Looking for information on the history of your Port Washington home? Here are some suggestions for where to begin your research:
The Office of the Nassau County Clerk maintains public records relating to real estate ownership in Nassau County. This includes documentation of all the real estate transactions, mortgages, and liens which have been recorded for your specific section, block, and lot, as well as county land and subdivision maps which can often contain valuable information about your house, its previous owners, and the history of your property. We recommend that you begin your research by contacting the Nassau County Clerk’s Office.
My Nassau Property: Search by address to find your block, section, and lot numbers. View aerial photographs of your house and neighborhood, property card archives, tax information, property sketches and more.
The Building Department for the Town of North Hempstead and for each of the six incorporated villages that make up Port Washington (Baxter Estates, Flower Hill, Manorhaven, Plandome, Port Washington North, and Sands Point) keeps a file on every house within their designated area, which may include building permits, inspection reports, and architectural, remodel, and renovation information going back to the house’s initial construction.
Additional Resources:
Port Washington Telephone Directories: Search your address in our digital database of Port Washington, Nassau County, and Long Island phonebooks from 1924-1958 to learn the names of those who lived in your house before.
Ancestry Library: Once you have located the names of the previous owner(s), try searching Ancestry Library. With census data from 1790-1950, passenger lists, birth, death, marriage and military records, you may be able to uncover key details about the lives of your home’s former residents. Library Use Only.
Port News Digital Archive (1903-1981): Search for your address or names of previous owners to see what turns up in our database of full-text Port News articles from 1903-1981.
New York Times Historical: Use your library card to access full text coverage of the New York Times from 1851-2018 and search for your address or names of previous owners.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: The Sanborn Map Co. was a company that made maps for the fire insurance industry starting in 1867. The maps show building footprints, building dimensions, outbuildings and other structures, construction materials, and property line locations at a very detailed scale. Maps of Port Washington are available through the Library of Congress’ digital collections for the years 1909, 1919, 1925, 1931, and 1936-1951.
Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University: The Long Island Studies Institute is a major center for the study of Long Island local and regional history and is a rich repository for research materials such as photographs, maps, census records, and genealogies. Contact Special Collections at (516) 463-6411 or by emailing lisi@hofstra.edu to make a research appointment.