| Located at 40.70 degrees north latitude, 73.70 degrees west longitude, this Long Island city
on the Queens-Nassau border, is also known as the "gateway to Nassau County".
Elmont is about 20 miles from midtown Manhattan and 135 miles south of Albany, the state capital. About
30000 people live in Elmont, which covers just less than nine square kilometers.
The area was part of Indian trails used by various tribes before Europeans arrived. Two brothers,
Christopher and Thomas Foster, first settled there in 1647 and the land became known as Foster's Meadow.
The name was changed to Elmont in 1882.
Belmont Park, a racetrack, was built in Elmont between 1903 and 1905 by August Belmont, Jr., on property previously
owned by the Belmonts. After the track opened, surrounding farms were sold to make way for houses. An
early housing development, Newspaper Row, was built following World War I by E. E. Meacham. Each street
in the development is named after a newspaper or magazine.
Sources:
http://www.antonnews.com/threevillagetimes
http://www.newsday.com/mainnews/community/nd159.htm
http://www.elmont.org
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