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History · Massapequa

Massapequa’s post office opened in 1902, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Massapequa was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1956. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 2000.

1902first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
33famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Massapequa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Massapequa began

When was Massapequa founded?

1902

The Massapequa post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 22,652 in 20002020 census: 21,355124 years
Founding year: the first Massapequa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Massapequa’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 19017 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1994. Watch Massapequa change.Famous sons and daughtersStephen Baldwin, William Baldwin and 31 more were born here.Old housesHalf of Massapequa’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Massapequa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFort Neck (House): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Massapequa on the map, 1901 to 1994

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

Massapequa on the 1901 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1919 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1947 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1954 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1969 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1979 USGS mapMassapequa on the 1994 USGS map1901Babylon 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 Massapequa.

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Massapequa

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

See all →
Stephen BaldwinAmerican actor and political activist · b. 1966
William BaldwinAmerican actor, producer, and writer · b. 1963
Daniel BaldwinAmerican actor · b. 1960
Matt BennettAmerican actor · b. 1991
Joe DonnellyAmerican politician · b. 1955
Brian SetzerAmerican singer · b. 1959
The story

How Massapequa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Massapequa.

Read it all →

The name Massapequa or historically Marsapeague means “great water land”.

The first occupants were a band of Algonquian speakers, the Massapequa people, one of the 13 tribes of Long Island, a subgroup of the Lenape people. At first, most of the Massapequa people were friendly and helpful to the Europeans, but then, around 1658, merchants from the Town of Oyster Bay tricked Chief Tackapausha into selling the land. He tried to rectify this misunderstanding, but remained unsuccessful.

In 1670 (35 years after the Europeans initially settled there), only a few Native Americans were left on the Island.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Massapequa, 1901 to 1991

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1960Born hereDaniel Baldwin is born here
  4. 1963Born hereWilliam Baldwin is born here
  5. 1966Born hereStephen Baldwin is born here
  6. 1991Born hereMatt Bennett is born here
By decade

Massapequa, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Fort Neck (House)Date?Fort Neck (House)
Today30 recent
Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021q2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021qFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021p2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021pFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021o2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021oFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021n2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021nFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021m2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021mFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021l2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021lFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021k2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021kFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021j2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021jFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021i2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021iFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021h2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021hFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021g2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021gFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021f2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021fFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021e2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021eFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021d2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021dFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021c2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021cFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021b2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021bFlowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021a2021Flowers of Massapequa Preserve 2021aWandering Around the Massapequa Preserve2018Wandering Around the Massapequa PreserveThe Winding Path in the Massapequa Preserve2018The Winding Path in the Massapequa PreserveMarshall's Ice Cream Bar;2018Marshall's Ice Cream Bar;Fort Massapeag Vicinity-32018Fort Massapeag Vicinity-3Fort Massapeag Vicinity-22018Fort Massapeag Vicinity-2Fort Massapeag Vicinity-12018Fort Massapeag Vicinity-1Flying over a City under Ice2018Flying over a City under IceA Late Afternoon Stroll in the Massapequa Preserve2018A Late Afternoon Stroll in the Massapequa PreserveA Late Afternoon Stroll in the Massapequa Preserve-Letterboxing2018A Late Afternoon Stroll in the Massapequa Preserve-Le…FSFL-Uniform-ESDK22013FSFL-Uniform-ESDK2FSFL-Uniform-ESDK2013FSFL-Uniform-ESDKHGSC 2010 Jul 05 10012010HGSC 2010 Jul 05 1001Massapequa Preserve2009Massapequa Preserve
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.

Fort Neck (House)
Retake this viewFort Neck (House)

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Massapequa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Massapequa, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00020002020Peak: 22,652

Between 21,355 and 22,652 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hempstead29 historic placesAOyster Bay61 historic placesA−SeafordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMassapequa ParkIts storyDNorth MassapequaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Massapequa’s history

What year was Massapequa founded?

The Massapequa post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (30), the Library of Congress (1), 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.