2024 Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Award

The Land Alliance and its community partners have protected over 1,400 acres of land since 2003. But the noble act of conserving and stewarding land for future generations began long before us. Our community is the beautiful place it is today because of the vision of forward-thinking people who both valued land and understood its important role in a healthy future for us all.

The Youngs Family on Long Island
Among the most notable of those visionaries was the Youngs Family. In 1640, the Reverend John Youngs and his family arrived on Long Island by ship from New Haven, Connecticut. They settled in the town of Southold, where John established the first English church in New York. Around 1650, his second son, Thomas Youngs, ventured west to establish the first homestead in Oyster Bay. At the time, it was a wilderness shared with Long Island’s Native Americans.

Thomas Youngs was a farmer. He immediately began planting apple tree seedlings he had brought with him from Connecticut. The Youngs apple orchard grew dramatically over the decades, totaling 27,133 trees. By 1768, it was the largest apple tree nursery in New York. The Youngs Family built the first schoolhouse in Oyster Bay sometime before the Revolutionary War. The children of both estate owners and farm workers shared a classroom. They hired a teacher and opened the school to all the children of the community. Additionally, they hosted George Washington in their home shortly after the Revolutionary War.

In 1880, after graduating from Harvard, Theodore Roosevelt purchased 155 acres of land for his beloved Sagamore Hill from the Youngs Family. President Roosevelt died at Sagamore Hill and was buried in the Youngs Memorial Cemetery on January 8, 1919. As T.R. was the 26th president, 26 steps climb up the hillside to reach his gravesite.

Farm History
In 1893, John H. Youngs married Ida Hegeman, and Hegeman’s Farm in Old Brookville became Youngs Farm. The farm initially operated as a dairy farm. In the 1920s, it pivoted from dairy farming to growing cabbage and potatoes which were wholesaled to New York City. In the 1950s, the nematode plague caused the end of potato production on Long Island. Youngs Farm then became a truck farm, providing wholesale produce to grocery stores, markets and other farm stands.

In the 1960s, Paula and Jo-Hana Youngs began selling excess produce roadside with enough success that their father, John, moved a portion of the old barn close to the road as a permanent farmstand. In the late 70s and early 80s, the store was enclosed, and the bakery portion was added. After Jo-Hana’s passing in 2010, Paula’s daughters, Abby and Remsen and her son-in-law, Tim Dooley, began helping her at the farm and contributing to its current form.

In the early 1980s, Paula’s grandfather, Arthur, passed away. Her father, John, was obligated to sell some of his land – about 60 acres – for estate tax purposes. He placed an agricultural restriction on the land. It was purchased by Banfi Vintners which planned to grow grapes for wine. The agricultural restriction expired in the mid-2000s, and there was a residential development plan in progress. Fortunately, the Land Alliance and Nassau County were able to preserve the 60 acres for agricultural use in perpetuity via a conservation easement. Currently, the preserved land is farmed by Youngs Farm and by the Rottkamp Brothers Farm (also of Old Brookville). The Youngs Family owns and farms an additional 10 acres adjacent to the preserved land.

In 2021, Youngs Farm produce became officially certified organic by NOFA-NY under Tim’s leadership. Paula, Remsen and Tim currently own and operate the farm.