CARDOZO: 1645 to Today
 Ashley Noble
 Features Editor


   The land on which Benjamin N. Cardozo High School stands, has a history that 
 can be traced back to the year 1645. The school itself was not built until 1966, and 
 did not open until 1967. 
   This land started as 300 acre farmland, owned by John Hicks, given to him from 
 the Dutch Governor, William Kieft. It was part of the newly chartered township of 
 Flushing. “The grant was originally from what is now 46th Avenue (north) to West 
 Alley Road, later Horace Harding Boulevard and still later Long Island Expressway
 (south) and from Cloverdale Boulevard (west) to Alley Creek (east). Brother Thomas
 Hicks to John Hicks settled in Little Neck” (Benjamin N. Cardozo, Alumni Directory 
 2002).
   Hicks built a farm house on the land in 1680, east of Mill Pond, which 
 was later named Oakland Lake. However, it was torn down in 1915. 
 The land was passed down the line of the Hicks family until 1847, when 
 Frederick N. Lawrence purchased the farmland and built “‘The Oaks,” an imposing
 mansion high in the covered hills over looking Little Neck Bay” (Benjamin N. 
 Cardozo, Alumni Directory 2002). 
   In 1859, John Taylor purchased “‘The Oaks” and developed a horticultural 
 establishment, nationally known for its roses and orchards” (Benjamin N. Cardozo, 
 Alumni Directory 2002). In 1896, John H. Taylor , John Taylor’s son, helped to
 organize the Oakland Golf Club by leasing 111 acres to the new club. He became 
 the club’s first president.
   The members of the prestigious Oakland Golf Club included Alfred E. Smith, 
 Bernard Baruch, Charles M. Schwab, Nicholas M. Butler and Edward R. Stettinius. 
 After John H. Taylor’s death, the club members purchased the property that they 
 originally leased from Taylor. 
   Thereafter, infrastructure such as Horace Harding Boulevard, Grand Central 
 Parkway, and the Long Island Expressway, which replacing the Horace Harding 
 Boulevard, opened in stages from 1955 to 1960.
   The property was purchased by the city in the 1950s. Queensborough Community 
 College, Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, Public School 203 and “County Village” 
 development, occupied a large part of the original golf course. Oakland Golf 
 Clubhouse was used by QCC as its first administration building, opening for classes 
 in 1960. 
   Due to overcrowding, four transportable classroom units were installed at 
 Cardozo in 2001.  An additional four were added in 2002.