In preparation for East Williston’s centennial celebration, the village has reacquired its centuries-old riding cart, which was used across the country.
The East Williston Cart Co. manufactured riding carts — two-wheeled carts pulled by a horse — that were widely used on Long Island in the 1800s. For decades, the village had one in its possession until it was placed in an off-site storage facility. It wasn’t until Firefighter Kevin Mulrooney told East Williston Mayor Bonnie Parente about this historical gem that the village recovered it and brought it back home.
“The village will be 100 years old in 2026 and we started about a year ago talking about our centennial celebration. We formed a committee to decide how to celebrate and one of our longtime firefighters, Kevin Mulroone contacted me, and said, ‘Mayor, I know you’re planning the centennial, but what are you going to do about getting our cart back?’,” Parente said.
Parente said she’s heard stories over the years about East Williston being famous for its riding carts. She said a company with a patent on one of the carts’ designs resided in the village.
In 1885, Charles Ellison of Mineola filed a patent for a cart comfortable for everyday use. The design continued to evolve until 1891, when he began advertising the Mineola Cart.
“It carries two passengers; it has an equalizing spring under the front bar that positively prevents any horse motion; one-half of the seat opens out, making it a very easy cart to get out of or into; and does away with the serious objection of having to climb over the shafts or bars; it is in increasing demand for Ladies’ Driving as there is ample protection for their dresses, and the cart is as easy to get into and out of as a phaeton,” one advertisement for the cart said on CarriageAssociationOfAmerica.com.
The carriage was then used as a blueprint for Henry Willis when he designed the East Williston Cart in 1891.
“The Beauty, an ‘ easy-riding road cart’ that came in five different styles from the East Williston Cart Co.” is mentioned on CarriageAssociationOfAmerica.com. “The style of these carts collectively became known as ‘Long Island.’ They rode well over rough ground, were very suitable for use by ladies and they were appropriate for business or pleasure.”
The “Long Island Carts” then became known as the “Meadowbrook Carts” because they were often used on the Meadowbrook Hounds. The carts were noted for their long, straight shafts, extending from the sides of the bodywork.
“The village owned one of the carts for many, many years — maybe since the 1800s and Kevin knew that it had been stored in our Fire Department loft for many years,” Parente said. “But back in the 1970s or 80s, there was some refurbishing of the Fire Department and they needed to find a place to store the cart during that time.”
Mulroone did not know where the cart went, so he, Parente and East Williston Village Clerk Joanna Palumbo reached out to former mayors to track down the cart. Parente said everyone knew about the cart, but didn’t know exactly where it was. After some more digging, Palumbo was able to locate the cart, which was stored by Nassau County in the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.
“Now, there are East Williston riding carts in museums,” Parente said. “There’s one in beautiful condition in Stony Brook and there are a few still in existence.”
Parente said with the help of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Matthew Donno, they were able to confirm that the cart did belong to the village. She said they then made arrangements to get the cart back to the village. The cart returned on Nov. 6.
“Everyone seems so truly excited that it’s been returned and it has been found,” Parente said. “Many people didn’t know it was missing and they’re excited that we have located and discovered it.”
Parente said after posting about the cart on social media, village resident Caryn Durkin contacted her immediately to put her in touch with her daughter, who is an archivist. Parente said she has been giving the village advice on how to preserve the cart. She said no decisions have been made yet on how to preserve it, but that the village will be taking it very seriously.
The cart isn’t the only historical object that the village plans to display. Parente said the village has been asking residents if they have any historical documents or items to come forward and let the village display them.
