The hamlet of St James was named for the Episcopal church of St James founded there in the mid 1800s. A US postal service was later established with the some name. The area was primarily farmland until the arrival of the Long Island Rail Road.

The arrival of the Long Island Rail Road in St James 1873 allowed for easy access to and from New York City. Many rich New Yorkers bought "farms" and build mansions on the North Shore of Long Island. St James became a popular vacation spot for the stars of New York stage and screen. In the days before air conditioning the theaters closed for the summer and actors went on vacation. Summer residents included Irving Berlin, Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore, George M. Cohan, William Collier, Buster Keaton, Myrna Loy, Ruth Roman, Lillian Russell, and others. Local people were employed by for construction and as servants.

The Lands arrived in the area circa 1900 when Law Land and his sons worked as carpenters and later construction contractors. The Goehles, on the other hand, emulated the wealthy and came to St James to escape the summer heat of the city.

Percy Land and Meta Petermann

Minnie Goehle and her daughter, Winifred Goehle Manion

Minnie Lindemann Goehle lived at or near the corner of 2nd Street and 6th Avenue, Saint James at her death in 1944.

See Peter Goehle and Minnie Lindemann Goehle for more information.

Frank Goehle and Isabelle Walsh

Bud Land and Agnes Goehle

Agnes thought him very conscientious as he was always out washing the widows or sweeping the sidewalk. Eventually she came into the store to buy some grass seed for the lawn of the cabin. Bud offered free delivery so that he could find out where she lived. Several weeks later he went by the cabin to make sure the grass was growing satisfactorily. He found some stiff competition for Agnes' affections as there were multiple of young men hanging around the Goehle porch flirting with "the Gorgeous Goehle Girls": Agnes, Isabelle, Peggie and Eileen.

For the first few years after their marriage, Bud and Agnes lived in Smithtown. Circa 1950 they moved to St James where they lived over Percy Land's hardware store on Lake Avenue. See Bud Land and Agnes Goehle for more general information on Bud and Agnes and/or Pictures and Maps of where Bud Land and Agnes Goehle lived in Smithtown and St James .

In the early spring of 1951 the family moved to New Jersey, where Bud and Agnes remained until their deaths.

Date unknown

After 1900 the center of the St James' small commercial district moved from Moriches Road to Lake Avenue. The post office, train station, elementary school and most of the business in town were on Lake Avenue.

Percy Land owned the hardware store and lumberyard on Lake Avenue from 1924 to ??. The lumberyard was behind and to the north of the store.

This building on Lake Avenue (and the property around it) was bought by Percy Land in 1924. It was the "Hardware Store".

See Percy Land now or at the bottom of the page

The St James post office moved from Moriches Road to Lake Avenue in August 1913. It occupied the north side of the building.

According to an article in the local paper called the "Times" and displayed in the newly renovated St James train station, the train ran from Newport to Port Jefferson starting in 1873.

The Goehles took the train from Manhattan to St. James in the summer time.

The Lands must have been moving back and forth from Hoboken to Smithtown (Hauppaugue) on the Ronkonkoma line. The Central Islip train station is just a few miles from their known address in 1900.

The House and Home Company and the Long Island Railroad promoted the area of St James south of the railroad tracks which was known as "boomer" town. A grid pattern of lots was started in this section that includes the numbered streets and avenues where the Goehles lived. House sold at $300, $400 and $500 dollars. The Goehles bought a lot and built a log cabin from a kit.

The growing population in this area after the turn of the century caused businesses to spring up near the railroad station and thus the hamlet of St James was formed.

A number of Germans, Norwegians and Swedes bought lots in "boomertown".

The card sent in 1909 (? Stamp is very light) was addressed to Mrs M Conklin at 4815 Osgood S, E. 242 St 243 St, N. Y. C. and reads

"Dear Mother,

This train is drawing near to L. I. C. to bring papa and you to St. James.

