Liferoom in Baxter Estates, in NassauCounty

The Village of Baxter Estates was incorporated in 1931. Baxter Estates owes much of its history to the homestead settlement of “Cow Neck” built in 1673 by John Betts and Robert Hutchings, which still stands on its original site at the corner of Central Drive and Shore Road, overlooking Manhasset Bay. This property was purchased around 1741 by Oliver Baxter, and maps of the time show that an entire wigwam village, belonging to the Matinecock Indians, may have been located on Baxter’s land.

The Baxters, who were shipbuilders, whalers and sea captains, retained the property until the 19th century. Hessian troops were quartered in the Baxter House during the Revolutionary War, and in 1895 the first library of Port Washington met in the parlor of the Baxter House. The residence was designated as a historic building. In the 2010s, the owner of the home, Sabrina Wu, was in the process of submitting plans to demolish the landmarked home when a massive blaze broke out, heavily damaging the home on February 5, 2017. The cause of the fire was not determined.

The village is named for the Baxter family, which owned a significant amount of land in the area.