Oakdale, New York
From Wikipedia, the free 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.
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[edit] History
Oakdale is a relic 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. It may seem peculiar, but it all began because a good old boy of the time named Eliphalet (Liff) Snecedor ran a terrific tavern in the woods, 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 Gilbert Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. (Singer Corporation), 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-1800s. 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-acre 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. The joke of the time was that, "His wife was so hot, she was the reason for the fire!" 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, Consuela, 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.
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 Jan. 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 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 is now comprised of 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 La Salle 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.
[edit] Geography
Oakdale is located at (40.739858, -73.139696)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.7 km² (3.8 mi²). 8.6 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (11.70%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 8,075 people, 3,035 households, and 2,148 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 939.1/km² (2,430.3/mi²). There were 3,207 housing units at an average density of 373.0/km² (965.2/mi²). 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.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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