In 1855 three Czech families cleared a camp out of the Long Island pine barrens and called it Tabor. What follows is the record of what they built — the schools and halls and firehouses, the cigars and pearl buttons, the storms weathered and the names argued over — one milestone at a time.
1855Settled as Tabor3Founding Families170Years of History
The Founding
The area is settled by a small group of Czech immigrants John Vavra, John Kratochvil, and Joseph Koula when looking for affordable land and a better life. They originally called the settlement “Tabor” (meaning “Camp” or “Encampment” in Czech).
Early Industry
As the population grows, locals begin to find work in the cigar-making industry (which becomes the village’s economic backbone) and in the fishing and oil factories on nearby Fire Island.
The Second Wave
The settlement’s first real population boom. Seven new families arrive in a single year, joining the original eleven and growing Tabor by more than half. To English-speaking neighbors in Sayville and Islip, the place is already known as “the Bohemian Settlement.”
The First Cemetery
After the village’s first recorded death, local landowner Alexander Wallis donates two acres of land to establish what is now the Bohemia Union Cemetery on Church Street.
The First Schoolhouse
The community pools its resources to build a one-room wooden schoolhouse for $600, officially designated District No. 8. A single teacher, hired at $180 a year, instructs 48 children across every grade. With no church and no town hall yet, the schoolhouse becomes the first roof the whole village can gather under.
The Shooters’ Club
Tabor founds its very first organization, the Shooters’ Club (Střelecký Spolek). Far more social hub than shooting range, it laid the groundwork for the volunteer institutions — the Fire Department above all — that would define Bohemia for generations.
The Iron Horse Arrives
The South Side Railroad — today’s LIRR Montauk Branch — extends its tracks to Sayville. The village reorients away from the long walk to Lakeland Station in the north, and for the first time cordwood and produce can be carted south and shipped to New York City. Real cash begins to reach the settlement.
The Czech Farmers’ Club
Farmers establish the Czech Farmers’ Club (Český Rolnický Spolek) to buy seed and tools in bulk, share hard-won knowledge of the difficult Long Island soil, and carry one another through bad harvests — the first sign that a loose collection of immigrant families was becoming a unified economic force.
C.S.P.S. Lodge Chartered
Twenty years after settlement, residents charter a chapter of the Czech-Slovak Protective Society (C.S.P.S.), the village’s first mutual aid society, providing insurance and aid to widows and orphans. Meetings are held at Joseph Nohowec’s hotel at Smithtown Avenue and Church Street.
The Name “Bohemia”
The name is officially changed from “Tabor” (and the informal “Bohemiaville”) to Bohemia to honor the settlers’ homeland. This was largely driven by the need for a distinct Post Office designation.
St. John Nepomucene Church
The first mass is celebrated on December 8, 1885, in the original wooden church. It becomes the spiritual center of the community.
St. John’s-on-the-Plains Chapel
Rev. John Prescott, who ferried choir members from Sayville in his carriage dubbed “The Gospel Wagon,” builds a small Episcopal chapel. The 1886 structure survives today within the parish house of the former St. Luke’s.
C.S.P.S. Union Hall
The C.S.P.S. erects its first dedicated hall, known as Union Hall, at the corner of Smithtown Avenue and Union Street, giving the village its first community-owned gathering place.
Bohemia Fire Department Founded
The volunteers organize as a hook and ladder company. The first “truck” was a hand-drawn hook and ladder purchased for $375.
The Jan Hus Statue
The iconic statue of Czech reformer Jan Hus is officially dedicated in the Bohemia Union Cemetery. It remains a symbol of the town’s independent spirit.
Hook & Ladder Co.
The first dedicated firehouse is constructed. Before this, the Hook & Ladder Co. held its meetings at the Central Hotel.
Bohemia Sokol
The “Falcon” gymnastics union is chartered with 99 members, promoting the motto “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.”
