West Hempstead’s very own trolley

A distinct clanging sound could be heard as the trolley alongside Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead passed by from 1905-1926. The trolley, however, was not the first to travel this exact route.

First, it had been a trail for ancient Native American tribes from the Ohio River and the Great Lakes who came to trade furs and skins for wampum. Next, this route was called the King’s Highway and was traveled by horse-drawn carts transporting farm products into the city and finished goods back out to the country. In 1812, the Jamaica and Hempstead Turnpike Company took over the ten-mile stretch. It was lined with planks to keep cartwheels out of the mud and had a tollbooth.

In 1886, it was the first road to be electrified in New York state. The New York and Long Island Traction Company operated a trolley on the line. In West Hempstead, an “overhead” for the trolley had to be built over the Long Island Rail Road tracks, which at that time, left the West Hempstead Station, crossed Hempstead Turnpike — as seen on the 1914 map — and went on to Country Life Press and Mineola until 1953. There were no passengers, just cargo on this portion of the line.

Small businesses flourished around the Trolley Stops. A postcard from Trolley Stop 33 in West Hempstead features “The Tyrolean Brau-Haus,” in which one could meet Herman and The Happy Family, have a good time and enjoy two shows nightly. “Our dinners are the talk of Long Island!”

When the trolley line was demolished, some small businesses took advantage of the debris. The Grella Garage, possibly the oldest operating business in West Hempstead, took a length of the line to use as the apron of their oversize garage door.

Courtesy West Hempstead Historical Society; compiled by Nakeem Grant