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The site is considered highly ecologically and historically significant. The
Hempstead Plains supports populations of federally endangered and globally rare plants among its 250 different kinds of vegetation as well as several plant species that are now considered rare in New York State. It
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continent dates back to the establishment of the
Newmarket course on the Salisbury Plains section of the Hempstead Plains of Long Island in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor,
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and commercial development of the Plains region. The west section of
Roosevelt Field (once known as Curtiss Field before its 1929 merger with Roosevelt) ceased operations in 1951 and has been occupied since 1956 by the
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Some 15 years later, the
Hempstead Plains had earned the appellation "Cradle of Aviation". The Hempstead Plains Aerodrome was renamed to in 1917 to Hazelhurst Field, and again in 1918 to
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on part of the western edge of the
Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
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department store, and luxury condominiums. The section north of the raceway, development on which dates back to the 1960s, is occupied by The Source Mall anchored by
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represents one of the most rapidly vanishing habitats in the world, along with scores of birds, butterflies, and other animals that are vanishing with it.
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The
Francis T. Purcell Preserve in October 2021. Located in Uniondale, this preserve is one of the largest undisturbed areas of the Hempstead Plains.
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Hempstead Plains
Preserve near Nassau Community College, immediately adjacent to the power plant and directly behind the Long Island Marriott
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Even during the later era of air flight activity on the
Hempstead Plains, part of the east section of privately owned Roosevelt Field became
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circled the plains' Washington Avenue field for more than 52 minutes, demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities and earning the
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after the settlers had purchased land from the local Native
Americans. The town may have been named for either
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estimated to once extend to about 60,000 acres (240 km; 94 sq mi). It was separated from the
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Another pioneering industry on the
Hempstead Plains was aviation. In July 1909, aviator and manufacturer
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provided the eastern United States' hub of private, and even military, air activity.
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In early US history, the Hempstead Plains region was cited as one of the few natural
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The last remaining few acres of untouched Hempstead Plains ground exist:
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more than ten thousand years ago. The result was vast, flat open land.
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repeated this trip in 2002, 75 years later, in 17 hours 17 minutes.)
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The South Westbury section of the plains is (appropriately) known as
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around 1644. Although the settlers were from the English colony of
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US "Geological Survey: Quaternary History of the New York Bight"
545:"Amid the Sprawl, a Long Island Prairie Makes a Quiet Comeback"
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prize for a flight of more than 25 kilometres (16 mi).
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approximately traces the separation of the plain from the
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which was not built, and the land was never developed
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The most famous flight from the Hempstead Plains was
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border to slightly beyond the Suffolk County border.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
573:Friends of the Hempstead Plains official website
302:relocated his base of operation from his native
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388:section is occupied by a multiplex cinema,
16:Grassland region in Nassau County, New York
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
453:In the plains which stretch east to the
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530:Long Island aircraft crashes 1909-1959
543:Marinelli, Janet (December 1, 2022).
396:(and formerly by the flagship of the
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588:Geography of Nassau County, New York
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
335:to the west. These facilities and
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420:Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
372:With the mid-century period came
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598:Geography of New York (state)
509:. Friends of Hempstead Plains
368:Development and preservation
603:Plains of the United States
218:outwash of glacial sediment
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157:South Shore of Long Island
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331:on the eastern half, and
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416:Nassau Community College
384:To the east, the former
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161:Queens, New York City
460:In several acres in
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232:Horse racing in the
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438:The Wheatley School
436:In the area behind
349:Spirit of St. Louis
321:Scientific American
214:Allegheny Mountains
145:Harbor Hill Moraine
492:2011-10-17 at the
424:Hofstra University
278:, first a popular
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58:"Hempstead Plains"
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554:December 2,
251:Garden City
236:and on the
184:Connecticut
129:Long Island
582:Categories
473:References
408:Camp Mills
354:Le Bourget
69:newspapers
549:Yale E360
462:Plainview
398:Fortunoff
286:track in
265:Salisbury
199:Heemstede
180:Europeans
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137:grassland
490:Archived
294:Aviation
247:Westbury
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149:Route 25
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