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Old Posted Apr 18, 2012, 1:51 AM
nygirl1 nygirl1 is offline
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The best of Long Island: Part 9: Mineola

Mineola is a village in the middle of Nassau County. It was settled in the 18th century on the grassy Hempstead Plains and used mostly for planting by Dutch and English settlers. Mineola was one of various communities started on the plain. After Nassau split with Queens County when New York consolidated it in 1898 it was voted to become the county seat. Mineola is also home to Winthrop University Hospital founded in 1896. The area became home to the new flight industry favorable for its flat terrain. Charles Lindbergh began his historic flight from nearby Roosevelt Field. Main Street was a center of life for local farmers. As the 20th century progressed post offices, theaters, businesses and the population flourished. The Long Island Railroad created a station and Mineola became a densely populated commuter suburb with a small core forming around its railroad station that eventually began to branch out, north, south, east and west. Farmland was sold off and homes were built in their place creating a suburban community that surrounded the business core. Eventually Jericho Turnpike which runs east and west through the center of Nassau County replaced the old core in Mineola. The area opened up to middle-working class New Yorkers escaping the city during white flight, most significantly the Italian community. Today the area has a large concentration of Portuguese residents who now dominate but Mineola is also home to Italians and Greeks. It is predominantly middle class.




















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