Holliswood Queens

Precolonial and colonial history

The Jameco (sometimes Yamecah) Indians of the Algonquin Nation were the first people to settle in the region that is now Holliswood. The region now known as Jamaica was acquired by Dutch colonists from New Netherland in 1656 from the Jameco Indians. Jamaica was a freshly acquired land that the Dutch colonial authorities encouraged immigrants from Hempstead, nearby, to colonize. The district that would eventually become Holliswood was renamed East Jamaica, and it is currently located between Queens Village and Jamaica proper. East Jamaica is primarily an agricultural area with a sparse population. This region had virtually little development until the American Revolution.

19th century development

Frederick W. Dunton, the nephew of the Long Island Railroad president and administrator of the Town of Jamaica, is credited with the construction of Holliswood. Dunton went on to buy 136 acres (55 ha) of farmland in East Jamaica in 1884. Dunton wanted to call his proposed development Woodhull in honor of the local hero from the Revolutionary War who participated in the Battle of Long Island. Since Dunton didn’t aware that there was already a Woodhull in upstate New York, he called the neighborhoods Hollis and Holliswood after his New Hampshire hometown.

Dunton chose to build Holliswood with winding streets, naming them after Latin or Spanish places, including Palo Alto, Como, Marengo, and so on. Within the boundaries of the area, a trotting racetrack was constructed under the name Epsom Course. The Grenoble Realty Company was established in 1905 and was responsible for creating the intricate street layout. Dunton retained the largest parcel of property on Dunton Avenue, which borders Holliswood to the south, for himself. He constructed Hollis Hall, a grand home with views of the Atlantic Ocean, there.