Kings Park is a quiet, suburban community located on the North Shore of Long Island, in western Suffolk County, New York. Its residents are proud of the town’s rich heritage and history.

A centuries old historical connection to the Native American inhabitants of the area was discovered in 1994, when the remains of a thousand year-old long house, characteristic of the Late Woodlands Period, was unearthed near what is now Indian Head Road.

The first European settlers, dating back to colonial times, were descendants of Richard
“Bull” Smith, the founder of Smithtown. The eighteenth century home of Smith’s grandson, Obadiah Smith, remains intact on what is now St. Johnland Road.

During the Revolutionary War, Fort Slongo (now known as Fort Salonga), at the time a
British outpost, was overtaken by Patriot soldiers who crossed the Long Island Sound from Connecticut. Sergeant Elijah Churchill, a participant in that raid, was one of only three soldiers in the Revolutionary War to receive the Badge of Military Merit (the Purple Heart) from General George Washington.

The area that is now Kings Park was open farmland until 1869, when Reverend William Muhlenberg, an Episcopalian priest, founded the Society of St. Johnland to provide a
haven for the disabled and the mentally ill. In addition, the town became home to a
variety of non-profit groups, including the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum, and the
Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Society. Kings Park also had one of the earliest synagogues on Long Island.

In 1885, Brooklyn officials purchased land and established the Kings County Farm to
assist in the care of the poor and the mentally ill. Ten years later, the facility was
developed into a state hospital for the mentally ill.

In 1922, the publisher of the Italian-language newspaper Il Progresso purchased one
hundred and ninety four acres of land along the west bank of the Nissequogue River. The newspaper named the area San Remo, after a town on the Italian Riviera, and offered new subscribers the opportunity to buy 20’ x 100’ plots, at the price of fifty dollars, as an
incentive to subscribe to the paper. Italian-Americans built cottages here to escape the summer heat of New York City.

Throughout the twentieth century, the town continued to grow and develop alongside the Kings Park State Hospital, and the need for hospital workers attracted a large number of Irish immigrants to the community, who sought freedom and opportunity. They, too, made Kings Park their home.

The state closed the hospital in 1996, and Kings Park continues to grow and develop. It remains a vibrant community with deep roots, and its residents maintain high standards
and expectations for their school district, and for the quality of education their children deserve.