mansion, Indian Neck Hall, on the east side of Oakdale. Bourne was active locally, as commodore of the Sayville Yacht Club, and was generous to the local fire department. The eastern part of his estate now comprises the West Sayville County Golf Course and the Suffolk County Marine Museum, while much of the middle portion is covered with homes. Bourne died in 1920. Six years later the mansion, on the western end, became the site of LaSalle Military Academy, operated by the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order. In 1993, the brothers converted the academy into a kindergarten-through-high school ``global learning community.In 2001, LaSalle was closed and it was bought by St. John's University, New York.
Between St. John's University and the West Sayville Country Club is an approximately 250-cottage private summer colony called West Oak Recreation Club (or W.O.R.C.). Although people believe it to be a summer camp or religious community, it is a 75-year-old exclusive, members-only colony. The word LILCO was scratched into the W.O.R.C. pay phone located adjacent to the "big house" in the days before the utility changed its name to LIPA, but after the period when people had to "do their business", either sitting or standing, at the communal toilets located at what was known as the big house.
Oakdale was founded around two Native American trade routes, where currently lay Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway.
Notable natives and residents
- William Kissam VanderbiltWilliam Kissam VanderbiltWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. He managed railroads and was a horse breeder.-Biography:...
- Alva Erskine SmithAlva BelmontAlva Erskine Belmont , née Alva Erskine Smith, also called Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the women's suffrage movement...
- William Kissam Vanderbilt IIWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt IIWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt II was a motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
- Consuelo VanderbiltConsuelo VanderbiltConsuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...
- Harold Stirling VanderbiltHarold Stirling VanderbiltHarold Stirling Vanderbilt was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, a champion bridge player and a member of the Vanderbilt family.-Background:...
- Frederick Gilbert BourneFrederick Gilbert BourneFrederick Gilbert "Commodore" Bourne was President of the Singer Manufacturing Company between 1889 and 1905. He made the business "perhaps the first modern multinational industrial enterprise of any nationality." Bourne greatly expanded global production as well as international sales of the...
- Dutch SchultzDutch SchultzDutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
- Jane MonheitJane MonheitJane Monheit is a jazz and adult contemporary vocalist for Concord Records. She has collaborated with artists such as Michael Bublé, Ivan Lins, Terence Blanchard and Tom Harrell, and has received Grammy nominations for two of her recordings.-Early life:Jane Monheit was raised in Oakdale, New York...
- Jimmy McNeeceJimmy McNeeceJimmy McNeece was a professional American Lightweight boxer from Oakdale, Long Island, New York. As an amateur boxer McNeece won the 1976 New York Golden Gloves 112 lb. Open Championship. McNeece defeated amateur standout and future professional boxing star Paul Devorce in the finals at...
- Tom McNeeceTom McNeeceTom McNeece was a professional American Light Heavyweight boxer from Oakdale, Long Island, New York. McNeece had an extensive amateur career before turning professional....
- Ginny FieldsGinny FieldsGinny Fields represented the 5th District in the New York State Assembly, which includes parts of the Long Island towns of Brookhaven and Islip, including Centereach, Farmingville, Fire Island, Holbrook, Holtsville, Lake Ronkonkoma, Selden, Bayport, Bohemia, Oakdale, Ronkonkoma, Sayville, and West...
- William FergusonWilliam FergusonWilliam Ferguson may refer to:* Bill Ferguson, cricket scorer* Bill Ferguson , Maryland state senator* Will Ferguson, Canadian writer* William A...
- Matthew BradyMatthew BradyMatthew Brady was a notorious bushranger in Van Diemen's Land in the early 19th century. Born from two immigrants from Ireland, he was sometimes known as the "Gentleman Bushranger" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims.Originally a corporal in a British regiment, he...
Geography
Oakdale is located at 40°44′23"N 73°8′23"W (40.739858, -73.139696).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) of it (11.70%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 8,075 people, 3,035 households, and 2,148 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,430.3 per square mile (939.1/km²). There were 3,207 housing units at an average density of 965.2/sq mi (373.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.88% White, 1.46% African American, 0.01% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.47% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.01% of the population.
There were 3,035 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $68,793, and the median income for a family was $88,162. Males had a median income of $53,650 versus $36,056 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $31,239. About 0.8% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.