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C−History
History · Island Park

Island Park’s post office opened in 1925, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #739 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1930.

1925first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Island Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Island Park began

When was Island Park founded?

1925

The Island Park post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1926.

First census: 1,002 in 19302020 census: 4,928101 years

How historic is Island Park?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Island Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1926.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Island Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Island Park is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #739 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Island Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1925, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194014.1% of homes (±6.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 3%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Island Park’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1926 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Island Park’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18976 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1979. Watch Island Park change.Old housesHalf of Island Park’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Island Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Island Park’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGE 25t industrial switcher: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Island Park on the map, 1897 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Island Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Island Park on the 1897 USGS mapIsland Park on the 1903 USGS mapIsland Park on the 1947 USGS mapIsland Park on the 1954 USGS mapIsland Park on the 1966 USGS mapIsland Park on the 1979 USGS map1897Hempstead sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Island Park.

The story

How Island Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Island Park.

Read it all →

Island Park was developed by the Island Park-Long Beach Company as a resort community in the 1920s, after previous development plans for the area were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I and the subsequent wartime efforts.

Island Park incorporated itself as a village in 1926. Its first mayor was Charles N. Talbot, who served in that capacity for 12 years.

In the 1950s, there was a proposal in which Island Park would have annexed the adjacent hamlet of Harbor Isle, located to its immediate west. The proposal was ultimately defeated, and to this day, Harbor Isle remains an unincorporated hamlet governed by the Town of Hempstead.

The Village of Island Park celebrated its centennial in 2026.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Island Park, 1897 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1957In the archiveGE 25t industrial switcher
  5. 1985Born hereTim Dillon is born here
  6. 1990Born hereAnthony Bitetto is born here
By decade

Island Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s1 item
GE 25t industrial switcher1957GE 25t industrial switcher
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
LIRR Long Beach Raised Infrastructure2017LIRR Long Beach Raised InfrastructureVIPBOARD2015VIPBOARDSign Welcome2015Sign WelcomeSandytrailer2015SandytrailerSandyflag2015SandyflagSHRCC2015SHRCCOldschool beach2015Oldschool beachIsland Park FD cheifs2015Island Park FD cheifsIpfdhq2015IpfdhqCarlosdpw2015CarlosdpwMasone Beach2014Masone BeachComing in to Kennedy, NYC2014Coming in to Kennedy, NYCAerial photograph of Long Beach, NY and environs from the WSW2014Aerial photograph of Long Beach, NY and environs from…Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)- 2012-10-309509-22-38959912012Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)- 201…Long Beach Barrier Island aerial, Nassau County (20100325-DSC01277)2010Long Beach Barrier Island aerial, Nassau County (2010…Long Beach LIRR bascule jeh2009Long Beach LIRR bascule jehIsland Park, SW Long Island2007Island Park, SW Long Island
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

GE 25t industrial switcher
Retake this viewGE 25t industrial switcher, 1957

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Island Park’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Island Park, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50019401960198020002020Peak: 5,891

Between 1,002 and 5,891 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Island Park’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Island Park

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Anthony BitettoAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1990
Tim DillonAmerican comedian and podcaster · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Harbor IsleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarnum IslandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Island Park’s history

What year was Island Park founded?

The Island Park post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1926.

How does Island Park rank for history?

Island Park is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #739 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Island Park?

14% of Island Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.