Ella"

August 2005

328 Lake Ave

1920 Census: Emil Riis, age 45, single, immigrated 1898 PA, born Switzerland, barber, own shop

1930 Census: Lake Avenue St James, Emiel Riis, age 55, own $16,000, born Switzerland, immigrated 1896, proprietor, ice cream parlor

Notes:

• No one else in the building.
• No one else from Switzerland in the immediate area and only a hand full in Smithtown in General.
• I could not find any other information on Emil Riis. There were no other Riis in the area. He was not listed in the WWIDR or Ellis Island.

The St. James fire volunteer department organized in 1909 as the Eagle Hook and Ladder Co. The fire house was on Woodlawn Ave.

In 1922 a new fire house was built at the intersection of Rt 25A and Lake Avenue at 533 North Country Road, St. James. Honorary Fire Chief Charles S Butler donated the land and fire house in the memory of his parents. The fire equipments consisted of one ford Model "T combination pump and ladder with 1,000 feet of hose . Over the years the fire department raised funds from a variety of fairs, dances and other entertainments. The fire house was enlarged in 1953.

The intersection of Lake Avenue, North Country Road(Route 25A) and Moriches Road.

The card is postmarked 1907.

At the turn of the last century the St James Hotel stood at the corner of Route 25A and Lake Avenue. It burned in December 1962.

St. James Episcopal Church, 490 Old Country Rd., St James.

Built in 1853 the church contains stained-glass window by Tiffany, John LaFarge, and Stanford White.

The Stanford White window is dedicated to Charles Nicoll Clinch a cousin of Stanford's wife, Bessie Smith.

Stanford White is buried in the cemetery.

"Not long after the erection of the church a post office was established to serve the communtiy. The post office was called St James and the name soon spread to the locality"

Smithtown Souvenir Program 1936

Another view

Another view

St Philip and James was dedicated on September 5, 1909.

Old Church circa 1910

From, St Philip and James Parish Celebrates 75 years

Wedding of Frank and Flo Goehle

St James General Store
Moriches Road
St James, Long Island, N.Y. 11780

This National Historic Landmark has been in continuous operation
since it was built in 1857 by Ebenezer Smith. Never modernized, it is
considered to be the most authentic general store in the United
States. It held St James' first post office. Open year round and still
offering for sale a line of baked goods, unusual dolls, handcrafts,
antiques and general merchandise

Not posted

St James General Store, Moriches & Harbor Hill Rds.

Kaiser House, St James

This house, located on the corner of Highland Avenue and Moriches Road, was bought by Isabelle and Frank Goehle in the early 1940s.

Posted 1912

William Collier's home was on Moriches Road

William Collier, known as Willie was a theater actor, silent film actor and playwright who "discovered" St James and introduced it to many of his actor friends including the likes of John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore.

Death certificate of Luise A collier age 38, November 8, 1909 M # 32457

William Collier died in Beverly Hills, California January 13, 1944 age 79. He was the step father of the actor William Collier Jr.

For more information on William Collier Sr go to William Collier Sr.

Over looking the St James Harbor, the Shore Inn was build about 1901 on the west side of Harbor Road just north of Thompsons' Landing.

The Shore Inn was owned by retired vaudevillians, Anthony and Sophie Farrell. Anthony Farrell, born in Canada was listed as an actor in Philadelphia in the 1880 census. In 1910 Anthony, hotelman, age 53, and his wife, Sophie, age 46, were listed on ---- Hollow Road in St James, with an adopted son, John Vanderhave, age 17. Anthony Farrell died in 1926. Sophie was listed in 1930 in Patchogue, Brookhaven Township, owning a home valued at $3,500.

Most of the large country estates of wealthy New Yorkers who came to the North Shore of Long Island for the summer were built or expanded in the late 1880s to 1929.

Posted 1915

This house, now known as Deepwells Farm Historic Park, is on North Country Road near the intersection of Moriches Road. Originaly built in 1845 by Joel L. G. Smith around 1905 it became the summer home of Supreme Court Justice, William J Gaynor, and his wife, Augusta. William Gaynor was elected mayor of New York in 1909.

