Early Homes of Lindenhurst

The home of Jesse & Temperance Ketcham was erected around 1780 near the northeast corner of Montauk Highway & Wellwood Avenue, reportedly the 1st house built in what is now Lindenhurst.  Jesse served in the French & Indian War & the American Revolution. Four generations of Ketchams lived on the homestead until it was auctioned in 1901.  The old house was modified by subsequent owners & eventually razed it in 1956.

The home of Anton & Catherine Langsdorf was on the west side of Wellwood Avenue north of John Street.  The October 29, 1881 South Side Signal reported, "Building new homes seems to be the order of the day.  Anton Langsdorf is erecting a fine new residence & store next to the (Lutheran) Evangelical Church."  Known as the Langsdorf Building, the lower level housed several businesses, including Martin Boeckh's harness & upholstery shop. 

The homes of Conrad & Juliana Lerch (left) & Henry & Christina Waldau (right) on Travis Avenue are pictured around 1873.  Conrad Lerch was a watchman at the original Vulcanite factory.  In 1881, a rapidly spreading fire at the Waldau residence threatened adjacent buildings.  Mrs. Waldau's brother, Henry Brunka, who operated a cigar factory on one of the floors, lost about 15,000 cigars & 400 pounds of tobacco in the blaze. 

This 40-acre farm, pictured around 1900, belonged to Jared & Sarah Barto.  Jared was a real estate agent, a civil engineer, & a surveyor up until his death in 1874.  In 1917, aged 97, Sarah Barto was described in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as the "oldest war worker on Long Island," credited for knitting sweaters, wristlets & blankets for American soldiers fighting in France during World War I.  The home was later owned by Fredrich & Fredericka Becht.

Joseph & Elizabeth Burchard are pictured at their residence on North 7th Street, formerly Robert Blume Avenue, alongside their daughter Theresa & Elizabeth's son Edward Gleste (with motorcycle).  In 1916, Joseph Burchard had a near-accident when he jumped from Edward's motorcycle as they neared the Wellwood Avenue trolley tracks.  The South Side Signal recalled that "Burchard, thinking that Eddie was going to push the trolley car off the tracks, leaped clear of the machine.

Frank & Helena Karpp (left) are pictured with their daughter & son-in-law Helena & Otto Burchard.  Frank Karpp was a tailor, & Otto Burchard built several homes in & around Lindenhurst.  In 1896, the South Side Signal declared "there are a number of new wheels in town, & the outlook for enjoyment in the way of wheeling is very promising" after the purchase of automobiles by several residents, including Frank Karpp who bought a Lovell Excell.

Natives of Germany, the Jommes family came to America in the 1870's, settling in Pennsylvania before relocating to Breslau.  Adam & Eva Jommes, pictured with their family, built their residence on North 8th Street, formerly Bismarck Street, in 1885.  The South Side Signal described the structure as "an ornament to that section."  Their son, George Jommes, worked as a carpenter & builder & owned a local embroidery business.

Pictured is the North 5th Street home of Elizabeth & Reinhardt Heger Sr.  Reinhardt Jr. worked as a local German language teacher.  An 1891 advertisement described 2 1-hour lessons per week at a cost of $2 for 20 lessons.  Classes met at the millinery store of Mrs. William H. Arnold in Amityville.  The Hegers' other son, Emil, had a successful career in banking & donated Hager Hall to Hofstra University in 1951.

Pauline & William Kurdt Sr. are pictured on 39th Street in 1896.  William Kurdt worked for the Vulcanite factory & met an untimely death in 1907; it was suspected that he suffered a stroke & drowned in a canal, leaving his widow & 10 children.  In 1918, Pauline Kurdt was profiled in the South Side Signal - "Sends her 4th Son Into The War."  August joined the tank corps.  William Jr. served several years in the Navy, & Louis enlisted in the Army.  Martin was killed earlier that year in an explosion aboard the destroyer Manley.  The Feustal-Kurdt American Legion Post was named in Martin's honor.  The family profile also included daughter Pauline, married to Louis Liebl, who "also saw war service as a trained nurse doing Red Cross work in Belgium some time ago," & "yonger son, Henry, is doing his patriotic bit in farm work."        

