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Farmingdale Local History: Hotels & Boarding Houses

History of the town of Farmingdale, New York

Boarding House Owners

Elizabeth Demarest    1897

Sarah Duryea              1897

William Leonard        1897

Louisa Powell             1891

Fritz Runge                 1897

Augustus Sharf           1897

Mrs. E. H. Smith        1879-1882

Mary Smith                 1897

Alanson Van Nostrand           1897

William W. Vooris     1897

Mrs. G. H. Walters     1913

Mrs. William A. Winers  1912

 

 

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Conklin House

Owned by Charles Hagenah in 1906. It was located at 801 Conklin Street. He sold it in 1928 to people in Oceanside. They renovated it and offered lunch and dinners as well as Sunday dinners. The boarding house contained 18 rooms.

In December of 1938, the House was once more sold to owners from New York City. It was given a liquor license in 1948. It was bought again in February, 1950 by Fred Boerge and Walter Radeleirs where they held a grand re-opening. They sold it to Henry Bliem that August.

In 1961, it was under The Conklin House, Inc. and Dominick Cozzette was listed as President. Last mention in the Farmingdale Post was April 1977.

 

Source:

Farmingdale Post

 

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Fulton Hotel

Francis Peckwell took over in 1817. The hotel was located at 136 Fulton Street. Before that, it was Thorne’s Tavern

It was associated with Robert Mitchell in 1820. There is no mention if he was the manager or owner.

In 1822, a mention is made  of a Mrs. E. Mitchell as the former proprietress.

In 1937, there was a Fulton Hotel under new management by J. Curry at 665 Fulton Street

That became the Paragon Hotel in 1938. Its grand opening was in April of that year. 

In 1939, the address of the hotel was 745 Fulton Street with Elsie Spiegeleire as proprietress. In 1945, Adam Spiegeleire was the owner.

In 1946, it was still being managed by Adam. It was called Adam’s Fulton Hotel.

The last mention of the hotel in the Farmingdale Post was in 1965

 

Sources:

Evening Post

Farmingdale Post

 

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Halfway House

The Half Way House Hotel was located on the corner of Main Street and Route 110 (where Ace Hardware now is). A large barn, a carriage shed and a large chicken coop also were on the property. John Hassel's parents moved into the sixteen room house in 1906. There was no gas, no electricity, and no running water. There were two hand pumps: one at the kitchen sink and one in the barnyard. 

The bar room took up the side portion of the house with two round tables and a large mahogany bar that ran the length of the room. In the side room off the bar was a round table where people could play cards or talk. Under the bar room was a cellar where there was a walk-in ice box that kegs of beer were stores and kept cold by 100 lb. cakes of ice. The beer was sent from New York city via the Long Island Railroad. 

The parlor had wall-to-wall carpeting, chairs, couches, and knickknack shelves. There was also an oak upright Story & Clark piano. The upper floor contained eleven bedrooms, Each bedroom was furnished with a bed, dresser, chair, and wash stand. 

While the family lived there, they installed steam heating and gas lighting. The barn had three stalls for the horse and cow and a space for a four-wheel one-seated buggy and a four-wheel two seated surrey. There was a hay loft above with a pigeon coop and a pig pen at the back of the barn. Attached to the back of the barn was a shed that held a station wagon, farm wagon, and sleigh. 

The Halfway House served as a stopping point for stagecoaches travelling between Eastern Long Island and New York City. The hotel was sold in 1958 and torn down and turned into County Line Bowl.

