I am the son of Albon Platt Man the founder of Richmond Hill and the brother to Alrick Hubbell Man who started the community of Richmond Hill. My name is Albon Platt Man the Second.
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My father was a lawyer in Manhattan and was interested in real estate. In 1868 he was traveling along the Williamsburg and Jamaica Turnpike which you now call Metropolitan Avenue near Lefferts to his summer home in Lawrence. He admired the rolling green hills north of the Turnpike and the beautiful views. Facing south he could see all the way to Jamaica Bay and when he climbed the hill he could see the North Shore. He thought that this land would be the ideal place to start his Garden Community. When he heard that a new railroad line was coming through the area he knew he had to invest. Along with his partner Edward Richmond they purchased the Lefferts farm and parts of other farms and by 1870 the community of Richmond Hill was started.
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The land north of Metropolitan was considered too hilly to develop so they left that wooded area along and it served as the playground for the people of Richmond Hill. They hunted in the forest, had picnics near Crystal Lake and used the lake for fishing, boating and when it froze over ice skating in the winter. On this land by 1895 the Richmond Hill Golf links were created and I was instrumental in that venture with my brother Arthur. A clubhouse was built and our course has nine holes. Many grand tournaments were held there. My brother Alrick moved into Richmond Hill and lived in a grand house on Church Street which is now 118th Street. He took an active interest in the Richmond Hill community that out father built. When the Richmond Hill was incorporated as a village in 1894 he became the first President. By 1908 it was decided to close the golf course and Alrick developed the land in the community of Kew Gardens.
Presented May 22, 2004 by The Richmond Hill Historical Society, Maple Grove Cemetery, and The Immaculate Conception School of Jamaica Estates, NY (Dr. Charlene Jaffie, principal).
Copyright © 2004 Carl Ballenas & Nancy Cataldi.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
Copyright © 2004 Carl Ballenas & Nancy Cataldi.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.