James Balletta Owner/Broker
(516) 921-5025
C.R.B., G.R.I., C.R.S.

President, Licensed Real Estate Broker

Old Brookville

Beginnings:
Like the rest of the Brookville area, what is now the Village of Old Brookville was part of mid-17th Century land purchases from the Matinecock Indians by Oyster Bay Town and early settlers in the Cedar Swamp territory east of Hempstead Harbor. English and Dutch farmers were the first white inhabitants. By the mid-1800s, their descendants were selling much of their corn to a starch factory in nearby Glen Cove, where the manufacturing residue was excellent cattle fodder coveted by farmers from miles around. Another occupation was the breeding of trolley car, brewery and delivery horses for New York City. The Rushmore house on Glen Cove Highway is the oldest house in the village. It dates in part to 1690 and it retains its original handmade shingles and nails.

Turning Points:
The heavily wooded Brookvilles, only about 25 miles from the city (New York), were highly attractive to wealthy New Yorkers eager to build Gold Coast mansions. An elegant example was Rynwood, the 60-room mansion built in 1927 on 127 acres for Sir Samuel Salvage, a titan of the rayon industry who was knighted in 1942 for service years earlier to Great Britain. The second owner was Margaret Emerson, widow of Socialite Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and daughter of Isaac E. Emerson, who invented the headache remedy Bromo Seltzer. The restored mansion is now called Villa Banti, and the grounds are part of Banti Vintners. Old Brookville became a village in 1929 when it had 278 residents, 29 of whom voted on the incorporation issue.

Village Notes:
In 2000, Old Brookville had 2,167 residents, and a median family income of $133,192, among Long Island's (and the country's) highest. The 4-square-mile village coordinates a police force that protects Old Brookville and several surrounding estate villages.

Where to Find More:
"History of the Incorporated Village of Old Brookville," edited by Silas Anthony Reed, 1985, and local history collection, Jericho Public Library.