Source:

Notes from John Hassel

Hotel Owners

James S. Baldwin Eastern Parkway          1915

Michele Brescia          Eastern Parkway     1915-1917

Raffael De Lucia   Eastern Parkway          1918

Charles S. Donley  Sportsmen’s                1891

Clara Dullin    Babylon Turnpike             1918

Otto Hahn       Babylon Turnpike            1915

Herman Harms  Nassau House               1891

Casper Helbock    Babylon Road           1917

Stephen Hendricksen                              1897

Adolph Hofstetter  Main & S. Front      1918

Charles Jocher  Fulton St.                      1915

J. Katz             Fulton Street               1918

Tony Mannillo     Main Street           1918

Henry Minke  Fulton Street             1916-1917

A. Powell        Main Street             1859

Martin Riester Fulton Street         1908

Ignatz Schmitt                              1897

John Tuite   Main & Conklin       1908

Townsend S. Wright                   1897

Philip Zink  Hunter’s Home        1891

 

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Hotels & Boarding Houses

Bennett Cottage          Harmanus Bennett      1905

Brown’s Hotel            Abner Brown               Main Street  1906-1915*

Conklin House           Charles Hagenah         1926

Dupignac’s Hotel        William Dupignac      Main Street (1/2 south of RR)

East Farmingdale Hotel          S. M. Bookman           1933-1935

European Hotel           Eastern Parkway         Rocco & Dominick Posillico 1912-1914

Farmingdale Hotel       145 Main Street   1934-1947*

Farmingdale Hotel                  1891                Denton Mott

Farmingdale Inn         William Nathaniel Richardson  July 27, 1929

Forest House/Hotel     C. G. Keil                   1905-1913

Fulton Inn                   Patrick Kiernan  1926    H. Ratcliffe   1933-1935

Grant Hotel                 Fulton Street   1916-1918

Hawthorne Hotel        745 Fulton Street.       Fritz Runge Family  1904-1910

Ketcham Boarding House  700 Fulton Street  Mrs. A. G. Ketcham. 1923-1930s

Ketcham Hotel            Andrew Ketcham.       1923-1929*

Kiernan’s Hotel          Patrick Kiernan           1928-1935

Lafayette Inn               Babylon Turnpike       1915

Lakeside House          Mrs. A. Seaman          1915

Leonhardt’s Hotel. NE Corner Main & Fulton. Philipp Leonardt. Sold to Susanna B. Stellyea in 1908

Nassau House             Otten Brothers           1901

Maple Grove House    William Smith           1905-1907

Maple Tree Cottage    Mrs. Seaman               1928-1935

Pinelawn Park Hotel   Charles J. Laderer       1907

Pleasantview House    Mrs. George Bedell    1913-1915

Seaman’s Rest            Mrs. M. Seaman         1934-1935

Sportmen’s Hotel        Charles Donley           1891

Walter’s House           Mrs. G. H. Walters     1905-1907

 

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Kunz/Parkway Hotel

The Kunz Hotel was located on Eastern Parkway. It was built by Jarvis Lattin in the 1880s and sold to Fred Kunz in 1900.

Walter Webber purchased the building in 1910 and re-named it the Parkway Hotel.

In the Nassau County Telephone Directory, it was listed as Parkway Hotel from 1915-1917.

In 1937, the hotel was remodeled into apartments.

 

 

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Paragon Hotel

The Paragon Hotel was the birthplace of Conklin Ketcham. It was located at 665 Fulton Street. It eventually became a Fulton Hotel. On April 30, 1938, t held its grand opening. The proprietors were Louis Maistri and Eugene Gazza.

In December 1951, Nick & Johnnie took over management of the hotel. In March 1965, it was under new ownership and had a new name. It was owned by Ernest Perez and was called Dirty Ernie’s Paragon Hotel & Café. The hotel was turned into a room house for men who paid by the week and the downstairs café was a neighborhood bar.

The hotel was demolished in September 1973. It is now a McDonald’s.

 

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Rathgeber's Hotel

Rathgeber’s Hotel was located on the corner of S. Front and Main Streets.

It was built by Sidney Wright. It was bought by William Rathgeber from John Scholl in 1917. It housed the Farmingdale Amusement Palace. In 1924, the Amusement Palace was run by John A. B. Jackson, George Beierling, and Thomas Leonard. The Palace held events such as music and dances.

It was sold by Rathegeber during Prohibition and the building was razed in 1934.

Source:

“Landmark to be Torn Down. Was ‘Amusement Palace’.” Farmingdale Post. December 21, 1934

 

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