Historians Lobby for State Signage to Recognize Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Woodhull by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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The cannon at Nathaniel Woodhull School (PS 35) in Hollis is the only marker of death of the Revolutionary War general Nathaniel Woodhull. Historians are lobbying for official state signage.

Exactly 234 years ago this month, a Revolutionary War general died from wounds incurred during a defiant showdown with the British - a gripping tale of patriotism that began in Queens.

But the spot where Nathaniel Woodhull was mortally wounded in 1776 does not bear tribute to the first high-ranking colonial officer to become a prisoner of war and die in enemy captivity.

"It needs to be preserved as a reminder of his sacrifice," said John Mauk Hilliard, president of the city chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. "We need these things to draw us together."

A few weeks ago, Daily News reader Lavington Charles suggested the spot where Woodhull was fatally injured - at 196th St. and Jamaica Ave. in Hollis - as part of the Queens Heritage Quest series.

Now in its fourth installment, the series profiles places that preservationists feel deserve recognition from Borough Hall - such as signage or historic trails linked by brochures or podcasts.

A state historical marker citing Woodhull's capture once stood at the corner. But the sign broke about a decade ago and has since been stored at the Queens Historical Society in Flushing.

Queens' new borough historian, Jack Eichenbaum, did not rule out his support for historical signage. But he also suggested an iPhone application to link notable Hollis sites or Queens places relating to the American Revolution.

Locals agreed on paying tribute to Woodhull.

"What happened to him is a lesson for every one of us," said Bob Singleton, president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. "That dream that Woodhull stood for is alive and well whenever I walk around Queens."

Woodhull, president of the Provincial Congress of New York, was assigned to steer cattle east to Long Island - and away from the British - when he stopped at a tavern in Queens on Aug. 28, 1776.

From there, the narrative gets sketchy.

Tradition describes a dramatic scene during which Woodhull encountered British forces and soon surrendered his sword. An officer then ordered Woodhull to proclaim, "God save the king."

"God save us all!" Woodhull responded. The officer, sometimes identified as Capt. James Baird, slashed Woodhull with a saber - delivering multiple blows that led to his death in captivity about a month later on Sept. 20.

But a different story emerged in 1951 when The New York Times ran a front-page article in which researcher W.H.W. Sabine doubted the compelling exchange.

Sabine cited a dusty scrapbook with Woodhull's own account of the capture - apparently given to a lieutenant who was with him in a prison camp when he died.

Woodhull supposedly said that he surrendered his sword to - and was then struck by - an American Tory, loyal to the British, named Capt. Oliver DeLancey.

Whether Woodhull was fatally struck while defending himself or after surrendering also became a point of contention. Experts even question his memorable quote.

Regardless of the circumstances, historians insist that Woodhull's death helped define a crucial period around the time of the famous Battle of Long Island.

His agonizing demise - and the apparent refusal by the British to allow medical care - reminded colonists of the brutality of their rivals.

"The fact that he died as a British prisoner, no matter how that happened, was an important one," said Brooklyn College Prof. Edwin Burrows, the author of the 2008 book "Forgotten Patriots," about early American POWs.

Help Save the LIC Millstones...!!

Photo: Forgotten-NY

I have been asked by the LIC Millstone Committee to help spread the word about these historical treasures...

Therefore, I would like to urge readers of this blog to visit the Save the LIC Millstones blog and sign their petition...

Plans are now being made to move the millstones, so I would also greatly appreciate it if readers could:

Please contact City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer:

Phone number: 718-383-9566

Email: jvanbramer@council.nyc.gov

City Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr.:

Phone number:718-274-4500

And by email from his official website:

http://council.nyc.gov/d22/html/members/home.shtml

When you contact them please tell them that the millstones belong in the Greater Astoria Historical Society’s Exhibit Space where they can be studied and exhibited until a permanent and proper home is prepared for them.

The people of Queens and the LIC Millstones deserve to be located in a dignified place worthy of their age, historical significance and where they can be visited by our school children and groups, historical scholars and interested parties...

ALSO:

Please forward the petition to everyone in your contact list and ask them to check out the information on these two colonial-era millstones languishing on a Queens Plaza construction site!

On behalf of the LIC Millstones Committee, you have my sincere thanks for your support!

Historic Stones Left Unturned in Plaza by Aarti N Maharaj - Queens Chronicle

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The LIC millstones are fenced off in a triangle in Queens Plaza. Photo BY MITCH WAXMAN/newtown pentacle

Hidden under a crate and surrounded by heavy construction material, the current condition of the already worn Colonial-era millstones in Queens Plaza has preservationists outraged. They say the lack of concern for these historic artifacts that have been part of the streetscape since the 1600s is shameful.

“The manner in which these historical artifacts are being handled and stored is ludicrous,” said Mitch Waxman, an Astoria resident and contributor to the Long Island City Millstones blog, which was formed by Dutch Kills community members.

In the past, millstones drove the economic wheel of Western Queens. In pairs, they were designed to be used in wind or watermills, to grind staple foods like corn or wheat into flour. According to the LIC blog, in the mid 1600s the millstones were part of the Jorrisen’s Mill. Some disagree and claim the stones arrived from Holland, acting as weight on a West Indies trading ship.

Now, the 400-year-old artifacts remain in the triangular intersection of Queens Plaza, behind fencing, trapped in the midst of the construction that is currently underway.

