As late as 1900, the surrounding area, however, was still primarily farmland, and from Atlantic Avenue one could see as far south as Jamaica Bay, site of present-day John F. Two Frenchmen named Charles Lalance and Florian Grosjean launched the village as a manufacturing community in 1863, by opening a tin factory and improving the process of tin stamping.
The original boundaries extended as far south as Liberty Avenue. To avoid confusion with a Woodville located upstate, the residents agreed to change the name to Woodhaven. That same year, the residents petitioned for a local post office. Pitkin, developed the eastern area as a workers' village and named it Woodville (1835). Several hotels (including the Snedeker Hotel and the Forschback Inn) were built in the area to accommodate the racing crowds.Ī Connecticut Yankee, John R. Match races between horses from the South against those from the North drew crowds as high as 70,000. The custom of conducting a single, four-mile (6 km) race consisting of as many heats as were necessary to determine a winner, gave way to programs consisting of several races. These courses were originally without grandstands. The Union Course was the site of the first skinned-or dirt-racing surface, a novelty at the time. Union Course was a nationally famous racetrack situated in the area now bounded by 78th Street, 82nd Street, Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. Later, Woodhaven became the site of two racetracks: the Union Course (1821) and the Centerville (1825). British troops successfully flanked General George Washington's Continental Army by a silent night-march from Gravesend, Brooklyn through the lightly defended " Jamaica Pass" actually located in Brooklyn, to win the Battle of Long Island, Queens-the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War, and the first battle after the Declaration of Independence. Įuropean settlement in Woodhaven began in the mid-18th century as a small town that revolved around farming, with the Ditmar, Lott, Wyckoff, Suydam and Snediker families.
According to the New York City Parks Department, Forest Park was inhabited by the Rockaway and Lenape Native Americans "until the Dutch West India Company settled the area in 1635." Native Americans in the area used the arrowwood stems prevalent in Forest Park for arrow shafts. The northern boundary of the Rockaway territory was the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin glacier, which formed the ridges of Forest Park. Jamaica Avenue, the neighborhood's main thoroughfare, has its beginnings in an ancient Native American trail, the Old Rockaway Trail. Politically, Woodhaven is represented by the New York City Council's 28th, 30th, and 32nd Districts. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 102nd Precinct.
#WOOD HAVEN CODE#
Woodhaven is located in Queens Community District 9 and its ZIP Code is 11421. It retains the small-town feel of bygone days and is home to people of many different ethnicities. Woodhaven contains a mixture of urban and suburban land uses, with both low-density residential and commercial sections. Woodhaven, once known as Woodville, has one of the greatest tree populations in the borough and is known for its proximity to the hiking trails of Forest Park. It is bordered on the north by Park Lane South and Forest Park, on the east by Richmond Hill, on the south by Ozone Park and Atlantic Avenue, and the west by the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn. Woodhaven is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens.