Tom Montalbano

Syosset (Ny) (Images of America) Tom Montalbano

A bustling suburb that hosts a wide array of businesses and retail shops, a top-rated school system, and a largely affluent, ethnically diverse population, Syosset has become one of Long Islandís most desirable places to live. Yet, as the years have passed, much of the communityís early history has been lost. ÃÃSyosset uses rare photographs, diaries, historical documents, and interviews to uncover fascinating information about the Syosset-Woodbury areaís past, from its humble beginning in 1648 to its transformation into a booming residential suburb in the 1950s. For example, did you know that Native Americans once hunted in the area of Humphrey Drive or that the British army had an encampment in Syosset during the American Revolution? Can you guess when the Long Island Rail Road first chugged through Syosset? (Hint: Soldiers rode the train out of Syosset on their way to fight in the Civil War.) These and other captivating facts, including some surprising revelations about poet Walt Whitmanís disastrous stint as a teacher in Woodbury, the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Syosset, and the eccentric behavior of some of Syossetís most colorful Gatsby-era ìestatespeople,î are all documented in text and rare photographs collected over more than a decade. ÃÃ