The Saddle Rock Grist Mill (see photo on the Home Page or an enlargement
here.) was in operation as
early as 1700, some 76 years before the United States of America became a
nation. It was constructed from mill equipment brought over from England as
well as with local building material. The mill was continuously in operation
from its beginning until early 1940 and it commercially produced flour made
from corn. The mill sits alongside Udall’s Pond where trading vessels would
land from the Atlantic Ocean, arriving from either the East River, or Long
Island Sound, and return loaded with flour for sale anywhere in the world.
Some of the names of the ships utilizing the mill were carved into the old
timbers of the mill and are visible today. The Saddle Rock Grist Mill
remained in the private hands of the original owners and their families
until 1950 when the Eldridge estate was sold to a developer.
In 1955 the mill became the
property of Nassau County, which continues to maintain it as a museum. It
has gone through several painstaking restorations in 1940, 1955, 1961, and
lastly in 1992 when it was rededicated as a historical site. The Mill is
listed in the National Registry.
 The
Eldridge family mansion was built on a site in view of the Saddle Rock Grist
Mill and it served as the owners’ home from the early 1800’s to sometime in
the 1940’s. In 1860, a daughter named Louise was born to Louisa Udall and
William Skidmore at the family mansion. Louise was a community activist as
early as twenty years old. She eventually became Great Neck’s “first lady”.
Louise was the founder of the Great Neck Library, the Great Neck Park
District, the original Great Neck Arts Center, as well as many other public
institutions. The library, which is now located on Bayview Avenue on
property once owned by the Village of Saddle Rock, was originally located in
what is known today as Great Neck House. It was Louise, in 1927, who insisted
that the library become a separate public taxing district for the use of all
of the residents of Great Neck.
(Photo: Eldridge Mansion, click to enlarge)
In 1910, at the instance of Louise Eldridge, the Eldridge family sold off
portions of their real estate holdings to the Village of Kings Point to the
north and the Town of North Hempstead to the south and east. The 77 family
and servant residents then petitioned the State of New York to have the
Village of Saddle Rock created with the newly set boundaries of the Eldridge
estate.
 In
January 1911, the State of New York authorized the first village on the
Great Neck peninsula. Saddle Rock became the first of the nine Great Neck
Villages. The first Mayor of Saddle Rock was not the person one might
suspect, but her husband Roswell Eldridge who was appointed “Acting Mayor”.
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America was
ratified on August 18, 1920. That Amendment gave women the right to vote,
which was and continues to be a prerequisite to holding elected office in
the State of New York. In 1926 Louise Udall Skidmore Eldridge officially
became the first female Mayor of Saddle Rock and the first female Mayor in
the State of New York. Mayor Eldridge served from 1926 until 1947 when at
the age of 87 and running for re-election she passed away four days prior to
Election Day. During her tenure as Mayor, and probably prior to that time,
she appointed all of the Trustees and Commissioners, who were all relatives
or worked for the family business and estate.
(Photo: Louise Udall Skidmore Eldridge, click to enlarge)
In 1950, the Saddle Rock Elementary School was opened in the Village at the
corner of Bayview Avenue and Hawthorne Lane to serve the children living in
the northwest portion of the peninsula.
In the early 1950’s real estate within the boundaries of the Village of
Saddle Rock were sold to a developer and the original split-level and farm
ranch homes were built. The newly constructed Village streets were named
after the names of poets. The Eldridge Mansion, which was erected on 283
pilings, was torn down and the Saddle Rock pool was set in its place, where
it is presently located surrounded by the Saddle Rock Park. It is most
fitting that the Saddle Rock Park is located on the site of the old family
mansion since Louise Eldridge was the first person to open the gardens which
surrounded her home to be viewed and enjoyed by the public at large.
The Saddle Rock Grist Mill served as the original Village Hall for public
meetings of the Board of Trustees during the tenure of Louise Eldridge.
Thereafter, public meetings were conducted at the Saddle Rock School or the
Great Neck Library. After 1947, the official Village Hall business office
was located in the various homes of elected officials and, for many years
until 1999, in the home of the former Village Clerk/Treasurer of the Village
of Saddle Rock, Gladys Landau outside of the Village. The Village office was
literally located next to Gladys’ kitchen sink.
