Manorhaven was incorporated as a village in 1930, after news was spread that Port Washington was planning on incorporating itself as a city. The majority of residents in what would ultimately become the Village of Manorhaven wished to retain home rule, leading to a push to incorporate and a referendum on the matter being held that year. This referendum was held that September 11, with residents voting 34-to-0 in favor of incorporation, and subsequently, on October 1, 1930, Manorhaven was officially established as an incorporated village, with the signing of its certificate of incorporation; its population, at the time, was 376. Later that month, residents elected Charles Wesley Copp as the Village's first Mayor. This ferry – operated by the Port Washington–New Rochelle Ferry Co., Inc. – would run until 1939, when the
Bronx–Whitestone Bridge opened further to the west. Manorhaven's annexation bid was unsuccessful due to the residents in what would ultimately become Port Washington North preferring to incorporate as a separate village; Port Washington North ultimately incorporated as its own village one year later, in May 1932. Between 1939 and 1940, Manhasset Bay was used as the New York base of
Pan American World Airways' transatlantic
Boeing 314 flights, prior to the opening of
LaGuardia Airport's
Marine Air Terminal, with the airport's hangars and terminal located within Manorhaven, at Toms Point on Manhasset Isle, near the southern edge of the village; the facility was subsequently used by
Grumman, following the Marine Air Terminal's opening. Although the seaplane hangars at Toms Point were eventually demolished,
the seaplane base is still in use, with the airport's current iteration being activated in 1948. In 1944, Nassau County announced that it would reconstruct
Shore Road through the village, widening it to and eliminating dangerous curves. In 1948, Manorhaven residents and officials debated whether to join the
Port Washington Police District, and for the Port Washington Police to subsequently take over police operations in the village from the
Nassau County Police Department. The proposal was rejected by residents, with the majority of village voters opting for the village remain under the Nassau County Police Department's jurisdiction. The construction and completion of this municipal building came after village officials the proposal was raised by village officials – a proposal which dated back to the village's formative years, in the early 1930s. In 1982, the Village of Manorhaven annexed approximately of territory from unincorporated Port Washington. In 1984, Manorhaven residents and officials again debated whether the village should join the Port Washington Police District.
Etymology The name of the village was selected by locals, who felt that the
portmanteau of "Manor" and "Haven" formed a name name that appropriately reflected the feel and nature of the community and its environs. The locals opted to combine the two words, resulting in "Manorhaven" becoming the village's name. Thus, the name of the village is a portmanteau. ==Geography==