General Nathaniel Woodhull
1722–1776 • Revolutionary War patriot, NY Provincial Congress president, and Hollis school namesake
General Nathaniel Woodhull was not a Hollis resident, but his name became part of Hollis history. A Long Island patriot, president of the New York Provincial Congress, and brigadier general of the New York militia during the American Revolution, Woodhull died from wounds suffered after his capture by British forces in 1776. In Hollis, his memory lived on through Woodhull Avenue, the Woodhull school tradition, and the educational institutions that carried his name into neighborhood life.
A Long Island Patriot
Nathaniel Woodhull was born on December 30, 1722, in Mastic, Long Island, into an established colonial New York family. He entered public life long before the Revolution. During the French and Indian War, he served in the New York provincial forces, gaining military experience that later made him a natural choice for command when the colonies moved toward open conflict with Britain.
As tensions with the Crown intensified, Woodhull aligned himself with the patriot cause. He represented Suffolk County in colonial political bodies and became a leading figure in the revolutionary government of New York. In 1775, he was elected president of the New York Provincial Congress, helping guide the colony through the dangerous transition from protest to rebellion. He also served as the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York Masons, a position of significant influence in colonial society.
The Crossroads of Defiance: Carpenter's Tavern
In August 1776, following Washington's devastating defeat at the Battle of Long Island, General Woodhull was ordered to lead the Queens and Suffolk militias to drive regional livestock eastward, depriving the advancing British forces of vital provisions. On August 28, 1776, a severe summer thunderstorm swept across the uninhabited hillsides of East Jamaica, forcing Woodhull to seek shelter. He took refuge at Carpenter's Tavern — a historic inn built in 1710 that stood until 1921 at what is now the modern intersection of 197th Street and Jamaica Avenue, right in the heart of Hollis.
It was here that British Light Dragoons and the 71st Highlanders surrounded and ambushed the General. Confronted by Captain James Baird, Woodhull was ordered to declare allegiance by saying "God save the King!" According to tradition, Woodhull refused, replying instead, "God save us all!" In retaliation, Baird and his men struck Woodhull down with repeated saber blows, inflicting severe head and arm wounds that would later become infected, leading to his death aboard a British prison ship in New York Harbor on September 20, 1776.
Whether every word of the legend can be documented or not, the reason it endured is clear. The story captured what later generations wanted Woodhull to represent: a man who would not surrender his conscience, even when defeated physically.
The Neighborhood That Almost Bore His Name
The relationship between General Woodhull and Hollis goes far deeper than a historical marker. When real estate visionary Frederick W. Denton first purchased and developed these scenic, rolling hills in 1884, he originally sought to name the entire community "Woodhull" to permanently enshrine the General's legendary stand at Carpenter's Tavern. However, because a municipality named Woodhull already existed in upstate Steuben County, Denton was forced to pivot, instead naming the neighborhood after his own birthplace of Hollis, New Hampshire. Even so, Woodhull's legacy remained the spiritual bedrock of the new community.
A Name Given to Teach Character
When a school or street carries the name of Nathaniel Woodhull, it is not simply honoring a military figure. It is preserving a civic lesson about courage, public responsibility, and sacrifice during the founding struggle of the nation.
That is why the Woodhull name matters in Hollis. It connected neighborhood children and families to a Revolutionary War story rooted in Long Island and Queens.
The School That Carries His Name
Throughout the 20th century, Woodhull's name continued to champion local education. The Woodhull Day School, operating out of St. Gabriel's Parish Hall on Woodhull Avenue in Hollis, carried General Woodhull's name into the twentieth century. By 1939 it enrolled over one hundred students and was known as "a school where character is built." The school's founders understood that naming an educational institution after a man who died for his principles was itself a statement of values.
Today, that educational legacy is carried forward by P.S. 35Q Nathaniel Woodhull School on 191st Street, ensuring that every schoolchild in Hollis grows up walking alongside the memory of a true American patriot. The school is one of the threatened historic sites listed in HPA's preservation petition. Its existence proves that Hollis was not only a residential community but also a place where history was taught, remembered, and honored through the very name above the schoolhouse door.
Revolutionary Memory Ledger
Nathaniel Woodhull's legacy connects Long Island, the American Revolution, Queens, and the educational memory of Hollis:
Nathaniel Woodhull's Hollis connection belongs to the neighborhood's school and street-name legacy. His life and death belong to Revolutionary Long Island, but his name became part of Hollis through Woodhull Avenue, the Woodhull school tradition, and the civic ideals those names were meant to teach. The ground where General Nathaniel Woodhull shed his blood for American liberty is the very ground threatened by rapid, historically insensitive demolition today.
At a Glance
- Full name
- Nathaniel Woodhull
- Born
- December 30, 1722, Mastic, Long Island, New York
- Died
- September 20, 1776, aboard a British prison ship, New York Harbor
- Revolutionary role
- President of the New York Provincial Congress (1775–1776); Brigadier General, Continental Army
- Earlier military service
- Served in the New York provincial forces during the French and Indian War
- Freemason leadership
- First Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York
- Captured
- August 28, 1776, at Carpenter's Tavern (197th Street and Jamaica Avenue, Hollis)
- Famous reply
- "God save us all" — refused to say "God save the King"
- Hollis naming
- Frederick W. Denton originally wanted to name the neighborhood "Woodhull" (1884)
- Hollis legacy
- Woodhull Avenue; Woodhull Day School (St. Gabriel's Parish Hall); P.S. 35Q Nathaniel Woodhull School
- School motto
- "A school where character is built" (1939)
Credits & Archival Acknowledgments
- Stony Brook University Special Collections — Nathaniel Woodhull
- HPA Preservation Petition — Woodhull School Reference
- NYC Public Schools — P.S. 35 Nathaniel Woodhull
- District 29 — P.S. 35Q Nathaniel Woodhull School Information +
- HathiTrust — Journals of the New York Provincial Congress +
- HPA Historical Development Records — Frederick W. Denton and the naming of Hollis
- HPA Notable Residents draft for General Nathaniel Woodhull
- HPA neighborhood framing — Notable Residents of Hollis series
This Legacy Is in Peril
The Woodhull Day School, which bore General Nathaniel Woodhull's name and taught generations of Hollis children "where character is built," is now threatened. The building that housed that school — St. Gabriel's Parish Hall — is listed among the endangered historic sites in HPA's preservation petition. Woodhull Avenue still runs through Hollis, but a street name alone cannot preserve the memory of a man who gave his life for American independence.
Preserving the single-family architecture, streetscapes, and historic footprint of Hollis is not just about zoning — it is about safeguarding a sacred landscape of the American Revolution. Protecting Hollis means protecting the places that carry our history: the schools, streets, and buildings where that history was once lived and taught every day.