Glenwood Landing Bids Farewell to a Piece of History

Glenwood Landing lost a rare window on its past this morning, when a wrecking ball crashed into the Townsend House, a home that has stood at the corner of Glenwood Road and Kissam Lane for more than a century. Originally, the home overlooked a pastoral scene of rolling hills, farmland, and ponds. In more recent years, the view has been dominated by the Glenwood Landing Post Office, which is built over one of these ponds. For the last few decades and until recently, the home was occupied as a two-family residence.

According to a study commissioned by the Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association, the Townsend House was an excellent example of vernacular architecture, a building form that is fast disappearing from the Glenwood Landing landscape (see “Subdivision Review Reveals A Pre-Colonial Past,” May 11). The study also identifies the original owners of the home as the Townsend family, who were among the area’s first settlers.

At many hearings, the civic association suggested that the building be preserved and its present use be maintained. Unfortunately, this goal could not be achieved. In April, after prolonged county and town review of a seven-unit subdivision proposed for the site, the Town of Oyster Bay issued a permit that cleared the way for demolition. The site plan calls for construction of five homes at the rear of the 2-plus-acre-parcel, two homes at the front, and a new cul-de-sac that opens onto Kissam Lane near the stop sign. Much of the existing slope will be removed to accommodate seven new structures and extensive retaining walls will be required.