Old Westbury

History

What is now the Village of Old Westbury was originally inhabited by Matinecock Native Americans. It was first settled by European colonists – primarily Dutchmen and Englishmen – in the mid-17th century. and was later joined by Henry Willis – one of the first English settlers in the area. Westbury had been a Quaker community of isolated farms until the railroad came in 1836. The estate of Robert Winthrop, an investment banker and member of the Dudley–Winthrop family, for whom Winthrop-University Hospital was named, has been similarly preserved. Part of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's estate and her sculpture studio has been preserved and maintained by one of her grandchildren, Pamela Tower LeBoutillier. Its first mayor was William W. Cocks. At the time of its incorporation, the village had a population of approximately 500. Originally built as the water tower for the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Residence, it now serves as the club's focal point. On December 27, 1948, in a referendum vote of 81-to-6, a measure passed to allow of territory at the westernmost edge of the village to secede, after four property owners in that area submitted a petition for the village to hold the vote and secede. This territory, accordingly, would become an unincorporated area of – and governed by – the Town of North Hempstead. A portion of the territory that seceded would become the Levitt & Sons-developed Roslyn Country Club development. Once the parkway was completed, many residents found it to not be the eyesore they had been anticipating and regretted making their commutes more inconvenient than necessary. In the 1950s, the state of New York purchased land from Charles E. Wilson – a former president of General Motors, who needed to sell off his Old Westbury estate to pull himself out of…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. The village lost territory to the Village of East Hills and the Town of North Hempstead in the late 1940s, between the 1940 census and the 1950 census. Precipitation is uniform throughout the year, with slight spring and fall peaks. | Feb light = 10.7 | Jan light = 9.6 | Mar light = 12.0 | Apr light = 13.3 | May light = 14.5 | Jun light = 15.1 | Jul light = 14.8 | Aug light = 13.8 | Sep light = 12.5 | Oct light = 11.1 | Nov light = 9.9 | Dec light = 9.3 }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• SYOSSET SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SYOSSET · 2,266 students · 10.1:1 ratio
• 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