Inwood

Boisterous Fishermen Offended the Farmers

Beginnings: Cheek-by-jowl today with Kennedy International Airport, Inwood once was virgin forest rimmed by extensive marshes reaching west into Jamaica Bay. Tradition says Indians often gathered there because it was a cornucopia of oysters, clams and mussels, for making happy palates and wampum. The 1800s brought a few farming and fishing families descended from early Hempstead Town settlers, with names such as Cornell, Sprague, Doughty, Johnson, Rhinehart and Smith.

Name Game: The fishermen called themselves North West Pointers, reflecting their fairly isolated location on the Rockaway Peninsula. One history says, ``They were considered a hard-living, more or less lawless lot. Boisterous and rough, their horseplay and fighting were particularly annoying to the more peaceful farmers in the neighboring settlements.'' Another name starting in the 1870s was Westville. Because that name existed upstate, a new name had to be chosen to get the community of 1,100 residents the post office it sought in 1888. Several names were considered at a public meeting, including Rawayton, Bayhead, Custer, Pike's Peak, Spring Haven, Elco and Rahway. Inwood won, but the origin of the name isn't clear.

Turning Point: The coming of the railroad to the Rockaways in 1869 was key. By 1885, Westville had many cottages, several substantial homes, a church, library, law office, a private school, two pharmacies and a brass band. The core of the economy was production and shipping of shellfish to world markets. Early this century, Inwood had a heavy influx of immigrants, mainly Italians and Albanians. Blacks followed, mostly after World War II, and in 1990 constituted 26.3 percent of the population of 7,767.

Where to Find More: Long Island Studies Institute, Hofstra University, Hempstead, and ``The Story of the Five Towns,'' by the Writers Program of the federal Work Projects Administration, 1941, at Peninsula Public Library, Lawrence.