Hempstead

History

The town was first settled around 1644 following the establishment of a treaty between English colonists, John Carman and Robert Fordham, and the Lenape Indians in 1643. Although the settlers were from the new English colony of New Haven (established in 1638), later incorporated into Connecticut (1662), a patent was issued by the government of New Netherland after the settlers had purchased land from the local natives. This transaction is depicted in a mural in the Hempstead Village Hall, reproduced from a poster commemorating the 300th anniversary of Hempstead Village. In local Dutch-language documents of the 1640s and later, the town was invariably called Heemstede, and several of Hempstead's original 50 patentees were Dutch, suggesting that Hempstead was named after the Dutch town and/or castle of the same name, both of which are located near the cities of Haarlem and Amsterdam. However, the authorities possibly had Dutchified a name given by co-founder John Carman, who was born in 1606 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, on land owned by his ancestors since the 13th century. In 1664, the settlement under the new Province of New York adopted the Duke's Laws, austere statutes that became the basis upon which the laws of many colonies were to be founded. For a time, Hempstead became known as "Old Blue", as a result of the "Blue Laws".'' During the American Revolution, the Loyalists in the south and the American sympathizers in the north caused a split in 1784 into "North Hempstead" and "South Hempstead". South Hempstead was renamed to Hempstead in 1796. Richard Hewlett, who was born in Hempstead, served as a Lieutenant Colonel with the British Army under General Oliver De Lancey in the American Revolution. Afterwards, Hewlett departed the United States…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 191.3 square miles (495.5 km2), of which 120.0 square miles (310.7 km2) is land and 71.4 square miles (184.8 km2) – or 37.30% – is water. The western town line is Nassau County's border with Queens County in New York City. Its northern border, with the Town of North Hempstead and the town of Oyster Bay, is along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road and along Old Country Road in Garden City heading east towards the Wantagh Parkway. Its eastern border, also with the town of Oyster Bay, runs parallel to (and several hundred feet west of) Route 107. To the south is the Atlantic Ocean, off of Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout, and Jones Beach, as well as the city of Long Beach. The most popular beach on the east coast of the United States, Jones Beach State Park, is located in Hempstead. The beach is a popular destination for Long Islanders and residents of New York. The beach itself receives approximately six million visitors per year. The town of Hempstead contains 22 villages and 38 hamlets: * Atlantic Beach * Bellerose * Cedarhurst * East Rockaway * Floral Park (small part in North Hempstead) * Freeport * Garden City (small part in North Hempstead) * Hempstead (village) * Hewlett Bay Park * Hewlett Harbor * Hewlett Neck * Island Park * Lawrence * Lynbrook * Malverne * Mineola (almost all in North Hempstead) * New Hyde Park (part; northern half in North Hempstead) * Rockville Centre * South Floral Park * Stewart Manor * Valley Stream * Woodsburgh * Baldwin * Baldwin Harbor * Barnum Island * Bay Park * Bellerose Terrace * Bellmore * Bethpage (almost all in Oyster Bay) * East Atlantic Beach * East Garden City * East Meadow * Elmont * Franklin Square * Garden City…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• FREEPORT HIGH SCHOOL
  High · FREEPORT · 2,264 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• UNIONDALE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · UNIONDALE · 2,080 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
  Other · HEMPSTEAD · 1,880 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HEMPSTEAD · 1,866 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• HICKSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HICKSVILLE · 1,852 students · 13:1 ratio
• NEW HYDE PARK MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · NEW HYDE PARK · 1,727 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• NASSAU BOCES
  Other · GARDEN CITY · 1,712 students · 4.4:1 ratio
• FARMINGDALE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · FARMINGDALE · 1,703 students · 10.4:1 ratio