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Overcast Housing history becoming a reality
Franklin Square historical museum nearing completion
As the students at Washington Street Elementary School scatter from classroom to classroom, underneath their feet lies the history of Franklin Square. Artifacts and documents dating back to the founding of the town are housed in the basement of the school, and will soon be making a move to the newly constructed Franklin Square Historical Society Museum on Naples Avenue, across the street from Rath Park.
The one-mile journey from the basement of Washington Street to the museum has taken over a decade to complete, which makes these final months all the more painstaking for Dr. Paul Van Wie, the president of the Franklin Square Historical Society and the driving force in preserving the history of the neighborhood.
“We’re going to be very happy that the community has a good facility that they’re going to be proud of,” said Van Wie. “That’s our ultimate goal, and we’re looking forward to the younger generation using it and taking ownership of it as their own.”
With an estimated completion date of this fall, Van Wie is finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He and his team at the historical society have been guiding this project since 2001. At that time, the Town of Hempstead agreed to lease the property to the historical society for the purpose of building a new structure to house the artifacts. When the museum is completed it will be gifted back to the town, Van Wie said.
“It’s very exciting that the museum will be opening,” said former Town of Hempstead Supervisor Richard Guardino. “I give a tremendous amount of credit to the officers and trustees of the Franklin Square Historical Society, especially the President, Paul.”
Guardino was in office when the idea for a permanent facility for the neighborhood’s artifacts to be stored in was first introduced. Realizing the need to ensure the longevity of the pieces in the historical society’s collection, Guardino approved the lease of the land across from Rath Park without hesitation.
“I just thought it was a great idea,” said Guardino. “I think we have to do more to preserve our heritage here on Long Island.”
Over the course of the years, Van Wie had collected items that required a more expert level of preservation. This was a major contributor to the delays in completing the structure. The sprinkler system that was installed, releases a gas instead of water, which would ruin documents and artifacts. Also, certain windows had to be installed that blocked UV rays from the sun in order to prevent fading and damaging. These improvements were not only costly, they were time consuming as well. Additionally, Van Wie had to begin building as soon as possible due to a construction grant he received.
In the collection is an 1881 wedding dress worn by Ellen Utz during her ceremony in Franklin Square. Van Wie secured the item from Utz’s daughter. If water were to touch the muslin fabric of the dress, it would disintegrate, Van Wie said.
“That’s one of the reasons why the building costs so much,” he said. “This is a very state-of-the-art building, we couldn’t do it like a regular classroom. It has to have these special mechanical systems.”
Van Wie and the historical society have funded the project through donations, grants, and fundraisers. It was important to Van Wie that no taxpayer money was used to pay for the museum. That in part contributed to the nearly 15-year construction process.
“The museum itself I think is just a great place,” said Guardino. “It traces the development of not only Long Island but much of suburbia from being grazing and farmland to a vibrant and active community.
