Bethpage

The neighborhood was named after the Biblical town of Bethphage, which was located in the Holy Land between Jericho and Jerusalem, by Quaker Thomas Powell, who gave the place the name Bethpage. The Bethpage Purchase in 1695 included the area that is now Bethpage. Maps from as late as 1906 show Bedelltown as an early name for the northern part of the modern-day Bethpage.

Maps showing the community of Bethpage immediately prior to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)’s arrival show it to be a part of both Farmingdale, the neighboring community, and its school and post office districts. Train service to Farmingdale station, which was close to a recently established community less than a mile east of what had previously been shown as Bethpage on maps, started in 1841. At that time, schedules indicated “late Bethpage” rather than listing Bethpage as a stop. The place known as Bethpage has been partially redrawn on a map from 1855 to include a neighboring area that is now known as Plainedge.

The LIRR established a stop at what is now Bethpage between 1851 and 1854 at a station known as Jerusalem Station. A local post office also opened at Jerusalem Station on January 29, 1857. The station was also identified as just Jerusalem on LIRR timetables. With effect from March 1, 1867, locals were able to change the post office’s name to Central Park (which was misspelled Centralpark between 1895 and 1899). The Central Park Fire Company was founded in May 1911 after being established in April 1910. The Central Park Water District was established in May of 1923.