Farmingdale went from Hardscrabble to farms, planes, and a bike stunt

Farmingdale has a village story with a good before-and-after. Ambrose George opened a general store in Hardscrabble in 1841, bought land, changed the hamlet name to Farmingdale by 1845, subdivided land, and laid out streets.

Then the working pieces stack up quickly. Farmingdale had a lumberyard, a brickworks, and at least six pickle factories. The village incorporated in 1904. Farming helped push the state toward creating the Agricultural and Technical College in 1914. After World War I, aircraft companies, especially Liberty, looked for manufacturing space and helped pull the village into an industrial period.

That shift is part of what makes Farmingdale feel so Long Island: farm ground, rail access, factories, college roots, and aviation space all crowding into one compact village story.

And then there is the wonderful bicycle line. Charles Murphy’s Mile-A-Minute ride, a stunt in which he tried to keep up with a Long Island Rail Road train and set a bicycle speed record, took place in Farmingdale.

That is a lot for one village: Hardscrabble, farms, pickles, bricks, planes, college roots, and a bike chasing a train. The story helps Main Street feel less generic. Farmingdale’s name is calm, but its past is busy.