Editing Plainview, New York (section)

==History==
Plainview's origins date to 1648, when Robert Williams, a settler from Wales, bought land in the area. The land was considered desirable for farming because of a small pond named the Moscopas by local Native Americans, meaning "hole of dirt and water".<ref name="POBCCH">{{cite web|title=Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce History|url=http://www.plainview-oldbethpage.org/history.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727175129/http://www.plainview-oldbethpage.org/history.cfm|archive-date=2011-07-27}}</ref> The remainder of the land in the area was purchased by [[Thomas Powell (1641–1722)|Thomas Powell]] in 1695 as part of the [[Bethpage Purchase]]. The name "Mannatto Hill" had already appeared on the 1695 deed of the Bethpage Purchase, and the settlement came to be called "Manetto Hill". ''[[Manitou]]'' was the Native American word either for "god" or for "spirit".<ref>
{{cite book|author=Maximilian Schele De Vere|url=https://archive.org/details/americanismseng00veregoog|title=Americanisms: The English of the New World|year=1872|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanismseng00veregoog/page/n26 33]|publisher=New York, C. Scribner & Co.|access-date=2009-05-18}}
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The 1837 arrival of the [[Long Island Rail Road]] to nearby [[Hicksville, New York|Hicksville]] brought a boom to local farming.<ref name="Newsday - History of Plainview">{{cite web|title=Newsday - History of Plainview|url=http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-historytown-hist003g,0,6458689.story|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709004636/http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-historytown-hist003g%2C0%2C6458689.story|archive-date=July 9, 2008}}</ref> In 1885, residents of Manetto Hill petitioned the [[United States Postal Service]] for a local post office, but were turned down because, according to several accounts, a similar name was already in use upstate.<ref>There is a small community in [[Putnam County, New York]] that is named [[Manitou (Metro-North station)|Manitou]], in the 10524 ZIP code and presently served by the Garrison Post Office. There is also a town and a hamlet in Oswego County, NY, named [[Minetto (CDP), New York|Minetto]], with its own post office and 11315 ZIP code.</ref> The hamlet was then named "Plainview", for the view of the [[Hempstead Plains]] from the top of the Manetto Hills.<ref name="POBCCH" />

Plainview remained a farming community, famous for growing [[cucumber]]s for the huge [[H. J. Heinz Company|Heinz]] pickle factories located in nearby [[Farmingdale, New York|Farmingdale]] and [[Hicksville, New York|Hicksville]]. In the early 1900s blight destroyed the cucumber crop and many farmers switched to potatoes. After World War II, a potato blight combined with the desire of many returning [[G.I. (military)|GI]]s to leave New York City for the more rural Long Island, convinced many farmers to sell their property, leading to massive development in the area, giving rise to so-called [[suburban sprawl]].<ref name="Newsday - History of Plainview" />{{dead link |date=April 2010}} Between 1950 and 1960, the hamlet grew from a population of 1,155 to more than 35,000.<ref name="POBCCH" /> Most of the available land was developed during this period or otherwise designated as parkland. While overall development declined it did continue sporadically as smaller remaining parcels of land were also developed. In recent years, some of the few large remaining parcels have given way to gated communities, which are in contrast to most housing in the area. Some of these developments include "The Hamlet on Olde Oyster Bay" <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hamletoysterbay.com/|title=Home|website=Hamlet Oyster Bay}}</ref> and "The Seasons at Plainview", a residential community focused on over age 55 residents and first time home buyers.<ref>[http://hso-seasonsatplainview.com/index.php/home hso-Seasons at Plainview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228035452/http://hso-seasonsatplainview.com/index.php/home|date=February 28, 2013}}</ref>