The History of Auburndale

The part of Queens now called Auburndale has had more than its share of name changes.

The are was originally part of the Matinecock Indian territory. The tribe whose name meant "hilly country" was one of the largest on Long Island.

Colonization took its toll on the tribe and by the early 17th century disease and warfare had reduced Auburndale's first tenants dramatically. By 1654, most of their land had been sold to colonists.

The Revolution passed by the nameless, sleepy area according to records. The largest, most well-known farm in the area belonged to the Willets, an old New England-New York family. In 1827, the Simmons Willets house stood on the north side of Northern Boulevard, right next door to the more famous Bowne House.

The birth of modern Auburndale came at the turn of the century, when the grandson of Simmons Willets, one Thomas Leaman Willets, Jr., finally sold the house and its large farm to developers. From 1902 to 1903, speculators built the first development to house New York City's overflowing population.

Up until this point, there was still no "Auburndale" as such. No one had even coined the name yet. But once the developers came, the names, each a product of real estate trade, began to flow.

In 1925, a lumber dealer and speculator named Charles V. Bossert bought the seven largest farms in the area, to create a development known as "Treasureland". Bossert used radio and print advertising to make slogans such as "Buy in Treasureland," "Why pay rent?" "Make wifey happy," Treasureland captured New York's imagination for a brief, intense period, to the point where the neighborhood's name found its way into contemporary detective stories.

Bossert's houses sold quickly, before even the foundations had been laid. These immigrant dreams rented for only $22 per month. Land once trod upon by Matinecocks went for $50 an acre.

But as the neighboring town of Bayside grew, so did the name game. A 1927 article in the Long Island Daily Star announced in its headline that "Treasureland is Treasureland No Longer: Now Bayside West."

Unfortunately, not much was built there during the Great Depression, when the developers ran out of cash.

One thing that did get built was the Library, from which Auburndale finally got its current name. I.S. Fink, the President of the Bayside West Civic Association asked for a library for Bayside West. The Treasureland Homes Corporation and the Mattowne Democratic Club guaranteed one year's rent free and heat and only July 22, 1930, the Auburdale Library opened at 199-02 32nd Ave.

Now Auburdanle was Auburndale, a community unto itself, with its own firehouse and many political, athletic and social clubs. Still considered Bayside West by many of its residents, it continued to grow in the 1950's and 1960's.