Community Corner
History: Horse Thieves Raid Babylon Barns
Four horses, harnesses, wagons and a carriage were among the items taken.
A gang of rustlers staged a November morning raid on local barns back in 1901 getting away with four horses, harnesses, wagons and a carriage in a theft that made it into the pages of the New York Times.
The thieves were bold, first robbing the barns of Jacob O. Smith and John D. Oakley in North Babylon of two horses and then making their way over to West Babylon to steal a carriage and harness from the stable of Smith A. Muncey.
“They then went to the stables of a hotel a mile from here and secured two more horses, one of them belonging to Mrs. Cornelia Healey, the proprietor,” reported the New York Times.
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The incident was also reported in the Brooklyn Eagle.
“There is no direct clew (sic) to the thieves but they are known to have driven in the direction of Brooklyn,” that paper reported. “The police authorities at Jamaica and Brooklyn have been telegraphed to and it is hoped the thieves will be captured.”
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It is not know if the thieves were ever found.
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