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History

Flushing Remonstrance

On December 27, 1657 the Flushing Remonstrance was signed. It was the first declaration of religious freedom issued by a group of citizens in American history.

Flushing Freedom Mile

The Flushing Freedom Mile is a walking tour of historic Flushing. The sites within the tour include:

  • Weeping Beech Tree - This tree was acquired by Samuel Bowne Parsons while on a trip to Beligium in 1847. After its 150th anniversary the tree died, but seven siblings live on.

  • Kingsland House - was built in 1785 for Charles Doughty, is a well scaled and proportioned example of the indigenous Long Island half house form which flourished in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Threatened by demolition, the house was moved to its present site in 1968. It is now the headquarters of the Queens Historical Society.

  • Bowne House - is the oldest surviving house in Queens County, dating from 1661 or earlier. Occupants of the house included members of the Parsons family, owners of the Parsons Nursery, who were active abolitionists in the early 19th century. Bowne House was rumored to be a stop on the Underground Railroad.

  • Margaret I. Carman - was an educator and historian who devoted her retirement years to the preservation of the history of Flushing. She was President of the Bowne House Historical Society for many years, and was primarily responsible for having such historic structures as Bowne House, Flushing Town Hall and the Friends Meeting House designated as landmarks.

  • George Fox Stone - this stone marks the site where George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends in England preached in 1672. Because of the large number of people present, the sermon was given on John Bowne's farm, under two large oak trees. These trees were later named "The Fox Oaks." The stone marks the site of the trees.

  • The Site of Aspinwall House - the house was built in 1792 during the Revolutionary War, and the house was commandeered by British officers stationed in Flushing. Before the Civil War, it is believed that it served as a station of the famous Underground Railroad.

  • Flushing High School - It is the oldes free public secondary school in New York City, and received its charter in 1875. The original school building was located on Sanford Avenue, and during the period of 1912 to 1915, the present building was erected. An east wing was added in 1954, and was dedicated in memory of former students who lost their lives in World War 11.

  • State Armory - on this site the Flushing Remonstrance was signed December 17, 1657 to protest Governor Peter Stuyvesant's ban against Quakers, and his restrictions on religious freedom.

  • The World War I Memorial - erected in 1920 in memory of all the men of Flushing who lost their lives.

  • Civil War Monument - erected in 1866, this monument is a memorial to the men of Flushing who lost their lives in the War Between the States - 1861 through 1865.

  • Flushing Town Hall - built in 1862 is a fine example of early Romanesque Revival. For almost fifty years, this building was the focal point for the social, cultural and political life of the village of Flushing. Today it is a cultural center operated by the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts.

  • Daniel Carter Beard Square - Mr. Beard was a resident of Flushing, a civil engineer and an internationally know artist. Beard is probably best remembered in Flushing as a founder and first national Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America. The square was dedicated in his honor in 1943.

  • Friends Meeting House - construction of this house began in 1694. Members of the society including Samuel Parsons and his sons Robert and Samuel served as "conductors" on the Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War.

  • Spanish American War Memorial - the flagpole was erected in 1950 by veterans of the 1898 War as a tribute to all their comrades.

  • Site of the Office of the Flushing Journal - In 1842 the weekly Journal was founded by Charles R. Lincoln. It was the only newspaper in town until 1852. The paper supported the abolitionist cause in the years before the Civil War.

  • Site of the William Prince Nurseries - they were established in Flushing in 1737 as one of the first commercial nurseries in America.

  • St. George's Episcopal Church - the church was established as a mission church of England in 1704, and was the second religious organization in Flushing. Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, served as a vestryman for many years at St. George's Church.

  • Site of the Flushing Female Association Schoolhouse - the first free school in Flushing was established in 1814 by the Flushing Female Association. For more than a hundred years the school flourished, primarily serving the African-American community in Flushing.

  • Macedonia A.M.E. Church - the church which was founded in 1811 became the the third religious organization in Flushing. It is also believed that the church served as a station on the Underground Railroad.

  • Lewis H. Latimer House - the house is a modest Queen Anne style, wood-frame suburban residence constructed between 1887 and 1889. He played a critical role in the development of the telephone, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement for the production of the incandescent bulb.

  • RKO Keith's Theatre - the theatre was originally opened as the Keith Albee Vaudeville Theatre on Christmas Day, 1928. The ticket lobby and grand foyer are landmarked and await restoration.