Matinecock

The Most Expensive Place in America?

People gather at a rebuilt Matinecock Meeting House in 1986, about seven months after the original building burned to the stone foundation. The first had stood since 1725. Though in Glen Cove, the Quaker house of worhsip is only a few feet from the modern village that took the name Matinecock. (Newsday Photo / Thomas R. Koeniges)

Beginnings: The Village of Matinecock was once just a wooded wedge of northern Oyster Bay Town where in the mid-1600s English and Dutch farmers began displacing the Matinecock Indians. In those days, Matinecock referred to a large area extending from Flushing to Huntington and south almost midway through Long Island. Matinecock meant ``hill country'' or ``land that overlooks,'' because the gently rolling hills overlook Long Island Sound. As European settlement advanced, the region became notable for acceptance of the then-controversial Quaker religion. The historic 1725 Society of Friends Matinecock Meeting House, though in Glen Cove, is only a few feet from the modern village that took the name Matinecock.

Turning Point: At the turn of this century, well-heeled New York City residents began buying land in northern Nassau for Gold Coast estates. By the late 1920s, about a dozen little incorporated villages were being established to gain local control of development. Matinecock became a village April 2, 1928.

Claims to Fame: The all-residential village (current population: 885) hit the limelight last summer when Worth magazine said it may be America's most expensive community. Matinecock ranked No. 1 nationally in home prices, based on home sales in 1995 and 1996. The survey put Matinecock's median home price at $1,472,500, meaning half the houses sold for more than that. The village's census-based median family income in 1996 was $153,147.

Famous Landmark: The village is home to the legendary Piping Rock Club, founded in 1912. Because of the enormous wealth of surrounding neighborhoods, the club up to World War II hosted events attended by heads of state, world royalty and entertainment and sports figures. They included Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Warren Harding, the duke of Windsor, Will Rogers and Bing Crosby. These days, the clientele is still rich, but not as attuned to opulence and royalty.

Where to Find More: Assorted articles in the local history collection, Locust Valley Library.