The history of Baxter Estates dates back to the days before the arrival of the first settlers when the Matinecock Indians lived on the entire Port Washington peninsula. The Indians were hunters and fishermen and being of a peaceful nature, caused the early settlers little difficulty. Eventually, many were employed by the Cow Neck seafarers as sailors.
By the mid 17th century the permanent settlement of Cow Neck was established. The area was so named because the land was enclosed as common pasture for cattle belonging to farmers owning large tracts of land. Its growth was very slow in pre-Revolutionary days.
One of the earliest homesteads on Cow Neck was built in 1673 by John Betts and Robert Hutchings and still stands on its original site at the corner of Central Drive and Shore Road, overlooking Manhasset Bay. In 1741 or 1743, the home was purchased by Oliver Baxter. An early survey of the Baxter land shows an Indian wigwam located near Baxter’s Pond, evidence that an entire wigwam village probably existed on the very site of this house.
The Baxter’s, who were shipbuilders, sea captains, whalers, and blacksmiths, retained ownership of the house until the end of the 19th century. During the Revolutionary War, Hessian troops, engaged by the British, were quartered in the house.
In 1895 the first library of Port Washington met in the parlor of the Baxter House, which was located at the corner of Central Drive and Shore Road. The Baxter family was a proud part of the history of our Village.
It was estimated that fewer than 200 people lived on the entire peninsula before 1840. Small as it was, the farming community needed a general store. The first such store was opened by Thomas McKee on the corner of Harbor Road and Shore Road; it was torn down in the Mid 1900’s. This corner was also the location of Port’s first post office which officially opened on July 12, 1859. Thomas McKee was the first postmaster and among his successors were Alfred Bayles and Ida Baxter, both prominent in Village history. The mail was brought by horse cart twice a day from Great Neck, which at the time was the easterly terminus of the railroad that connected the area to New York City.