Village to Determine Fate of Historical Baxter House

The fate of the historical Baxter House will be discussed at Baxter Estates Village Hall on Monday night.

The Baxter House, a historical home located on the corner of Shore Road and Central Drive, is how the Village of Baxter Estates got its name.

The house has been vacant and rundown for years, but now the owners are looking to tear half of the home down and renovate it.

Some residents are upset that a building given landmark status is being town down.

• Do you think the Baxter House should be renovated even though it’s a historical landmark? Tell us in the comments section below.

The Village’s website gives a historical rundown of the Baxter House:

One of the earliest homesteads on Cow Neck was built in 1673 by John Betts and Robert Hutchings and still stands on its original site at the corner of Central Drive and Shore Road, overlooking Manhasset Bay. In 1741 or 1743, the home was purchased by Oliver Baxter. An early survey of the Baxter land shows an Indian wigwam located near Baxter’s Pond, evidence that an entire wigwam village probably existed on the very site of this house.

The Baxters, who were shipbuilders, sea captains, whalers, and blacksmiths, retained ownership of the house until the end of the 19th century. During the Revolutionary War, Hessian troops, engaged by the British, were quartered in the house.

In 1895, the first library of Port Washington met in the parlor of the Baxter house on Shore Road. The Baxter family was, and the house is, a proud part of the history of our Village. The house is now designated a Historic Building.

Stop by Village Hall, located at 315 Main St., at 7.30 p.m. and listen to the meeting to find out what will happen to this historical building in our community.

Image via Joey Chacha