The home of Alexander & Anna Jaeger at Thusnelda Avenue, now New York Avenue, was built in 1901.  Anna, pictured with 5 of her 6 sons, spearheaded the move from Manhattan because she was tired of the hustle & bustle of city life & desired a home in the countryside where she could have a garden.  Alexander worked as an accountant with the New York City Transit System & commuted daily from Lindenhurst on the Long Island Rail Road.

The South Wellwood Avenue home was the summer residence of Dr. Alfred & Elizabeth Pfeiffer of Manhattan.  Elizabeth Pfeiffer typically opened the house in June, resided for the summer, & closed it in October.  Dr. Pfeiffer joined his family in Lindenhurst as his medical practice allowed.  Announcing local doings, the South Side Signal wrote, "Dr. & Mrs. A.G. Pfeiffer & family enjoyed a sail on Monday, in their trim yacht Vixen."

George & Kate Torns & 3 of their children are pictured at the family homestead around 1892.  George, a German native, came to the United States as a young man, & Kate was born in New York to parents who had relocated from Germany.  George worked as a nickel-plater at the Vulcanite factory in the 1910's.

Emil & Julia Enz are pictured with 3 of their children (from left to right), Walter, Eleanor, & Arthur, at home on North 6th Street (formerly Hermans Avenue) on July 5, 1915.  Natives of Switzerland, the Enzes operated an embroidery shop.  Emil was an active member of the Wilhelm Tell Rifle Club. 

Thomas & Abby Welwood erected this charming home, named Welwood Lane, in 1871 on the north side of Montauk Highway just west of Broadway.  The Welwoods, their 6 children, & extended family remained based in Brooklyn but spent many weeks & summers in Breslau.  Thomas died in 1892 & Abby in 1903, with no mention of their passings in the newspapers of Suffolk County, where they had so greatly invested.  The mansion remained standing until the early 1980's.

The parlor of Timothy & Johanna Neville is pictured.  The Nevilles purchased the former Welwood home in 1887 & named it Warwick House; they raised 7 children here.  Timothy was a New York City attorney who worked for the Welwoods in selling building lots.  In 1912, Johanna was elected the 1st president of the Suffrage Study Club of Babylon, a group of women & men who gathered to discuss, debate, & support voting rights for women.

The residence of Breslau co-founder Charles S. Schleier was on South 5th Street, formerly Bismarck Avenue.  After his legal & business troubles, Schleier reopened his wallpaper business & dabbled in real estate.  His death prompted this commentary of his legacy in the June 11, 1887 South Side Signal: "without desiring to be harsh or to speak in any but the gentlest manner of the dead, we cannot but say that few of the residents of this place will regret his decease.  He had cruelly imposed upon many innocent poor persons, & he was generally held in contempt.  But we mortals must not judge too harshly, & we prefer to say no more of him who has gone.  On the contrary let us hope that the future will result in the prosperity of Breslau being so far advanced that the past will be but an indistinct memory.  Schleier is dead; his wrong-doings, we hope, have died with him; let them be forgotten so far as possible, & let us all unite & labor for the up-building of our own fortunes & the place in which we have cast our lot."

Homes are pictured along South 1st Street, formerly known as Van Nostrand Avenue.  Many of the numerical streets in present Lindenhurst village had different names in the early 1900's.  A 1915 map listed the following street names: Ketcham Avenue (now South 2nd Street), Barto Avenue (South 3rd Street), West Broadway (South 4th Street), Schleier Avenue (South 5th Street), Hermans Avenue (South 6th Street), Robert Blume Avenue (South 7th Street), Bismarck Avenue (South 8th Street), & Hancock Avenue (South 9th Street).

The South Side Railroad arrived through future Breslau in October, 1867.  By 1869, the railroad acknowledged a station identified as Welwood in its timetables.  A new depot was built for Breslau, & the original Wellwood depot was moved to School Street.  Shown as a private residence, the old depot has had a long life, used as a school, a fire department, & occupied by the soda-producing Sheide family, as shown here.  Sheide bottling plant was located just behind the residence, which still stands.