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 |
From Hal B. Fullerton. 1907. LIRR Engine No. 94 at Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: LIRR D-56 4-4-0 engine no. 94 at LIRR Experimental Station No. 2, Medford, NY. This was the first train to arrive at this station.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Hal B. Fullerton. June 16, 1910. LIRR Chief Clerk William Hartman Conferring with Hal B. Fullerton at Experimental Station No. 2, Medford, NY. Gelatin silver print. Description: Hal B. Fullerton's boxcar office with Chief Clerk William Hartman conferring with Hal B. Fullerton (front) at Experimental Station No. 2.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
From Hal B. Fullerton. September 08, 1910. Crowd Greeting First Train from Manhattan at the Medford Experimental Station. Gelatin silver print. Description: People at Experimental Station No. 2 greeting the first electric train that traveled through the just opened East River Tunnel.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
|
|
From Hal B. Fullerton. May 17, 1910. On the Way to a Picnic in Medford. Gelatin silver prints. Description: Pratt Institute faculty and students on a special train for a picnic in Medford.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Medford Baseball Team - May 5, 1929. Medford Athletic Club's baseball team. Can you identify its members, coaches, and umpire?
Medford School's 4th of July Float, 1915. Several floats appear to be gathering for the annual Independence Day Parade, in 1915 at Medford Station. Medford School's float, just right of the tree, appears to have a handwritten banner that says all men are created equal, which may or may not be making a women's suffrage point, as there appear to be a mixed crowd on the float. To its right is Hollmann's Hotel and behind it is another large float with a good deal of foliage.
From Thomas R. Bayles. ca. 1920. Tunnel Road Bridge West of Medford Now New North Ocean Avenue. County Road 83 ca.1920. Gelatin silver print. Description: The Long Island Railroad Tunnel Road bridge, west of Medford. Now New North Ocean Avenue, County Road 83.; on back: Tunnel Road Bridge West of Medford Now New North Ocean Ave. County Road.
From Arthur W. Murray. mid 1900s. Long Island Railroad Bridge. Safety film. Description: The old bridge over Old Medford Avenue, prior to demolition.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
|
|
1921 Boy Scout troop of Medford. While the photo is of Boy Scouts of the Medford, NY, the scene is Camp Roosevelt, well to the N.E., in Rocky Point, N.Y.
Medford Girl Scout Troop # 1, ca. 1928. Front Row: Ida Medeck*, Grace Roos, Margaret Ruoff, Alice Suga, Mary Jemmola, & Katherine Berke. Back Row: Elizabeth Weber, Mathilda Weber, Anna Weber, Mrs. Marie Weber, Anna Ihm, Helen Lederer, Helen Kloss, Gertrude Rothe. *Note: Ida Medeck was one of the 2 scouts selected to work at the Medford Scout Library, 1927-30. She lived at the Fullerton's Peace & Plenty (LIRR Experimental) Farm. In later life she was President of the Friends of the Patchogue-Medford Library.
From Hal B. Fullerton. 1909. Tractor at Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: Woman operating a gasoline powered tractor used on Experimental Station No. 2 in Medford, 1909.
Queens Public Library Digital Archive
Medford Hotel. This building, near the Long Island Rail Road's Medford Station was a popular stop for people visiting the area in the early 20th century. It has undergone several incarnations.
Route 112 crossing at grade looking south from in front of the Sinclair gas station: 4/19/40. At the left can be seen the old St. Sylvester’s Roman Catholic church, built in 1912. During the grade elimination and widening of Rt. 112 in 1940, it was moved back 30 feet from its original location, the building cut in half along its width and the middle filled in with new construction to make the church larger. A “new” St. Sylvester’s church on Ohio Avenue was dedicated on Christmas Eve, 1953. It remained standing, unused and falling apart until it was torn down for the new showroom / offices of the former Island Coal and Lumber Co. which was renamed at the time to Triangle Pacific. (Albert Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive)
Rt. 112 crossing at grade, looking north – 4/19/40. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) store at left; concrete, center island flashing lights in center. Medford village in background. St. Sylvester’s R.C. Church at right. (Albert Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive)
Two photos, first from the Brooklyn Eagle - September 18, 1940 Archive: Dave Keller
Second, In this October 24, 1940 PSC photograph, LIRR officials are inspecting the project. The station is soon to be dedicated but the station signs have not yet been hung on the building. The view is looking northeast and there's already a boxcar spotted on the new team track. All the concrete looks bright white and new. (Dave Keller archive)
|
|
A few renovations were necessary before the installation of Medford's Rte. 112 train trestle in 1940. This included moving the A&P and Saint Sylvester's Church.
White House Hotel. Black and white photograph of the White House in Medford, Long Island. This building served as a hotel and tavern. Sixteen people are visible posed along the front porch.
Holding Institution: Longwood Public Library
Medford all girl drum and bugle corps. This is a photograph of Medford all girl drum and bugle corps. posing in front of Shirley Post Office, circa 1950s.
Creator: Mr. Philip Trypuc
Date of Original: circa 1949-1960
Physical Description: Reproduction of an original 8x10 black and white photograph in the Philip Trypuc Collection.
Holding Institution: Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library
Medford Choral Society Collection (PMLIB.Org)
The beginnings of the Society can be traced back to 1926, with the founding of what was then known as the Harmony Singing Society, and to 1934, with the founding of what was then known as the Medford Ladies' Choral Society. The two groups would eventually join together in harmony, and, as the 1940s and 1950s wore on, the group would eventually be composed of both men and women.
[Medford Choral Society] Type: Photograph A photograph of the Medford Choral Society, possibly taken sometime in the 1950s, at the Bavarian Inn, Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Medford Choral Society Type: Photograph A photograph of the Medford Choral Society, possibly taken sometime in the 1960s, at the Bavarian Inn, Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y. (PMLIB.Org)
|
|
Here is a look at Medford's changing landscape; Aerial photos from 1947, 1962, 1978, 1984, 2001, 2010, and 2020. Development has had a major impact on our community.
Hal B. Fullerton. 1907. Farm House at Experimental Station No. 2. Gelatin silver print. Description: Aerial view of the LIRR Experimental Station No. 2 and its farmhouse.
