Queens Gazette

The Story Behind College Point’s Name



College Point is well known to us in Queens, but it’s also known that there’s no college in College Point, so how did it come to bear its name? Before being officially named College Point, the area was known as Lawrence’s Neck, Tew’s Neck, Flammersberg, and Strattonsport. The town, located north of Flushing on the East River and Flushing Bay, boasts a 25,000 strong residential community and – despite the lack of a college today – has a history tied to the early foundation of American public education.

College Point was founded in the mid-19th century by Conrad Poppenhusen, who built the country’s first free kindergarten. But even before that, the town took its name from the construction of St. Paul’s College and Grammar School, a seminary founded in 1835 by Reverend William August Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg was considered the father of church schools and the model schools he started in Long Island would go on to have a significant impact on the history of American education. Muhlenberg, who was the rector of St. George’s in Flushing from 1826 to 1846, led the construction of St. Paul’s from 1835 to 1837, when the building was completed and replete with pink and white marble.

The college’s time in the community would be short. Thanks to party squabbling within the Episcopal Church and the financial Panic of 1837, Muhlenburg was unable to collect on pledges to capitalize and endow the college. As a result, the New York state legislature denied his request for a collegiate charter. Without a collegiate charter, the institution could not grant bachelor of arts degrees to its students. This incident would leave a lasting wound in the heart of Muhlenberg, who was known as one of the greatest educators in American history. He left Long Island in 1847 and the college was closed by 1850.

In addition to the history of the short-lived St. Paul’s College, College Point became home to America’s first free kindergarten at the Poppenhusen Institute in July of 1870. The Poppenhusen Institute, which can still be visited today, also housed Abraham Lincoln’s disassembled log cabin during the Civil War.

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