The Landmark Schoolhouse
With the 1867 building bursting at the seams, residents vote to construct a modern two-story schoolhouse for roughly $3,000. Its distinctive bell tower becomes the visual icon of the village for the next 70 years.
The “Bohemia” Post Office
A post office is officially established using the name “Bohemia,” cementing the identity of the town.
The First Postmaster
Joseph Nohowec is appointed the village’s first Postmaster, running the office out of his general store on Smithtown Avenue — the same man whose hotel had hosted the first C.S.P.S. meetings three decades earlier.
The Great Cigar Strike
Local cigar makers strike the major factories over wages, working conditions and union recognition. The walkout lasts months and strains the whole village, ending in a partial victory for the workers and cementing Bohemia’s reputation as a strong union town.
Chemical Fire Truck
The days of the bucket brigade end when the Fire Department purchases its first modern apparatus: a horse-drawn chemical fire engine, drastically improving the town’s ability to save its highly flammable wooden cigar factories and farmhouses.
Bohemia Goes to War
More than twenty young men — sons of the Behounek, Soukup and Koula families among them — enlist to fight the Austro-Hungarian Empire their parents had emigrated from. Fighting for America meant fighting for an independent Czechoslovakia. At home, the women of the village organized a Red Cross chapter inside the 1903 schoolhouse.
First School Consolidation
The Oakdale and Bohemia school districts vote to consolidate, officially becoming Union Free School District #7.
The Spanish Flu
The pandemic reaches Long Island and the village’s isolation offers no protection. The Church Street schoolhouse closes for weeks, and the church bells ring all too frequently for funerals.
Electricity Arrives
The first electric utility lines are strung down Church Street and Smithtown Avenue, beginning to replace the kerosene lamps and candlelight that had lit the village since 1855.
A New C.S.A. Hall
The C.S.P.S. sells Union Hall to the Lopez Cigar Company of New York City, which converts it to a factory. The proceeds fund a grand new 250-capacity hall at 1339 Smithtown Avenue, which becomes the social heart of the village for decades.
WWI Memorial Dedication
Bohemia dedicates its first war memorial at the corner of Church Street and Smithtown Avenue. Funded entirely by local donations, the monument honored the twenty men from the village who served in the Great War, seven of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.
The Pearl Button Boom
George Math and Joseph Hrouda open a pearl button factory on Karshick Street, bringing the trade of knoflíkářství directly from Žirovnice in the Old Country. Mountains of imported oyster, mussel and clam shells become a village landmark, and dozens of families earn steady income drilling, dyeing and carding buttons for the New York garment trade.
The General Cigar Strike
Workers walk out en masse at the General Cigar Company to protest deep wage cuts and the mechanization threatening their skilled trade. The dispute marks the beginning of the end for the hand-rolled era — the point where corporate machines began to replace the village’s master craftsmen.
Chateau La Boheme
The French Provincial Chateau La Boheme is built by Winnie Benedict, the “Builder of Bohemia” and great-grandson of founder John Vavra.
Fire Department Incorporated
The Bohemia Fire Department is formally organized and incorporated to protect the growing village, nearly four decades after the first volunteers took up the hook and ladder.
End of an Era
The era of hand-rolled cigars fades as mechanized production takes over, closing many of the local cigar factories including the Kovanda and Foster works.
The C.S.A. Era
The national C.S.P.S. merges with four other organizations to form the Czechoslovak Society of America (C.S.A.); the local lodges adopt the new name.
The “Long Island Express”
The Great New England Hurricane devastates Long Island. In Bohemia it destroys barns, greenhouses and crops, dealing a major blow to the local agricultural industry.
Rose Emer at the World’s Fair
Local resident Rose Emer represents the town’s button industry at the New York World’s Fair.
MacArthur Airport
The U.S. Army contracts the building of an airfield (originally Islip Airport) to support the war effort. It is later named for General Douglas MacArthur and transforms the geography of the hamlet.
The “Lidice” Proposal
Residents propose renaming the village “Lidice” in honor of the Czech town destroyed by Nazi troops. Like earlier proposals (North Sayville, MacArthur), it fails to win enough support — and Bohemia keeps its name.
