Our Mission
Our mission is preserving the history of Fosters Meadow, a German farming community established in the 1850s, and located in Long Island, New York in present day Queens and western Nassau County. There has never been defined boundary lines for Fosters Meadow, however it had deep seeded roots into what today would correspond to Elmont, North Valley Stream, Rosedale, Laurelton, Cambria Heights, Springfield Gardens, and Franklin Square, and influenced the Germanic development of Valley Stream, New Hyde Park, and Queens Village. The community of Fosters Meadow has been dormant for over one hundred years, and it is our intention to preserve it’s memory.
Over the years we have been collecting data, photographs, memorabilia, reviewing old newspapers, researching official documents, interviewing old timers all in attempt to obtain information about this German farming community. You will notice many photos taken in the 1930s and 1940s following the development of the present day communities, yet still reflecting the deep embedded roots of many Fosters Meadow families. The Fosters Meadow Heritage Center and many of its descendants have contributed so much of their time to help this project. We continually search for information, photographs or anything that would help preserve Fosters Meadow.
Please contact us if you might have any information, photographs, and/or documents that you would like to donate or allow us to scan. We greatly appreciated your help in our Fosters Meadow preservation efforts. Please notice that most of the photos have been water marked. If interested in obtaining the original image (for non-commercial use) we ask that you make a small donation of your choice to help cover Heritage Center costs, for other types of reproduction please contact us. All rights are reserved on all images and documents are presented in the website.
Fosters Meadow Heritage Center
In 2006, the Franklin Square Historical Society designated a room in their new museum as The George and Helene Christ Fosters Meadow Heritage Center dedicated to preserving the history and culture of that German-American farming community and the German immigrants and their descendants who lived there. The Center’s collections include photographs, memorabilia, documents, books, and related items. The collections are being developed by a committee of the Foster Meadow descendants of these farming families. The Historical Society decided to honor George and Helene Christ for several reasons. Mr. and Mrs. Christ were most encouraging in the founding of the Center, and materially supported the room’s construction with generous contributions. The Christs displayed an extraordinary love of Long Island history, and were dedicated to their hometown of New Hyde Park. They upheld the highest standards of patriotism, citizenship, and love of community. George Christ himself was a descendant of the Vogel and Mirschel families who were instrumental in the development of Franklin Square in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We are proud that the legacy of George and Helen Christ will continue for generations to come through the Fosters Meadow Heritage Center, under the sponsorship of the Franklin Square Historical Society.
Fosters Meadow Committee
- Helene Christ - Honorary chairperson (†)
- Raymond Hoeffner
- Paul Hoffman
- Jeffrey Jones