Eugenia Treadwell, a niece of Louise Eldridge, lived on a two-acre piece of
property in which the Village owned a “life estate”. Eugenia Treadwell died
in 1996, at the age of 99. The Village, now the owner of the property, sold
it for the development of six homes. As part of the terms of the land sale,
the developer constructed a Village Hall at the Saddle Rock Park.
On October 24, 1999, the first permanent Saddle Rock Village Hall was
dedicated where it stands in view of the Saddle Rock Bridge, Grist Mill, and
site of the old Eldridge mansion. Just above the sink in the kitchen area of
the Village Hall, a plaque reads “Gladys’ Kitchen”. The street leading to
the Village Hall followed tradition, and was named Masefield Way after the
poet John Masefield.
The Saddle Rock Bridge, which crosses Udall’s Pond and overlooks the New
York City skyline, existed for many years as a two lane wooden structure.
Following the death of a young Saddle Rock resident, who was struck by an
automobile on the bridge one night, the bridge was rebuilt as a four lane
concrete structure with a walkway on either side. On September 11, 2001,
residents of the area stood on the bridge and watched the horrific events of
that day unfold. The Bridge was rededicated in December 2001, as the “9-11
Memorial Bridge” at a ceremony on the bridge in the presence of elected
officials, firefighters, police, residents and the families of six local
heroes who lost their lives in the Twin Towers on 9-11 (see
9-11 Memorial Bridge).
One of the individuals who lost his life that fateful day was a volunteer
member of the Vigilant Fire Company. Both the Alert and Vigilant Fire
Companies have each recently celebrated their 100th anniversary and they
were major participants in the dedication ceremonies. The Alert Fire Company
has provided volunteer fire protection to the Village of Saddle Rock from its inception
and the Vigilant Fire Company provides volunteer ambulance service.
(Photo: Alerts & Vigilants on the Bridge, click to
enlarge)
In 1984, the Village of Saddle Rock was the first municipality in the
state of New York to require boaters who use the Village marina to provide a
certificate of having first taken a safe boating course prior to the
issuance of a boating permit.
A significant portion of the history of the United States can be seen from
the Saddle Rock Bridge, from which you can see the Saddle Rock Grist Mill,
Little Neck Bay, the Throgs Neck Bridge, the Whitestone Bridge, and the
skyscrapers of New York City.
In 1996, under an agreement with Nassau County and the Water Authority of
Great Neck North, of which the Village of Saddle Rock is a part, work began
on a partially abandoned fenced in corner lot belonging to Nassau County.
The entire corner property now stands as a magnificent garden in Saddle
Rock, just as the gardens of the old Eldridge mansion were open to the
public for their enjoyment. The site is now known as the
Xeriscape (click to see
photo).
In many ways the Village of Saddle Rock is both the oldest and youngest
Village on the Great Neck peninsula, dating from its early settlement before
the United States of America became a nation, until today where it is the
home of the gardens of the future.
The Village of Saddle Rock continues to grow with new homes, modern
facilities, and a vital spirit, which represents America.
A list of the Mayors and their respective service to the Village of Saddle
Rock is as follows:
Hon. Roswell Eldridge 1911 -1926
Hon. Louise Udall Skidmore Eldridge 1926 -1947
Hon. Henry E. Treadwell 1947 -1950
Hon. Samuel Berger 1950 -1951
Hon. George Wolf 1951 -1952
Hon. Jacob W. Friedman 1952 -1954
Hon. Harold I, Glasser 1954 -1962
Hon. Jack I. Antokal 1962 -1968
Hon. Emanuel R. Bachner 1968 -1980
Hon. Leonard Eisenberg 1980 -1985
Hon. Allen Michelson 1985 -1991
Hon. J. Leonard Samansky 1991 - present
The above summary of our history may be further studied in depth through the
many books, videotapes, and references located at the Village Hall, the
Great Neck Library, and the Parks Department of Nassau County. Please
contact us if you believe that we can be of assistance to you in connection
with either more of the history of the Village of Saddle Rock or matters of
current interest.
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