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Highway Leadership (1872-1995)
In 1872, three Commissioners were elected to terms of 1-year, 2-years, and 3-years, beginning in April. As those terms expired, the terms were then three-years, with one position voted on each year.
From 1899 to 1909, three commissioners were elected every two years for two-year terms. In 1909, three Highway Commissioners were elected, along with a Highway Superintendent.
Starting in 1911, only a Highway Superintendent was elected. The position was eliminated in 1995, and the functions absorbed into the Department of Public Works.
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The first three Highway Commissioners were Elbert Strong, Jesse Conklin, and Solomon Smith. Born in 1833, Elbert Strong was a farmer who grew up in the area that would later become Lindenhurst; he served just one term as a Highway Commissioner.
Under the Town of Huntington, Jesse Conklin served as Tax Collector and a Commissioner of Highways. Affectionately known as “Uncle Jesse,” Conklin was the proprietor of a hotel on Fire Island known as “Castle Conklin.” Solomon Smith was a farmer and life-long resident of Babylon.
The first Highway Superintendent, Gilbert P. Williams of Amityville, previously served as a Highway Commissioner. Four Highway Commissioners/Superintendents later served as Town Supervisor – Edward Daily, Henry A. Brown, William S. Willmarth and Henry S. Johnson.
Commissioners of Highway | Term of Office | |
---|---|---|
1(a). | Elbert Strong | April 2, 1872 -- 1873/1874 |
1(b). | Jesse Conklin | April 2, 1872 -- 1873/1874 |
1(c). | Solomon Smith | April 2, 1872 -- 1873/1874** |
4. | Frederick L. Weed | April 1, 1873 -- April 4, 1876 |
5. | Ezekiel K. Smith | April 7, 1874 -- April 6, 1887 |
6. | Elbert H. Walters§ | April 7, 1874 -- April 3, 1877 |
7. | George L. Ketcham | April 4, 1876 -- April 7, 1885 |
8. | Edward Daily | April 3, 1877 -- April 3, 1883 |
9. | Henry A. Brown | April 3, 1883 -- April 6, 1886 |
10. | Charles Hirsch, Jr. | April 7, 1885 -- April 8, 1888 |
11. | John E. Arnold | April 6, 1886 -- April 6, 1892 |
12. | William Denton | April 6, 1887 -- April 2, 1890 |
13. | Valentine Helling | April 3, 1888 -- April 4, 1894** |
14. | Edward H. Morris | April 2, 1890 -- March 1, 1892‡ |
15. | Egbert V. Strong | April 6, 1892 -- April 5, 1895 |
16. | Frederick W. Smith | April 6, 1892§ -- April 6, 1893 |
17. | N. P. Williams | April 6, 1893 -- April 7, 1896 |
18. | John S. Krueger | April 4, 1894 -- April 4, 1899 |
19. | Solomon Smith* | April 5, 1895 -- April 5, 1898 |
20. | Stephen R. Austin | April 7, 1896 -- April 8, 1903 |
21. | Charles W. Conklin | April 5, 1898 -- April 3, 1901 |
22. | George S. Pearsall, Sr. | April 4, 1899 -- April 5, 1905** |
--- | Valentine Heling* | April 4, 1899 -- April 5, 1905** |
23. | Charles E. Smith | April 8, 1903 -- April 5, 1905 |
24. | Burtis F. Mott | April 5, 1905 -- April 3, 1907 |
25. | John Griebel | April 5, 1905 -- April 7, 1911≠ |
26. | Zachariah Hendrickson | April 5, 1905 -- April 3, 1907 |
--- | Valentine Heling* | April 3, 1907 -- April 7, 1909 |
27. | Gilbert P. Williams | April 3, 1907 -- April 7, 1909** |
--- | George S. Pearsall, Sr.* | April 7, 1909 -- April 7, 1911≠ |
Superintendents of Highways | Term of Office | |
---|---|---|
1. | Gilbert P. Williams* | April 7, 1909 -- April 7, 1911 |
2. | Charles Heling | April 7, 1911 -- November 1, 1917 |
3. | William S. Willmarth | November 1, 1917 -- December 31, 1921 |
4. | Henry S. Johnson | January 1, 1922 -- December 31, 1925 |
5. | John S. Wolf | January 1, 1926 -- December 31, 1931 |
6. | William E. Hirsch | January 1, 1932 -- December 31, 1933 |
7. | Thomas Bradford Sprague | January 1, 1934 -- December 31, 1935 |
8. | George Stephan | January 1, 1936 -- December 31, 1951 |
9. | Charles J. Vogel | January 1, 1952 -- December 31, 1963 |
10. | Robert A. Hannington | January 1, 1964 -- December 31, 1983 |
11. | James J. Harrington | January 1, 1984 -- December 31, 1995≠ |
*Previously elected to a non-consecutive term. ** Re-elected to a non-consecutive term.
§ Special election to fill vacancy. ‡ Resigned. ≠ Position eliminated.