Over 40 people gathered at Farmingdale's Village Green on Sunday, Sept. 18 for the much anticipated walking tour of the village.

Bill Johnston, historian of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society and coordinator of the walk, led the group along Main Street recalling village history from yesteryear to the present.

Johnston explained that the area was originally settled by Thomas Powell and English Quakers in 1687. They left New England due to the religious climate and built the first house of worship in 1698. In 1841 the railroad came and that is when Farmingdale started as a unified community. In1845 the first post office was opened and by 1880 the town had two fire companies.

In 1904 the Incorporated Village of Farmingdale was formed. A street car line stretched from Huntington down Main Street to Amityville from 1909 to 1919. Main Street has been the center of Farmingdale's business district for nearly two centuries. Johnston pointed out some historical sites such as the Bank of Farmingdale, Greco's Tailor Shop and Schmidt Hardware, still open at their original location.

Residents on the tour recalled local shops and businesses. Long-time resident Fred Wilkens told of Pop Wilkins Ice Cream Parlor, which his father opened in the 1920s. Wilkens said "that was the hangout for the high school kids. What my father used to do for the sports teams was if they won their games they all got a free ice cream soda or a sundae."

He then pointed to a storefront that was the first to have a television, which was displayed in the front window in the late 1940s.

"Everyone used to stand outside and look in the window and say 'ah how marvelous; television, that's a wonderful thing,'" Wilkens explained.

Also, long-time resident Nancy Cinque pointed out the location of her father's fruit and vegetable store that he opened on Main Street in 1927. She recounted her experiences working there as an adolescent.

After reminiscing of the days gone by, the tour concluded on Main Street at the Long Island Rail Road crossing. For further information about the Village of Farmingdale contact the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, Post Office Box 500, Farmingdale, NY 11735 or visit www.fdale.com.