Residents, local officials and history enthusiasts gathered at the Port Washington Public Library on Wednesday, June 10, to celebrate the 95th anniversary of theVillage of Baxter Estateswhile also recognizing the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States.

The event, hosted by the Baxter Estates Board of Trustees, featured remarks from Mayor Nora Haagenson and Village Historian Barbara Cohen, who reflected on the village’s origins and its ties to the American Revolution as part of the nationwide America 250 commemoration.

“We’re not 100 years old, but 95’s pretty good,” Haagenson said as she welcomed attendees to the celebration.

Haagenson recounted the village’s incorporation on June 10, 1931, following a vote held the previous month in a garage on Shoreview Road that served as a makeshift polling place. The effort was led by Carolyn Bussisweig, a resident and the only female attorney in Nassau County at the time, who sought to prevent the neighborhood from being annexed by the neighboring Village of Manorhaven.

“There was no opposition,” Haagenson said. “So on June 10, 1931, Baxter Estates officially became the Incorporated Village of Baxter Estates.”

She outlined the village’s original boundaries, many of which remain unchanged today, and noted that approximately 1,000 residents now live within the community’s 250 single-family homes, apartments and commercial-area residences.

Haagenson also highlighted the area’s deeper history, tracing it from the Matinecock people who are believed to have lived near Baxter Pond, through the ownership of the Baxter family beginning in 1743, and into the development of residential neighborhoods following the arrival of the Long Island Rail Road.

“In 95 years, the village has seen 14 mayors, many trustees and 22 clerks,” Haagenson said. “However, Baxter is still the warm and friendly village of neighbors who help one another.”

The anniversary celebration coincided with America 250, the nationwide observance leading up to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Cohen connected Baxter Estates’ history to the Revolutionary era and the “Cow Neck and the American Revolution” exhibit on display at the library.

“So what does Baxter Estates have to do with the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution?” Cohen asked attendees.

Source: LI Press