Baldwin

The first schoolhouse began construction later in September of 1882. Mr. Fraizer was the very first teacher hired for the job. This school would later establish in the county records sometime around 1888.

Baldwin Park was also the very first city to have the In-N-Out Burger stand. It opened for the first time on October 22nd, 1948. It was also the first Drive-thru in California, which seemed to be a significant deal at the time! And of course, times are much different since then.

Later, in 1950s, Baldwin Park was famous for its horse stables across the bridge of the San Gabriel River. A great way to pastime then was to ride on the horses at one of the stables. A typical ride lasting about one hour would cost at a whopping $1.00! – A hefty price considering the minimum wage at the time was just half that!

Cities near Baldwin Park include Covina, El Monte, Azusa, Arcadia, Avacado Heights, Duarte, Valinda, West Puente Valley, South El Monte, Temple City, South San Jose Hills, and Mayflower Village.

Nearby Neighborhoods:

Parkville/Bensonhurst, Bayridge, Park Slope/ Windsor Terrace, Park Slope/ Gowanus, Kensington/ Windsor Terrace

In 1643, English colonists began to call this area Hick’s Neck, after two of Hempstead’s early settlers, John Spragg from England and John Hicks from Flushing. They extended Hempstead village south to the salt meadows. The grist mill built by John Pine in 1686 on Milburn Creek attracted more English settlers. They engaged in fishing, farming, marshing, raising longwood, and breeding and raising sheep. Between the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Hick’s Neck continued to grow, becoming a prosperous agricultural area.

The first churches were built in 1810 and 1872, and the first school was built in 1813.

Sometime around the early 19th century Hick’s Neck had begun to be called the village of Milburn; the first documented use of the name Milburn was in 1839. In 1855, the village was officially founded as Baldwinsville, named in honor of Thomas Baldwin (1795–1872), a sixth-generation member of the Baldwin family of Hempstead and the leading merchant of Milburn at the time. Baldwin owned a general store named T. Baldwin and Sons. He also had a hotel at what would now be considered the northwest corner of Merrick Road and Grand Avenue. A third enterprise was his sawmill, which he operated by Silver Lake just southeast of the hotel.

In 1867, the South Side Rail Road began operating with a station in Baldwinsville. In 1870, one of Thomas Baldwin’s sons, Francis Baldwin, became a member of the New York State Assembly representing Queens County’s 2nd District; he later served as the Queens County treasurer. (During this time, Baldwinsville was part of Queens County.) A year later, the name of the village was changed from Baldwinsville to Baldwins by the U.S. Postal Service so as to not confuse it with the village of Baldwinsville in upstate New York. By 1892, by an act of local government, the village was officially named Baldwin.

Shortly after Hempstead separated from Queens County in 1899, people began to move to “Beautiful Baldwin”, as it was called by Charles Luerssen, a village realtor. The village had fine boating (sailboats), bathing, and fishing. By 1939, ten years after the opening of Sunrise Highway, Baldwin became the largest unincorporated village in New York State—a title that was lost to Levittown by 1960.

In the 1990 US Census, the area south of Atlantic Avenue was designated as Baldwin Harbor, a hamlet (and census-designated place). Baldwin Harbor remains a part of Baldwin’s ZIP code, school district, and library system.

In May 1910, a breakthrough in American aviation history was made in Baldwin. The first all-American monoplane was designed, built, and successfully flown at this location by brothers Arthur and Albert Heinrich. The project was developed at the site now occupied by the Plaza Elementary School on Seaman Avenue and Rockville Drive. In the plane’s initial and subsequent models, its unique designs featured controls that were combined into one stick, which allowed the pilot to fly the plane using one hand.