Mayor William Gaynor was shot in the throat by a disgruntled ex-city employee named James Gallagher. In response to the incident, New York State passes the Sullivan Law in 1911, requiring gun owners to get permits from the police department. The bullet remained lodged in Gaynor's throat because it was deemed safer than trying to remove it.

In 1913, three years after he was shot, William Jay Gaynor, age 65, who was a day out at sea aboard the ocean liner Baltic, collapsed and died when a coughing fit brought on by the bullet which was still lodged in his throat caused him to have a heart attack.

Mayor Gaynor moments before being shot, Review September 1910.

Reboul's from the harbor, St James, L. I.

Not posted

Woodcrest, the Homer Reboul Estate, Moriches Rd., Nissequogue (289 acres, 2 buildings, 2 structures) - built 1875 (?). Now on the National Register of Historic Places

Homer Reboul born circa 1851 in Astoria, Queens was the son of John B Reboul and Almira ___.

For more information on the Reboul Family go to Reboul

According to the 1950 tax map, James W Lane's estate was on the water at the end of Boney Lane overlooking Short Beach, Smithtown Park.

This mansion was originally build for William J Matherson (1857-1930). Dr. Matherson was a chemist who made his fortunes in the manufacture of synthetic dyes. He sold the property to Albert A Stewart a part owner of Barnum and Bailey and a friend of Mayor Gaynor. Albert Stewart died in the Titanic disaster of 1912. The property then went to James Warren Lane and his wife Eva Metcaff Bliss.

For more information on the Lane Family and the Lane House go to Lane

541 Long Beach Road, St James New York

Land of Clover - Also known as Lathrop Brown Estate Long Beach Rd., S side, Nissequogue (567 acres, 6 buildings, 1 structure) Architect - Brown, Archibald Architectural Style: Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Period of Significance: 1900-1924, Current Sub-function: School

Lathrop Brown (1883-1959) was a Harvard educated politician and real estate developer. The first records in St James for Lathrop Brown date to 1914.

Lathrop Brown and his family moved to California in 1946 where he became a cattle rancher and was elected to the sheriff's posse in 1947. His property in St James was not listed on the 1950 tax map of the area. The picture indicates that it was on the beach.

He died in Florida in 1959.

To see a picture of Lathrop Brown go to Find a Grave

The property is now the home of The Knox Boarding School who moved to that location in 1954.

For more information on the Brown Family go to Brown

"House built between 1712 and 1747 by Richard Smith, 2nd, for his son, Ebenezer. Now the residence of Mr. William H. dixon"

Smithtown Souvenir Program 1936

The 1950 tax maps lists Prescott B. Huntington on the west side of the Harbor.

"The house attributed to Mrs. Huntington, who was Prescott Huntington's mother, sits atop the hill overlooking the pond on Moriches Road, across from Cordwood Path. The landscape is now fully overgrown with second growth."

Richard Smith, January 2006

The Huntingtons and Smiths are related as Mrs. Huntington's mother was a daughter of Judge John Lawrence Smith who was the younger brother of my great great grandfather Edward Henry Smith.

Richard Smith, January 2006

Rassapeague Also known as Francis C. Huntington and Susan Butler Huntington Estate Long Beach Rd., S side, Nissequogue, Architect, builder, or engineer: Ford, Butler, and Oliver, Unknown, Architectural Style: Italianate, Late Victorian, Colonial Revival, Area of Significance: Architecture, Social History, Entertainment/Recreation, Period of Significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924

For more information on the Huntington family go to Huntington

"S" Bacon appears to be another error. The property belonged to George Wood Bacon an industrialist.

The 1950 tax maps lists F. M. Bacon and George W. Bacon, both on the harbor in Head of the Harbor. Who was F. M. Bacon?

July 2007 Warren C. Hubbs emailed:

"From what I know of it, Sidney Bacon lived in this house in the 50s... and could be earlier AND later. The exact dates he lived there are not known by me."

