Just minutes from the whoosh of traffic along North Broadway in Hicksville, the quiet residential village of Muttontown offers miles of horse trails that meander through rural landscapes.

The 550-acre Muttontown Preserve - the largest natural area in Nassau County - also has miles of marked trails for walkers, or cross country skiers in winter.

Some original estates remain, but many properties have been subdivided. It's not uncommon for builders to purchase a property and raze the existing structure to build a new multimillion-dollar house, said Kathy Pisani, associate broker at Daniel Gale Associates of East Norwich.

Muttontown's eclectic house styles include Colonials, farm ranches and contemporaries. Many are on sprawling, manicured properties, and shielded by foliage at the end of long driveways. Homes generally are priced from $800,000 to more than $2.2 million according to Valerie Stone, a sales agent at Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in East Norwich.

Muttontown was named for the thousands of sheep that grazed the area in the mid-1600s, providing meat and wool to early English and Dutch settlers. Muttontown was first mentioned in local records just after 1750, when it was identified as the "former great sheep district" between Wolver Hollow (now Brookville) and Syosset.

At the turn of the 20th century, wealthy New York City residents, caught up in "Gold Coast" fever, came to the area to build lavish homes.

The Hoffman Center Nature Preserve and two private golf courses - Muttontown Golf and Country Club and Woodcrest Club also are located here.

The village has a mayor, six trustees and a police force that serves Muttontown and several surrounding villages. Residents pay for private sanitation and visit neighboring communities for shopping and services.

- Lisa Doll Bruno (6/18/2004)