Manhasset

History

The Matinecock had a village on Manhasset Bay. They made wampum from oyster shells. In 1623, the area was claimed by the Dutch West India Company and they began forcing English settlers to leave in 1640. A 1643 land purchase made it possible for English settlers to return to Cow Neck (the peninsula where present-day Port Washington, Manhasset, and surrounding villages are located.). Manhasset Bay was previously known as Schout's Bay (a schout being roughly the Dutch equivalent of a sheriff), Martin Garretson's Bay (Martin Garretson was the Schout at one point), and later Cow Bay or Cow Harbor. Dairy farming was still a major endeavor, but the oyster industry was also on the rise. In 1898, the Long Island Railroad arrived, bringing with it wealthy New Yorkers looking for country homes with easy transportation to more urban areas of New York City. The Manhasset area, settled by 1680, grew quickly after it began being served by the Long Island Rail Road in 1898. The LIRR provides access to New York City via the Manhasset station with an approximately 40-minute commute to Penn Station or Grand Central. Express trains, which run during rush hour, make the trip in less than 30 minutes. The hamlet of Manhasset is located 19.5 miles (29.2 km) away from midtown Manhattan. In the 2010s and 2020s, talks have been restarted to connect the businesses on Plandome Road to sanitary sewers operated by the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District. These proposals have been discussed for decades but historically had been met with opposition, ultimately killing some of the earlier plans. The most recent proposal to incorporate the hamlet took place in 2016.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.24%, is water. Like the rest of Long Island's North Shore, Manhasset is situated on a terminal moraine, which is named the Harbor Hill Moraine. This moraine was formed by glaciers during the Wisconsin Glacial Episode, and is named for Harbor Hill in Roslyn; Harbor Hill is the highest geographic point in Nassau County. Manhasset is split among two minor drainage areas: Leeds Pond and Whitney Pond (both of which are part of the Manhasset Bay Watershed). Furthermore, the CDP, as a whole, is located within the larger Long Island Sound/Atlantic Ocean Watershed. Accordingly, the CDP experiences hot, humid summers and cold winters, and experiences precipitation throughout the entirety of the year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Manhasset is located within hardiness zone 7b. In addition to the unincorporated areas of Manhasset proper (Bayview, the Strathmores (North and South Strathmore, Strathmore Village, and Strathmore–Vanderbilt), Shorehaven, Terrace Manor, Manhasset Park, Manhasset Gardens, and Norgate), the Greater Manhasset area also includes three incorporated villages: Munsey Park, Plandome, and Plandome Heights; and parts of three others: Flower Hill, Plandome Manor, and North Hills.

Race & ethnicity