'What's in a Name?' 300 Years of Lynbrook History

Lynbrook has the distinction of having a unique, one-of-a-kind name.

The Incorporated Village of Lynbrook is the only "Lynbrook" in the United States.  Lynbrook High School is one of two in the U.S. (the other, oddly enough, is in San Jose, Calif.). The village also has the unique distinction of having had 10 different names throughout its relatively short history.

The Historical Society of Lynbrook and East Rockaway celebrated this by presenting “What’s in a Name? How Lynbrook got its Names” last Wednesday at the Lynbrook Public Library. The presentation, led by Lynbrook historian Art Mattson, was part of a week-long exhibition of historical photos and models showcasing the history of Lynbrook and East Rockaway.

According to Madeline Pearson, president of the Historical Society of East Rockaway and Lynbrook, this exhibition is back at the library for its fourth year. The idea originated when a scaled-down version of the East Rockaway Grist Mill became too cumbersome to transport around to local schools, where it was being used to educate local students on village history. It was easier to keep the model in one place, and have the students visit.

Since the week-long exhibit began — on June 13 — Pearson said that approximately 400 students visit the library during the day for about 75 minutes to hear a presentation and to see the historical photos and models. During the evening, the exhibit is open to the public.

Spread throughout the two halves of a library room were photos and videos of Lynbrook’s past, as well as the model of the East Rockaway Grist Mill, the actual weather vane from the Mill, circa mid-1800s, and a life-sized model of the Bristol and Mexico memorial that stands in the Rockville Cemetery, complete with inscriptions.

The evening culminated with Mattson’s historical retrospective of Lynbrook’s 10 unique names and the history behind some of the street names.

During the presentation, Mattson pointed out that each of the 10 names “corresponded with a different phase in the development of the village,” from the original Dutch settlers who made first contact with the local Native Americans in 1640, to the present.

By 1643, the English had “bought” the land that is now Lynbrook from the natives, claiming everything south to the water. By 1670, in a letter written by Daniel Denton, son of the founder of Hempstead, he mentions how strange it is that the Indians have been “decreased by the Hand of God,” either through wars or diseases.

From this point forward, as the settlers built the village, Lynbrook would go through 10 names:

• Recqua-Akie (Rokawanhaka).
• Rockaway.
• Near Rockaway. Named such because it was closer to the center of commerce – Hempstead – than Far Rockaway.
• Clink-Town.
• Parson’s Corners.
• Bloomfield. Referring specifically to the fields near the Five Corners, which, at the time, were blooming.
• Pearsall’s Corners. Named for the Pearsall family, the members of which owned much of the land around the Five Corners because they realized the growth potential of the area. Wright Pearsall was responsible for starting the development of Lynbrook and was president of the Merrick and Jamaica Plank Road Company, which allowed goods from Lynbrook to be sold outside of Lynbrook, thus helping the village’s economy.
• Pearsallville.
• Pearsalls.
• Lynbrook. The name is a transposition of the syllables in Brooklyn. According to Mattson, an 1892 editorial in the South Side Observer newspaper called for a name change. Citizens were unhappy with the name Pearsalls because they felt it wasn’t a nice enough name and it was “proprietary” to a specific family. Mattson said that the name “Lynbrook” was created by either Arthur or R.D. Jacques, but it was Thomas Brennan, the railroad station manager, who popularized the name. A vote was held, and the results of which officially changed the name to Lynbrook. Brennan was happy because he felt the name would attract people from Brooklyn. On May 1, 1894, Pearsalls became Lynbrook, and the signs on the railroad station and the post office changed.

The second half of Mattson’s presentation focused on the names of certain streets in Lynbrook – 122 in all.

“One hundred and twenty two is a lot, but there are still more,” he said, emphasizing that it would be impossible to go through all of the street names and that he did not know the history of every street. Many, he said, were named by the developers of the particular areas, hence why many follow a certain theme.

Poets, mayors, colleges, and locally descriptive names were among the categories he covered. The history of one of the streets listed, New Street, he wasn’t particularly sure about, but pointed out that “every street in Lynbrook was at one time a new street.”

Given that Lynbrook has gone through 10 different names and 371 years of history, Mattson’s statement rings particularly true.

Once he finished his presentation and opened the floor to questions, the one that kept recurring was “What about [fill in the blank] street?”

With an affable smile, Mattson simply said, “I was afraid this would happen.”