Howard Kroplick speaks at Rededication of Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building

2024 07 15 16 54 58 edited 1 1

24 July, 2024

From left to right: Howard Kroplick, Co-President of the Roslyn Landmark Society, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, Tweed Roosevelt.

Howard Kroplick, Co-President of the Roslyn Landmark Society and former Town Historian of the Town of North Hempstead, was recently invited by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to speak about the history of Nassau County at the Rededication of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building. The rededication was part of the yearlong festivities celebrating the 125th anniversary of Nassau County.

During the July 12, 2024 ceremony held at the landmark building on Franklin Avenue in Mineola that once served as the Old Nassau County Courthouse, Kroplick expressed his gratitude to County Executive Blakeman and the Nassau County Legislature for their ongoing support of the restoration of the Roslyn Grist Mill. He also spoke about the ongoing efforts of the Roslyn Landmark Society and its supporters to preserve and restore the historic colonial mill located in the heart of the Village of Roslyn.

The Roslyn Grist Mill operated for over 150 years and is one of the few remaining Dutch-framed industrial buildings in the United States. Following his 1790 tour of Long Island that included a visit to Roslyn where he was well entertained, President George Washington mentioned the Grist Mill in his diary.

During the last 65 years of private ownership in the 1800s, the Grist Mill was owned by the Hicks family of Old Westbury and Roslyn. One of these owners in the 1880s was Benjamin D. Hicks, who was also an active political official and the leading advocate for separating the three towns of North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay from Queens County to create Nassau County.

After 30 years of this advocacy, Hicks was finally successful in 1899. The Roslyn Landmark Society plans to complete Phase II of the restoration this year in celebration of the 125th anniversary of Nassau County.

Watch Kroplick's speech below or on our YouTube Channel.