TOBAY Notebook: Civil War History in Spotlight

Oyster Bay Town Historian John Hammond will discuss the town's significant role in the American Civil War at a meeting in Farmingdale on Nov. 13.

Hammond will be the featured speaker at the meeting of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society. He will be discussing Oyster Bay in the Civil War and his newest publication, Civil War Records: Town of Oyster Bay. The meeting will be held at the Farmingdale Public Library at 2 p.m. The public is invited.

Town residents responded to President Lincoln's call for volunteers in 1861 and more than 2,000 town residents served by the end of the war, according to Supervisor John Venditto.

Hammond, a well-known authority on Oyster Bay during the Civil War, has compiled records relating to soldiers and sailors, including African-Americans, from the Town who were eligible to serve Venditto said.

Anyone seeking to obtain a copy of Civil War Records: Town of Oyster Bay Birth, can contact Hammond at 516-624-4971. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from the Town’s Web site, www.oysterbaytown.com. Other guides by Town Historian Hammond, Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay, Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1847-1849 and Index to Register of Deaths Town of Oyster Bay 1881-1920, can also be obtained by calling the above-listed number or visiting the Town’s Web site. 

Final 2011 Town Clean-up Day is Nov. 13

The eighth and final 2011 homeowners cleanup program for town residents will take place on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Residents only the town’s Solid Waste Disposal District may take unwanted, non-hazardous rubbish to the town’s garbage complex, Bethpage-Sweet Hollow Road, Old Bethpage, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m..

Bushes, tree limbs, fence posts and similar items will be accepted as is and need not be broken into smaller pieces. Used tires, large metal items in excess of four feet, clean fill, clean broken concrete, and boats and boat trailers will also be accepted. Passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks and small trailers are admitted to the program. Six-wheel or larger vehicles are not permitted. Proof of district residency must be shown.

Landmarks Commission to Meet Nov. 9

The next meeting of the Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks Preservation Commission has been scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9.

The meeting will be held in the town board's hearing room, Town Hall East, 54 Audrey Ave., Oyster Bay, at 7 p.m.

The commission was formed in 1974 to recommend for preservation sites and structures within the town which have historical, architectural or antiquarian significance. Currently, 37 buildings, one railroad turntable and one cemetery have town landmark status. For further information, contact the Department of Planning & Development at 624-6200.