On 1/9/03 (11:51:08 AM MST), Albert Somers ([email protected]) asked, "My G-Grandfather and family are listed in the 1900 census as living in "Westbury Station". He died on June 8, 1900 as having died in "New Cassel". Would this area be considered one and the same? or Are they seperate areas?" Not exactly. The Hamlet of New Cassel was most probably within the borders of "Westbury Station", along with other areas. Currently, New Cassel is one of those many communities on Long Island where none of the places in New Cassel have a "New Cassel, NY" mailing address. All places in the Hamlet of New Cassel are in the "Westbury, NY 11590" postal zone. What confuses many people is that the majority of places with a "Westbury, NY" mailing address are NOT in Westbury! According to my calculation, more than two out of every three places with a "Westbury, NY" mailing address are NOT in the Village of Westbury and almost half the places with a "Westbury, NY" mailing address are NOT even in the Town of North Hempstead Quickly eyeballing the map overlay of the "11590" postal zip code versus village and hamlet borders, all or parts of the following 7 communities seem to be within the borders of the Westbury postal zone and hence all or some of the places in these communities have a Westbury, NY" mailing address: ......Hamlet of Jericho, Town of Oyster Bay ......Hamlet of Hicksville, Town of Oyster Bay ......Hamlet of Carle Place, Town of North Hempstead ......Village of Westbury, Town of North Hempstead ......Hamlet of New Cassel, Town of North Hempstead ......Hamlet of Salisbury, Town of Hempstead ......Hamlet of East Garden City, Town of Hempstead The pertinent geography: New Cassel is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the extreme southeastern section of the Town of North Hempstead, where the Town of North Hempstead converges with the Towns of Oyster Bay and Hempstead. There are 30 villages (incorporated municipalities) and 17 hamlets all or partly in the Town of North Hempstead. There are 2 cities and 3 towns in Nassau County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of New Cassel in the Town of North Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Village of Westbury, Town of North Hempstead and the Hamlet of Jericho, Town of Oyster Bay (the North Hempstead/Oyster Bay Town line); on the east by the Hamlet of Hicksville, Town of Oyster Bay (the North Hempstead/Oyster Bay Town line); on the south by the Hamlet of Salisbury, Town of Hempstead (the North Hempstead/Hempstead Town line); and, on the west by the Village of Westbury. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Hamlet of New Cassel has a different border than does the postal zone that services its area. In this case, there is no "New Cassel, NY" postal zone. .................................................acres .....Hamlet of New Cassel..............956 .....New Cassel, NY ?????............none All places within the Hamlet of New Cassel are in the "Westbury, NY 11590" postal zone. For those who have their copy of the 2001 LI Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of New Cassel in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County on pages 5 & 6 (map) and 7 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Regards, Walter Greenspan . Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State New York State is divided into counties. County A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided into cities, towns and Indian reservations. City A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Town A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be sub-divided into villages and hamlets. Village A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those of a city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Hamlet A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Postal Zone "City" and "Town" A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town" may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders. Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet location. Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places have a different community name in their mailing address than the community where that place is actually located.