Holbrook

Divided by Railroad, Then by Expressway

Beginnings: The land was part of a royal patent obtained by William Nicoll, a wealthy New York City politician, in 1697, certifying his purchases from the Secatogue Indians. But there was almost no colonial settlement for a century and a half, until 1848, when Alexander McCotter bought about 5,000 acres and offered small tracts for sale. In 1860 the first school was built about 1,000 feet south of the railroad, and the first church, Presbyterian, was built in 1863. The building became St. John's Lutheran Church about the turn of the century and is a town-designated historic structure. Holbrook's late development is illustrated by this remarkable fact unearthed by Agnes Rysdyk, who has spent years examining the hamlet's history: The first white person born in Holbrook, Maria Davidson, died in 1950. She was 94.

Splitsville: Holbrook lies mostly in the northeast corner of Islip Town, but partly in Brookhaven. It was divided by the Long Island Rail Road in 1844 when the land was almost completely pine barrens, and again by the Long Island Expressway in the 1960s as the postwar population boomed. (Holbrook had 320 people, mostly on farms, in 1930 but has more than 26,000 now.)

The Name: The origins are obscure, according to Rysdyk, who says that some old-timers contend the name emerged because the place was called Old Brook more than a century ago, after a brook or stream of uncertain location.

Showman: One of the most popular men in the hamlet's history was Henry Heine, a golden-voiced tenor soloist who ran minstrel shows around Long Island for 35 years. He was immersed in community affairs and was known as Holbrook's honorary mayor.

Where to Find More: ``Holbrook's Past Shows the Loss of Rural Flavor'' by Agnes Rysdyk, Suffolk County News supplement, March 1, 1973; ``Memories From Holbrook,'' by Gurtha H. Strand, 1985, and ``Sketches of Suffolk County,'' by Richard Bayles, 1874, all at Sachem Public Library, Holbrook.