Maurice’s Woods was the name given by Maspeth old-timers to a 72-acre forested tract bounded by what was to become Maurice Avenue, 66th Street, Jay Avenue, and the Long Island Expressway.
James Maurice, a very prominent New York lawyer, moved to Maspeth in 1840 and built a mansion on the south side of Maspeth Avenue about 800 feet west of the railroad tracks.
In 1850 he was elected to the Assembly and in 1852 to Congress. In 1882 he donated the Woods to the Episcopal church as a site for a seminary, but the moving of the diocesan see to Garden City put an end to the project.
For years the woods were enjoyed as a park and nature preserve by Maspethites, while houses grew up on all sides. Finally, in October 1920 the church sold off the track for development, and by 1922 streets and houses had wiped out all traces of the former green oasis. (Courtesy of The Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Division.)
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| MAURICE’S WOODS, ca. 1900. |
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