A Look Back at Freeport
In 1836 Freeport was known as Raynor South and our neighboring village of Roosevelt was known as Rum Point, (later changed to Greenwich Point). The numeral 25 at the top of the map shows Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, (and its toll gate) then known as the Sou
th Post Road. Just below it the parallel road shown is Jerusalem Avenue. The road shown diagonally from upper left to lower right is Nassau Road as far as Rum Point where it became Babylon Turnpike until it reached Merricks, Bigars Creek at the left is now Milburn Creek, and the road to the right of it is now known as North Brookside Avenue. The wavy line beginning under the numeral 25 in the center of the map was Old Mill Road, which began at Babylon Turnpike and Grand Avenue, and ran down to Merrick Road. When the L.I. Railroad was built the lower portion was abandoned and the upper portion is now Lakeview Avenue. The six dark spots, in the center of the map a long East Meadow Creek are ponds which supplied water power for the operation of paper mills. The paper, made of straw was used for wrapping bundled. The big letters "STEA" are part of "HEMPSTEAD" on the township map from which this section is reproduced.-
More information about this map can be found in John DeLorme's A Pictorial History of Early Freeport New York, 1955.
