A Kwanzan cherry tree blooms in Muttontown - marking it as part of the Long Island Heritage Trail. The tree, which flowers but bears no fruit, was given to the village by the North Shore Promotion Alliance.

"George Washington himself presented me with the cherry tree," said Raz Tafuro, road commissioner of Muttontown. He represented the village at the event.

Local village representatives and politicians showed up at the George Washington Manor on Wednesday, April 22, to unveil the plan. All of them, however, took a back seat to the arrival of President Washington himself, who arrived at the manor by way of a horse and carriage that navigated both rainy weather and modern day automobile traffic.

That week marked the 208th anniversary of George Washington's triumphant tour of Long Island, a journey which included an evening spent in the Youngs' farmhouse in Oyster Bay. (That house is presently owned by Charles Wang of Computer Associates.) It was followed by a stay over and breakfast at the house of a Roslyn family.

To mark the occasion, Nassau County officials announced the commencement of a Long Island Heritage Trail along Route 25A which notes not only Long Island's role in the Revolutionary War, but the general development of the American nation as well. This past week, Legislator John Canning joined with Presiding Officer Bruce A. Blakeman to announce that the Nassau County Legislature passed legislation accepting the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funding, identifying Route 25A as a Heritage Trail and developing a management plan for the corridor.

Mr. Canning (R-18th L.D.) said, "Route 25A is historic, scenic and beautiful and it must be preserved. The designation of the road as a State Heritage Area is important to preserve Route 25A's character. The designation will promote tourism and bring people to the historical and cultural locations in the area."

During his brief talk, "President Washington" mentioned the enormous changes that had taken place in the area he had visited 208 years ago. Long Island has been carved into numerous towns and villages, he noted, plus his driver had to contend with large numbers of horseless carriages along the new highway. Still, President Washington was glad to review the progress of a Heritage Trail marking his visit to Oyster Bay, Roslyn and the rest of the North Shore.

The ceremony was sponsored by the North Shore Promotion Alliance, an organization which is active in similar historical re-enactments and has also spent the past two-and-a-half years in making the Heritage Trail a reality.

The trail covers much of the North Shore, beginning at 25A in Great Neck and finishing up at 25N in Mount Sinai, a village slightly east of Port Jefferson. During the early 1700s, the road was called "King's Highway," linking Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties with their eastern neighbors. There were no Nassau and Suffolk counties to those days.

Today, the highway is remembered mostly as the route for President Washington's April, 1790 Long Island tour when the Father of Our Country traveled the road in a horse-drawn carriage, thanking all faithful Long Island patriots who either fought in or supported the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Many of those patriots served as spies against the British.

During the war, some of Washington's spies communicated by hanging petticoats and handkerchiefs in coded order on a clothesline that could be seen from the harbor.

One of President Washington's early morning stops was at the Onderdonck residence in Roslyn. This family also served as spies for the Continental Army. President Washington thanked the family for their loyal service and ended up staying the night there. Today, the Onderdonck residence, is, of course, the George Washington Manor restaurant, where last Wednesday's festivities took place.

Legislation to include the North Shore within New York State's Heritage Areas System has been introduced by State Senator Carl Marcellino (R-Oyster Bay) and State Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-Setauket). There are presently 15 areas within the state's Heritage Areas System, but none on all of Long Island. The closest Heritage Area for Long Islanders is located in downtown Manhattan.

Route 25A is the central feature of the proposed heritage corridor.

"We have been working for two-and-a-half years toward recognizing the North Shore of Long Island as a Heritage Area," said Gloria Rocchio, president of the North Shore Promotion Alliance. "This included producing three editions of a full color brochure depicting 11 self-drive tours along the Heritage Trail, producing seasonal event guides, working with Senator Marcellino and Assemblyman Englebright regarding Heritage Area designation, and securing Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funding in conjunction with Nassau and Suffolk counties for Heritage Trail signage."

The ISTEA funding totals $630,000 between the two counties and provides for a management plan for the corridor, directional and informational signage along the route, as well as production and printing of brochures and maps of the trail.

A suggested list of historical and cultural sites for identification along the trail include locally, Raynham Hall Museum, Planting Fields Arboretum Historic State Park with Coe Hall Mansion, the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, the Oyster Bay Historical Society's Earle-Wightman House, Sagamore National Historic Site, the Bayville Historical Museum and Bailey's Arboretum on Bayville Road.

Note: Joe Scotchie is the editor of The Roslyn News. Details were added in D.F. Karppi.