Medford History
Some interesting history about Medford.
medford_history.pdf |
The last of LIRR Steam Engine service east of Medford.
From Thomas R. Bayles. 1940. The last of LIRR Steam Engine service east of Medford. Gelatin silver print. Description: Close up view of the last of Long Island Railroad Steam Engine service east of Medford.; on back: Last of Steam east of Medford in 1940.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Medford Station Opening Schedule. Long Island Rail Road schedule for Medford Station on its opening day in 1844.
Hal & Edith Fullerton
The railroad was interested in promoting Long Island and in 1905 established a Demonstration Farm with Hal B. Fullerton as the director. He was asked to select the worst area of Long Island to prove that successful crops could be produced. His first choice was Wading River. Fullerton planted crops suitable for the marketplace on the ten worst acres and an additional eight acres were used as an experimental dairy.
Hal and his wife Edith Loring Fullerton lived in Huntington and traveled daily to the farm. They named this experimental farm “Peace & Plenty.” With an abundance of food produced in the first year and over 380 varieties for the farmers market, Hal Fullerton started what became known as the “home hamper.” A long, flat crate with small baskets of fruit and vegetables packed inside were shipped by rail directly to consumers. He even started a mail-order market.
With his first farm so successful, Fullerton was asked to start another in the center of Long Island. In 1907, the railroad purchased eighty acres in Medford on Long Island Avenue, then known as Sand Road, opposite Manor Road and east of Stage Road. Fullerton thought this land showed less potential than the North Shore farm did. With all this sand, Fullerton knew he had a big job ahead of him. He liked Medford and named this Experimental Station Number 2 “Prosperity Farm.” It too was quite a success with much of its produce winning notable recognition from the agricultural department. The farm each year exhibited its produce in the Suffolk and Nassau County Fairs and was a consistent Blue Ribbon Winner. Here every type of crop was raised including such oddities as sugar beets and Chinese vegetables.
Hal Fullerton was a knowledgeable photographer and kept a graphic record of the Farm. The Hal B. Fullerton photography collection is now at the Suffolk Historical Museum in Riverhead. The glass negatives are most interesting to see.
At the request of the President of the Long Island Rail Road, the Fullertons began writing a booklet for prospective land buyers letting them know of farming’s great potential on Long Island. It was called the Long Island Agronomist and later became a subscription pamphlet for all those future farmers in need of professional advice. When the first booklet came off the press of the local printer it read, “Publication Office, Medford, Long Island.” The Agronomist had 16,000 subscribers worldwide when Fullerton ceased publication in 1914.
Traveling from Huntington to both farms coupled with the long hours of work was exhausting for the Fullertons. In June 1910, after much planning, the Fullerton family moved into a five-room home at Prosperity Farm. Mr. Fullerton was a well-respected gentleman and accepted many guests to the farm. Shortly after they moved to Medford, Teddy Roosevelt visited them on his whistle-stop campaign of Long Island. Medford residents were all out for the special event. George and Ferde Mistler shook his hand at Medford Station.
Hal Fullerton, an advocate for women’s rights, made a statement by having his wife Edith drive Teddy Roosevelt, Ralph Peters, President of the LIRR and Hal on a tour to show off their two experimental farms. In 1927 the Medford Demonstration Farm ceased operations and was sold to a private party.
Through the Fullerton and LIRR farming effort, the Medford Grange Patrons of Husbandry No.1324 was established to aid local farmers. The Grange spread the latest agricultural information and news, made group purchases such as fertilizer and coal and served as a local social center. In 1916 Arthur Sauberlich built the Grange Hall on Long Island Avenue for meetings and community programs. The Harvest Festival every fall was a big event with local vegetables and fruits for sale or auction, home baked goods and cider available, followed by dancing in the beautifully decorated Hall.
The Home Bureau was organized in 1919 in the Grange Hall through the efforts of Mrs. Edith Fullerton, Mrs. Mary Morgan and a few other women in the community. County demonstration agents from the Home Extension Bureau in Riverhead came and taught instruction in the latest methods of cooking, family nutrition, dressmaking and various handicrafts. Mrs. Martha Theis lead the Medford Home Bureau from 1935 until its termination in 1964. Currently the Home Extension carries out the work in a revised manner.
As agricultural pursuits lessened, interest in the Grange dwindled and membership dropped to the point where the Hall, which some years before had been enlarged, could not be carried. It was sold to the Henry Jones Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which continues to maintain it.
Photos:
Hal B. Fullerton. May, 1907. Experimental Station No. 2 Sign. Gelatin silver print. Description: Sign to the LIRR Experimental Station No. 2.
Hal B. Fullerton. May, 1907. Farm House at Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: Farm house at the LIRR Experimental Station No. 2.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
From A. Noble Chapman. July 20, 1907. Demonstration Farm at Medford. Unknown material on plate glass; safety film; gelatin silver prints. Description: Also known as the Medford Prosperity Farm, the Long Island Rail Road opened this second experimental farm east of the Medford station from 1907-1927, after the success of their Long Island Rail Road Demonstration Farm on the Wading River branch. The farms were designed to drive growth in the area by demonstrating the fertility of the land.; handwritten on reverse of glass plate: L.I.R.R. EXPERIMENTAL STATION MEDFORD L.I.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
From Hal B. Fullerton, Clearing Land for Medford Grange Hall, Labor Day, 1915, Pigment Print. From the Collection of the Suffolk County Historical Society.
From William J. Rugen. July 20, 1907. Medford Railroad Station. Gelatin silver print. Description: Two men and three children are seen standing outside the Medford train station, at the crossing with what is now Route 112 (Medford Avenue).
From Thomas R. Bayles. 1940. Medford Railroad Station in 1940. Gelatin silver prints. Description: The Old LIRR Medford Station, looking South east, before grade elimination later in the year. Has Been Demolished.; on back of 5 x 7: Medford Railroad station in 1940. Nothing Left; on back of 8 x 10: MEDFORD STATION - LOOKING SE - APRIL/1940 BEFORE GRADE ELIMINATION LATER THAT YEAR. ALBERT BAYLES PHOTO.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Medford Area Land Auction by the LIRR, 1850. Subdividing the area around the Medford LIRR Station.
From Hal B. Fullerton. 1909. Mud Turtle Arriving Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: The automobile Mud Turtle arriving at LIRR Experimental Station No. 2.
From Hal B. Fullerton. 1909. Mud Turtle Arriving Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: The automobile Mud Turtle arriving at LIRR Experimental Station No. 2.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Medford School 30th anniversary Program (1934)
Some very old names and businesses which are no longer with us. What I find most interesting is the sixth photo of the entire Board of Education and Teaching Staff. In total it is only 17 names.
the_thirtieth_anniversary_of_the_opening_of_the_first_school_in_medford.pdf |