Long Island's Hidden Past: Wantagh train station

<p>Tom Watson, from the Wantagh Preservation Society, says that although it may not look like it, Wantagh has a place in the history books.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 3, 2017, 11:16 AM

Updated 2,550 days ago

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Long Island's Hidden Past: Wantagh train station
Travel back in time and discover how Long Islanders traveled in style by train! News 12 Long Island's Danielle Campbell and Photojournalist Brian Endres take you on an all aboard trip into Long Island's Hidden Past.
Tom Watson, from the Wantagh Preservation Society, says that although it may not look like it, Wantagh has a place in the history books.
The Hamlet was settled in the mid-1600s, and it was called Jerusalem back then.
The old Quaker meeting house still exists, as does the 1886 Victorian train station located on Wantagh Avenue.
The train station was almost demolished in the 60s. But it was saved along with the original 1907 post office.
But what seems to draw the most attention is the "Jamaica" - a 1913 LIRR parlor car that escorted dignitaries across Long Island.
The car had all the comforts of home - with a bedroom, little toilet and it even a full service kitchen with a wood-burning stove so they could cook up a hot meal for the passengers.
The Wantagh station is an example of what many other South Shore stations looked like back in the 1800s - in the 60s most were demolished.


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