Howard B Hutcheson

Previously, we focused on fruit magnate Aubrey G. Hutcheson who owned a 100 acre farm that now comprises the Presidential Section. As mentioned in that post, shortly after Hutcheson sold his farm in 1910, three houses were built across the street for two of his sons, Ralph Everard and Howard Brownell Hutcheson, and one for his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. & Mrs. Walton and Violet Blackford. Judging by the 1914 Belcher-Hyde property map shown below, the Dutch colonial currently occupied by China Connection is the one at left-center of the image and was built for H. B. Hutcheson. (The original school house for SD27, which can be seen in red on the top right corner, was built only two years earlier in 1912. Though additions and modifications were made to the school over the years, the original building still stands and is distinguished by the bell tower atop of it).

Here is a recent photo of China Connection -

H. B. Hutcheson was evidently some kind of a sportsman who raced horses that were raised at his father's stable in West Hempstead - horses with names like Lottie and Princess. When automobiles became the fashion in the 1900s, he turned to racing autos. On June 18th, 1905, he was arrested in Hempstead for driving a vehicle in excess of the village's "10 mph" speed limit. The Village of Hempstead that summer started an initiative to crack down on speeders and bicyclists who rode on the sidewalk, (though by the middle of the summer the effort peetered out since officers found it too hot to sit and wait at the speed traps and also because the Automobile Association of America posted warnings on the outskirts of town about speeding through the village). After appearing before the judge, he was fined $25, a hefty sum in 1905 considering that in today's dollars (using the inflation calculator), that would translate to $592. Perhaps he recovered at least some of that money that November when he won an auto race at the Empire City Race Track in Yonkers. The race was part on an event that showcased the Oldsmobile Runabout or "Curved Dash", which is considered the first mass produced automobile ever made (photo below from the Curved Dash Wiki entry).

Hutcheson won the one-mile race on his Oldsmobile in a whopping 2 minutes. (That's an average of 30 mph for the mathematically challenged).

It was at H. B. Hutcheson's home in West Hempstead that his father, Aubrey died in 1924, across the street from what used to be his magnificent estate. H. B Hutcheson did not survive much longer after that, as he died in 1927 at the age of 50.

Aubrey G Hutcheson

One of the purposes of this blog is to provide a sense of what West Hempstead used to look like 100 years ago. Though most people wouldn't know it, there's a good chance that what is now a dilapidated gas station or a nail salon was once the site of a wealthy merchant's country estate (see previous post). Such is the case with the estate of Aubrey G. Hutcheson, located at what is now commonly known as the presidential section - a property that stretches from Nassau Blvd to the west to Hempstead Ave to the east, and from Walnut St north down to McKinley St to the south. A G Hutcheson made a fortune as an importer of fruit from the West Indies, whose firm, according to Peter Ross' History of Long Island, was the largest of any such business in NYC at the time.

In 1890, he purchased a large farm in WH from Alanson Abrams, a prominent Hempsteader who went on to become TOH Receiver of Taxes. Thereupon he built the magnificent home you see pictured below (taken from the book linked above).


About this home, Peter Ross writes:

His home at Hempstead is one of the finest residences in that pretty little town, the grounds being beautifully laid out and adorned with ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers. Everything about the place testifies to the culture and fine tastes of the owner, and while there are many indications of wealth, there is nothing of display in this beautiful and attractive home. In 1910, Hutcheson sold his 99 1/2 acre farm and the property then was platted and developed as the presidential section, after the 'presidential' names of its streets. Hutcheson later retired to the Bahamas, but his legacy in WH still lives on in two buildings now located across Hempstead Ave. from where his old house once stood. Hutcheson had nine children, two of whom, Ralph E and Howard B Hutcheson, built the twin houses now occupied by China Connection and Congregation Anshei Shalom. Their stories will be the subject of another post.

To line up the 'now' shot, I had to resort to the E. Belcher Hyde map of 1906 (which incorrectly labeled our subject as 'A. Hutchinson'). The house appears just below center -

From the position of his house relative to Hempstead Ave. just north of the corner of Locust St., the picture below approximates the location.