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Neighborhoods in the Hamlet of Copiague Copiague is not a town per se. There is no central town government and no mayor. Copiague is a hamlet within the Town of Babylon. Its municipal boundaries overlap the adjacent towns. Within Copiague today, there are different neighborhoods or subdivisions. Some neighborhoods were proposed in the 1920s and subsequently built in the 1950s. Other subdivisions are based on activities that occurred nearby. The neighborhoods within Copiague, or on its borders, are known as: Hawkin’s Estates, Deauville Gardens, Marconiville Until the 1920s, Copiague’s waterfront area remained unpopulated. People lived inland, away from the mosquitoes, and closer to the railroad and businesses. Advertisements mentioned the nearby salt water, fishing, beaches, the railroad, and relaxing tranquility. Amity Harbor1,2 As the name Amity Harbor suggests, this subdivision is located in the Amityville postal zone, but is within the unincorporated community of Copiague. Amity Harbor is serviced by Copiague schools and the Copiague fire department. Amity Harbor is located on the western boundary of Copiague. It is bordered on the east by Howells Creek, north by Montauk Highway, west by Ketcham’s Creek, the and on the south by the Great South Bay. 
Take a picture tour of Amity Harbor, or select the photograph to see a picture spread. Amity Harbor is a waterfront community that was planned by George Brown in the 1920s. In his words, it was planned as “a home for the white-collar man with a car in the front and a boat in the rear.” It was planned as a summer bungalow community with alphabetically named streets from north to south. There was originally a $40,000 clubhouse and a fifty-five foot observation tower in the shape of a lighthouse for residents´ use at the head of the canal. More than thirty homes were initially constructed. The Great Depression ended any further development. During the Depression George Brown sold the land cheaply. He sold 93 acres to the town for taxes. This land is now Tanner Park. The park has a boat ramp, fishing pier, ball playing fields, a meeting pavilion, and a small beach. The area was finally developed in the 1950s. Most residents live there full time. The observation tower was destroyed by Hurricane Gloria in 1986. The yacht club became Michael´s Pier 3 Restaurant. The restaurant burned in 1976. The building was razed about 19973. Copiague Harbor The area of Copiague Harbor was built in the 1960s. It is situated on a peninsula jutting into the Great South Bay on the eastern border of Copiague. The neighborhood shares the same zip code, schools, and fire department with Copiague. The area contains expensive homes, many waterfront, and a private beach. The development has one entrance/exit. It was built that way so that it could easily be gated. It never was. Hawkin’s Estates The Hawkins Estate (mansion) was erected sometime after 1915 near the northwest corner of Montauk Highway and Great Neck Road (specifically east of Howard Street, between Cedar and Parkside). It was owned by William Hawkins. Mr. Alfred Ketchum was the gardener. The house overlooked its own fresh water pond4. Today the pond is called Copiague Lake.
Sometime in the 1930s, the Hawkin’s abandoned their estate. The mansion remained and the neighborhood is known was Hawkin’s Estates. When the Nassau-Suffolk General Hospital, later Lakeside Hospital, opened in the late 1930s, the old house became part of the hospital. The hospital had a famous fire. The hospital closed in the 1970s5. Today (year 2007) the site of the former mansion is known as Lakeside Manor Apartments. Deauville Gardens Upon the land formerly owned by Zebulon Ketcham, is the development referred to as Deauville Gardens. Its western boundary is the stream that borders Copiague and Amityville. American Venice On the eastern border of Copiague, in the town of Lindenhurst, is the area known as American Venice or Little Venice. One of the more interesting projects in the area during the prosperous 1920s was the development of “Little Venice.” It was a project intended to occupy 365 acres along the water and designed on the model of the Venice’s Piazza San Marco6. A 1926 Long Island Rail Road booklet advised readers to envision “a Venetian type home, fronting on a broad canal with a large lagoon nearby!”
Upon completion, “Little Venice” was to contain 2000 homes set on numerous lagoons and waterways. Original home prices were $4,600 to $15,0007. Prospective buyers were welcomed by winged lions atop tall pedestals (five stories high) on the east and west ends of the site, a bandstand in the center of the lagoon with musical performances on weekends, and gondolas to delight prospects who visited the site. The gondolas transported visitors down the canals and under bridges on weekends8,9. The original plan called for all streets to be canals. Currently (year 2007), there are three canals that run through the community: the Grand Canal (from Montauk Hwy to the Great South Bay), the Santa Barbara Canal which runs east/west, and the Lugano Canal, which surrounds Indian Island Park. The Great Depression put an end to the development. Motorboats replaced the gondolas and the large lagoon was converted to a boat basin. The area was finally developed in the 1950s. Currently, (February 2007), there are plans to create an American Venice Historic Park. The park is to be located were the Grand Canal meets Montauk Highway, the site of the current RPM Marina. While the two lions still flank the east and west sides of the canal, the Town of Babylon is investigating the replacement of the two gazebos and reinstating gondola rides. The Town is also seeking a local historic designation for the area10. Footnotes 1. Dibbins, Purdy and Ruggles, editors. “A Backwards Glance”, The Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, New York ©1980. Pages 95-97. 2. Newsday. October 1, 1977. 3. Information from Mr. Clark of the Amity Harbor Civic Association. (admin@amityharbor.com, www.amityharbor.com) 4. Dibbins, Purdy and Ruggles, editors. “A Backwards Glance,” The Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, New York ©1980. Page 107. 5. ibid. Page 108. 6. Pirraglia, Michelle. Suffolk Life Newspaper, February 14, 2007. Page 3, 13. 7. Pirraglia, Michelle. Suffolk Life Newspaper, February 14, 2007. Pages 3, 13. 8. Dibbins, Purdy and Ruggles, editors. “A Backwards Glance,” The Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, New York ©1980. Page 95. 9. LaGumina, Salvatore J., “From Steerage to Suburb: Long Island Italians.” Center for Migration Studies, New York, 1988. Page 111. 10. Pirraglia, Michelle. Suffolk Life Newspaper, February 14, 2007. Pages 3, 13. Web Explorations (external links) A web site sponsored Amity Harbor Civic Association www.amityharbor.com
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