The Ghost House of Woodbury Road
Does anyone remember the name of the farm that used to stand on Woodbury Road, just before its intersection with Miller?
I recall the site well. It was a very large, white structure that almost appeared to be the size of a small bed and breakfast, with an adjacent barn and working yard behind the main building. I’ve done some investigating, but haven’t had any luck in obtaining records or information about the farm. It has since been torn down and several large single family dwellings currently take up space in the farm’s former lot.
After searching through the Gregory Museum and Hicksville Public Library for any records regarding the site, I abandoned the search. Several years ago a friend had told me that her aunt had worked on the farm many years back and had been a former owner of the property. However, I was unable to get in touch with the former owner. I truly wanted to know more about the site that intrigued me so much.
When we had first moved into our home, I was thrilled that we were so close to Broadway Mall. (And to this day, I very often slip and call it “Mid Island Plaza”!) We would frequently head down Woodbury Road to take the “back way” to the mall, via East Bethpage Road and Nevada Street. Each journey to the mall allowed us a glimpse of the abandoned site, which reminded me vaguely of the home that Jack Nicholson purchased in the movie, The Shining.
When my daughter was old enough to speak in full sentences, we would often make visits to the mall in search of clothing or just to play in the game room that used to be in the food court on the lower level. If we were unfortunate enough to be stopped at the light that was adjacent the abandoned farmhouse, my daughter used to call out from her car seat that “that broken old ‘cuckoo’ house” always gave her “the creeps”, and frequently asked that we hurry the light up. What that it were that easy, I used to remark, and tell her that it was a beautiful old building and nothing to be frightened of it. Although, from the outside, I have to admit that it certainly did look a bit intimidating, even to me.
When the fencing went up around the property a short time after, I was filled with a bit of sadness, for I realized that an icon was about to be torn down. The final remnants of the farming era were slowly being replaced by the housing needs of the current age. As I explained that the farm was about to be torn down to my child, her response was, “I’m glad that they’re taking down the Ghost House. It scared me, lots of times.”
I had wanted to take some photographs of the property before it was destroyed, but life will be life and I was unable to do so. When the new homes were built, I remarked of their loveliness, but I felt somehow sad. Something iconic was gone, another part of our history now relegated to books and our memories.
The quest for answers continues, to this day. As I pass the area where the farm once stood, I still find myself looking for clues of its existence, traces of a memory, and have yet to find one. If you remember this beautiful farm, please share your memories, that we can reconstruct not “the ghost house” but rather the majestic old farm house that lived quite regally upon Woodbury Road.
Do you know anything about the “The Ghost House?” Share your memories and knowledge by emailing babraham@antonnews.com or calling 516-747-8282.