The Button Factory Fire
The Math & Hrouda pearl button factory on Karshick Street is destroyed by fire, marking a turning point in the local industry.
WWII Memorial Dedication
A second monument is dedicated to honor the veterans of World War II.
Centennial
Bohemia celebrates its 100th anniversary. The population is approximately 3,000.
School District Consolidation
Voters approve the consolidation of the Oakdale-Bohemia and Ronkonkoma districts, creating the Connetquot Central School District.
Commercial Flights Begin
MacArthur Airport begins operating regular commercial passenger flights.
C.S.A. Hall Sold
With fraternal membership declining amid suburbanization and changing times, the C.S.A. sells its grand hall, which is converted into apartments. The building still stands on Smithtown Avenue today.
Connetquot High School
Connetquot High School opens its doors.
The Schoolhouse Fire
After 71 years as the beating heart of the village, the wooden 1903 schoolhouse on Church Street is destroyed by fire. Its loss removed the last major public link to the cigar days and — a decade later — helped inspire the founding of the Bohemia Historical Society. The original iron bell survived the collapse and is preserved today.
Connetquot Public Library Opens
The library originally opened in a temporary location, with over 1,000 residents signing up on the first day.
The Bicentennial
Bohemia wears its patriotism on its sleeve. Fire hydrants along Smithtown and Locust Avenues are painted as colonial figures and revolutionary soldiers, and the Fire Department leads Bicentennial parades larger and more elaborate than any the town had ever seen.
A Permanent Library
The permanent Connetquot Public Library building on Ocean Avenue officially opens.
A New Era for St. John’s
The cornerstone is laid for the new, larger St. John Nepomucene Church building to accommodate the growing parish, standing alongside the historic original structure.
Historical Society Founded
The Bohemia Historical Society is established to preserve the hamlet’s unique Czech heritage and artifacts.
War Memorial Rededication
The community gathers to rededicate the War Memorial, adding new stones to honor those who served in Korea, Vietnam, and later conflicts, ensuring all generations of veterans are remembered.
Hurricane Gloria Strikes
One of the most damaging storms to hit the area since 1938. Winds severely damaged the roof of the Islip Town Police Station in Bohemia and damaged hangars at MacArthur Airport. Thousands of residents were without power for up to two weeks.
St. Luke’s Closes
After more than a century of Episcopal worship in Bohemia, the final Holy Eucharist is celebrated at St. Luke’s. The building continues as a house of worship, today home to the Bohemia Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Southwest Airlines Arrives
Southwest begins service at ISP, a modern turning point that significantly increased travel options and economic activity for the hamlet.
150th Anniversary
The town celebrates its Sesquicentennial with a “Happy Birthday Bohemia” parade and an ecumenical service honoring the original founders.
BHS Museum Dedication
The BHS Museum at 1519 Locust Avenue officially opens to the public.
Church Fire & Resilience
An electrical fire guts the interior of the historic 1885 “Little Church,” destroying eight of its nine original stained-glass windows. The frame is saved by the Bohemia Fire Department with mutual aid from five neighboring companies, and the building is later restored with a new copper roof and stucco façade.
Superstorm Sandy
Six months after the church fire, Sandy roars across Long Island. Bohemia’s inland elevation spares it the coastal flooding, but the wind topples thousands of trees — many standing since the town’s agricultural days — taking the power lines with them. The village goes dark for over a week while neighbors clear roads and share generators.
Connetquot’s Golden Anniversary
Connetquot High School marks 50 years, with alumni from five decades returning to the halls. What began as a contested 1960 merger had permanently bound Bohemia, Oakdale and Ronkonkoma together under the Thunderbird banner.
125 Years of Service
The Bohemia Fire Department celebrates its 125th anniversary — an unbroken line of service from the original volunteers of 1893 to a modern, high-tech force — marked with a gala installation dinner and a renewed push for recruitment.