Port Washington, Coastal community in North Hempstead, United States.
Port Washington is a settlement on the Cow Neck Peninsula in northwestern Long Island, bordered by Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor. Residential streets with houses from different decades alternate with commercial strips and narrow beaches, while marinas line the harbor edge.
The first English settlers purchased the land from the Matinecock people in 1644 and established farms along the shore. In the early 20th century, companies mined sand on a large scale, transporting it by barge to Manhattan for use in skyscrapers.
The name comes from the public harbor residents built along the shore in the 19th century. Small marinas along the waterfront attract sailors, while parks and beaches draw families from nearby towns.
The Long Island Rail Road station connects the community to Penn Station in Manhattan in about 40 minutes. Several bus lines complement the rail service and reach neighboring towns on the peninsula.
Dredges extracted sand from the harbor for decades, and some of it was used to produce glass for the United Nations headquarters. The pits later filled with water and formed small ponds along the shore.
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