Bream Cove

Bream Cove. Hempstead Historic Neighborhood. , The William Coit house (92 Washington, corner of Coit Street) once stood on the waterfront. This was possible because Bream Cove, an arm of the harbor, reached this far inland. Coit (originally Cove) Street follows the natural contour of the shoreline, and Bank Street crossed the cove on a long wooden bridge., In the 19th century the cove gradually shrank, due to natural siltation and intentional filling. One arm of the cove remained into the 1860s, with access along Canal (now Reed) Street. Construction of a horse nail factory in 1859, succeeded by the Brainard and Armstrong silk mills after 1878, finished closing Bream Cove. The factory was demolished in recent years, and the site is now the vacant area along Reed Street., The filled area, being flat and close to the downtown core, was attractive to builders. By the early 20th century the area, like the Hempstead neighborhood was solidly filled with homes and businesses. Part of it was recognized as the Coit Street Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Because the area developed in distinct clusters over a relatively short period, the streets present a cohesive, harmonious appearance. Most of the houses display the Greek Revival and Italianate styles that predominated in the second half of the 19th century, though some earlier houses and later alterations are evident., [Caption:] , The most significant of the earlier houses, the William Coit house, c. 1763, (right) recalls the existence of the 18th century settlement around the edge of the cove. The Coits were an influential shipbuilding family from the start. William Coit, by all accounts an ardent patriot, commanded ships in the War for Independence. A descendant, Jonathan Coit, who built a house at 40 Coit Street, c. 1832, continued the revolutionary tradition as an active abolitionist.