Two hundred years ago, Mineola was comprised of a few farm homesteads in a loosely bordered area on the Hempstead Plains. In 1839, the addition of a railroad junction on the Long Island Rail Road's main line would forever change the landscape. The village of Mineola was soon recognized as an ideal place for farming, commerce, aviation, and residential life. Theodore Roosevelt, William K. Vanderbilt Jr., Glenn Curtiss, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Fonda are but a few of the famous personalities who came and left their mark on Mineola's history. The sleepy farming community of long ago would go on to gain acknowledgement as the county seat and the very heart of Nassau.