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Christmas Pieces - Chapter 18 - Riverhead, NY
The Town of Riverhead, situated between the Long Island Sound and the Peconic River, and just to the east of the Long Island Pine Barrens on eastern Long Island sits. In 1909 the bucolic hamlet was a bustling place surrounded by agricultural acres and bays teaming with fish. That year William Howard Taft was inaugurated as the 27th president of the United States, he succeeded Theodore Roosevelt who was president until March. As president, Roosevelt spent a lot of time on Long Island at his summer home in Oyster Bay, which is 50 miles west of Riverhead. That year Roosevelt left New York City on a year-long hunting and scientific expedition to Africa that was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society. One of the world’s most prestigious bicycling races, the Tour de France, was held for the first time in 1909 and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series that same year. By 1909 Riverhead was unique. It would also be the first and only time an automobile race, the Long Island Stock Chassis Derby, would be held on public roads in Riverhead.
Riverhead became the Suffolk County Seat in 1727. It happened because the courts only met twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. One took place on Long Island’s south fork, the other on the north fork and people didn’t want to travel from one fork to the other for court business. Riverhead, located between eastern Long Island’s forks, became the logical location for the new County Seat.
The Suffolk County Agricultural Fair had been taking place in Riverhead since the 1840s and continued to the 1930s. By 1868 20 acres had been bought for $1,650 to hold the Fair on Pulaski Street near downtown Riverhead and only a few blocks from the train station. Its proximity to the Long Island Railroad station made it easy for people to come from all over Suffolk County and beyond to attend. On the west side of the grounds were stalls for horses and cattle, and poultry coops. On the southern and eastern portions exhibits were held of carriages and the latest in agricultural implements along with carnival barker tents. On the north side of the layout a half-mile track was featured. The center of the track was leveled for playing exhibition baseball games. The annual County Fair became a major event. On the west side of the track were grandstands that held thousands of people who came to watch the horse races. There were more than agriculture exhibits to be seen. People came to watch not only horse racing, but bicycle races, baseball games, fireworks, and other entertainment activities as well. At the 1898 fair, future president Teddy Roosevelt, who was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was there as a guest speaker and was campaigning for governor of New York State. In 1899 he won the election and became governor of New York State. In September 1901 he became Vice President of the United States and following the assassination of President William McKinley, Roosevelt became President.
Dave grew up in town. His grandfather was a carriage maker with a shop on Bridge Street, which later became Peconic Avenue. It was flanked by the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall that was built in 1881 and modeled after the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C., which unfortunately, was better known as the place where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Dave’s father inherited the carriage business and taught Dave the trade. Over the years the family built handsome carriages for the attorneys who visited the nearby courthouse and local businessmen, and more so, wagons for the booming agricultural business that surrounded the town. At a young age Dave learned quickly how to work with tools. Meanwhile, automobiles were beginning to take over the horse and buggy for transportation.