George W Bacon was the son of Josiah Bacon and Caroline _ Bacon, born in Greenwich, cumberland Co New Jersey May 6, 1869.

For more information on the Bacon family go to Bacon

"The photo must be close to a hundred years ago. It was built by a member of the Smith family, Capt. Obadiah Smith, who at one point sold off some of the land to the Demato family who build a house on it."

Doug Dahlgard, January 2006

Square House, St James, Long Island

Not posted

No Wallen listed in St James in 1920 or 1930 Census

The famous architect, Stanford White, of the firm McKim and White, married Bessie Smith, of Smithtown.

Bessie was the daughter of Judge J Lawrence Smith of Smithtown. Her siblings included, Carnelia (Mrs. Prescott Butler), Ella (Mrs. Devereau Emmett) and a brother, James Clinch Smith. James Clinch Smith was a principle heir to A. T. Stewart and inherited $3,000,000 from that estate. A T Stewart was a department store magnate who had an estate called Garden City in Hampstead Plains. Bessie and Stanford bought Box Hill in St James in 1892 across the road from Bessie's sister, Cornelia (Nellie) Smith, and her husband Prescott Hall Butler.

Nellie and Prescott Butler had started to build Bytharbor on a property overlooking the Long Island Harbor in Head of the Harbor in 1878. Over the years McKim and White enlarged Bytharbor and built numerous out buildings.

Devereux Emmett (1863-1934) was married to another Smith sister, Ella. The Emmetts owned Sherrewogue, the 1688 homestead of Adam Smith, located a few miles away across the St James Harbor from the Butlers and Whites. In 1895 Stanford White remodeled and enlarged the Emmett home with great respect to the original architecture. Devereux Emmett was also and architect and designed some of Long Island most classic golf courses.

"Buller" is a misprinted on the card. The name should be "Butler". I believe that this was the estate of Lawrence Butler called "Bytharbor".

Lawrence Butler was the son of Prescott Butler.

For more information on the Butler family go to Butler

Sherrewogue, the former estate of Devereux Emmett and Ella B Smith Emmett, is located on Harbor Rd. It was originally a farmhouse built about 1689. Additions were made in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. The house was expanded by Stanford White in 1895 for Ella Smith Emmet and her husband, Devereux Emmett. Ella Smith Emmett was the sister of Stanford White's wife.

Devereux Emmett (1863-1934) was a golf course designer who designed, among other courses, the Green course at Bethpage.

For more information on the Emmett family go to Emmett

According to Tish Goehle, the estate passed into the hands of New York socialite, Francis Bacon and his wife, Toni Frissill. Toni (Antoinette) Frissill Bacon (1907-1988) a fashion photographer (known for posing her ball gown clad models in outdoor settings) married Francis M Bacon 3rd. Toni Frissell died in the St James Nursing Home April 20, 1988.

Tish Goehle's mother worked as a cook on the Bacon Estate

"At the time my mother worked for Bacon my brother and I briefly resided at Sherrewogue before moving to my mother's home on Maple Ave in Smithtown in 1946. I always remember the pond in front of the house."

Sherrewogue

"Residence of Francis McNeil Bacon, 3rd. Built in 1689 by Adam Smith, second son of Richard Smith, the Patentee.

This old colonial homestead remained continously in the Smith family until 1935. From 1890 until 1934 it was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Devereux Emmet, Mrs. Emmet being a descendant of the "Bull Rider".

The photograph was taken in 1927 by E. H. Hoppe of London England and was publisheed in his book "Romantic America". "

Smithtown Souvenir Program 1936

King Pedlar, a photographer and local Long Island Historian. worked as a psychiatric aide at the Kings Park mental hospital and lived on the grounds for 31 years. He wrote in November 2007 to share some information on Smithtown and Central Islip.

Some Kings Park sites:

Article on Kings Park and Central Islip Hospitals

Kings Park Heritage Museum Pictures and More — Kings Park

Islip.TV Kings Park Video and more