“Given the way they’re being stored and handled, they’ll either be crushed by a truck or just disappear,” Waxman said.“Ultimately, who will care? This seems to be the governing principle over their handling right now.”

According to Christina Wilkinson, president of the Newtown Historical Society, the millstones are believed to be the oldest man-made objects in the borough created by European settlers.

Wilkinson is one of the preservationists who have been actively seeking to have the millstones removed from the location at Queens Plaza and be placed in a museum gallery where they can be protected.

“The millstones should be carefully exhumed and stored at a location that is not in harm’s way,” she said.

In 2009, Robert Lieber, the deputy mayor of the city’s Economic Development Corp., announced a $76.4 million project to help improve Long Island City. About $52.7 million in federal funds were allocated for the renovation of Queens Plaza in an effort to help alleviate the traffic caused by the series of roads that meet there.

As it stands, the 250-foot-wide web of streets and ramps extends from the end of the Queensboro Bridge to the junction of Northern and Queens boulevards, which are slated for a makeover. The project is set to be completed in the fall of 2011.

Project managers said they intend to consider the stones during construction work. “The city and EDC are fully aware of the historical significance of the Colonial-era millstones at Queens Plaza,” said Libby Langsdorf, spokeswoman at EDC. “They are secured at the site, where there is little activity at this time.”

At this time, the EDC believes that due to the excessive weight of and fragility of the stones, it might be safer to avoid moving them.

“We are in the process of engaging an archeological resources consultant to help us develop a longer term plan to ensure their safety,” Langsdorf said. “Eventually, the millstones are to be incorporated into the new public plaza to be constructed in the area.”

However, Waxman said, the EDC’s plan is insufficient.“The eventual display calls for drilling a hole through the center of the stones and propping them up vertically in the ‘new’ Queens Plaza [and] they’ll make a great target for graffiti, and younger kids will love to climb on them,” he said.

Wilkinson also believes that the city’s plan would cause the millstones to deteriorate.

“[Placing] them on pedestals in the future park at the plaza, next to car traffic and a bike lane, would endanger them,” Wilkinson said. “The best solution would be to put them on display at the Quinn Building on Broadway where the Greater Astoria Historical Society has their gallery.”

Since last year, local antiquarians and preservationists have been trying to get the stones to a safer place where studies can be conducted to confirm their origin. Currently, the LIC blog is hosting a petition drive where concerned residents can sign up to save these relics of the past.

“There’s no way you can tell me that sitting in a crate in the middle of Queens Plaza guarantees the millstone’s safe passage to the future,” Waxman said.

Safe? Posting and Photos by Mitch Waxman « LIC Millstones Blog

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A recent posting on the LIC Millstone blog of interest to the preservation community...check out the blog and sign their petition here...

I think this is yet another example of the disrespect Queens and the other so-called outer boroughs have been shown by the Bloomberg Administration...it's shameful..!

They hold public hearings but then take none of the suggestions or community input and go full steam ahead with their original plans...

Of course, Mayor Mike and his team know better...

So, after all the noise and argumentative tumult of a public meeting- here’s where the LIC Millstones are being stored. Rephrase that as where they’re being left.


Are due diligence and respect being paid to these historic artifacts? What else, all around our community, is being treated so roughly?

Ancient Millstones Grist for Historians by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

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These stones are the ghosts of a forgotten era in Queens history, entombed in a shabby sidewalk.

They come from a grist mill built in Dutch Kills around 1657 that helped turn the economic fortunes of western Queens.

[Photo caption: Author Bob Singleton (l.) with Richard Melnick on Queens Plaza corner.]

The Colonial-era relics, among the oldest European artifacts in the borough, are cemented into a sidewalk along Queens Plaza, with only their tops visible.

"People walk on them every single day, and I'm sure they think that they are manhole covers," said Debbie Van Cura, of Long Island City, who teaches sociology at LaGuardia Community College.

"Nobody really understands fully what they are."

That will soon change.

The millstones will be disinterred and displayed in a park to be created along Northern Blvd. as part of a $43 million city project to overhaul the traffic-choked plaza.

"Now, they will get their due," said Van Cura, who is also a member of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

Another member of the society, Bob Singleton, who recently published a book about the Queensboro Bridge, gave a talk in Astoria recently about the stones' significance.

"Tidal mills are the most important thing that launched New York to greatness," he said.

New York mills ground wheat into flour and exported it to Great Britain and its far-flung colonies in a triangular trade that spurred the fledgling city's growth.

"If you take a look at the coat of arms of New York, you will see two kegs," Singleton said. "Those are flour barrels."

The Dutch Kills mill is thought to have been the oldest of a handful of western Queens mills that existed during Colonial times, Singleton said.

Dutch settler Berger Jorrisen built the mill along Dutch Kills in 1657.

The present-day site is in the Sunnyside Yards, roughly where the East Side Access tunnel is being dug to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal, Singleton said.

The mill was torn down in 1861 to make way for the railyard.

The Payntar family, who owned the mill property at the time, saved the stones and displayed them outside their home near what is now Queens Plaza, Singleton said.

They were mortared into the sidewalk outside the former Long Island Savings Bank building sometime after the Payntar home was razed in the early 1900s.

jlauinger@nydailynews.com