Boulevard Avenue renamed after the Greenlawn’s Pickle King
To honor Greenlawn’s famous historical resident, Samuel Ballton, also known as the Pickle King, the Town of Huntington renamed Boulevard Avenue after the former slave on Wednesday, June 16, ahead of the Juneteenth holiday.
Members of the town’s African-American Historic Designation Council and ancestors of Ballton gathered with town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) and others to commemorate the contributions made by Ballton that aided in the development of the hamlet in the 19th century.
“He was a self-made man,” said Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D). “He represented entrepreneurship, skill and goodness, all during a time when the odds were stacked against him.”
As the crowd counted down from 19 to pay tribute to Juneteenth, Carl Ballton — Samuel Ballton’s great-great-grandchild — pulled off a cover to reveal the new street sign for the road that will now be known as Samuel Ballton Way.
Despite being born into slavery on a Virginia plantation in 1838, Ballton was able to flee from his confinement and rescue his wife, Rebecca, making his way up to Greenlawn in 1873.
“The first thing that impressed me about Sam was the love he had for his wife Rebecca,” Carl Ballton said. “It was a love that caused him to risk his life to free her from slavery. He was a great family man.”
After he arrived in the Huntington area, Samuel Ballton worked as a tenant farmer for Alexander Gardiner, a wealthy landowner who farmed cucumbers.
With Gardiner’s help, Ballton was able to save up enough money to purchase his own farmland, where he would eventually become one of Huntington’s most influential cucumber farmers.
Growing over a million and a half cucumbers for pickling in one year, Ballton rightfully earned his unofficial title as the Pickle King.
“We often get asked, why pickles?” said Town Clerk Andrew Raia (R). “Well, back in the day, the largest farmers market was in Queens and thin-skinned vegetables could not survive the two-to-three-day carriage ride in the hot sun. So, Sam and others came up with the idea of pickling their produce.”
Pickled cucumbers were the main reason why Ballton’s produce stood out when brought to market. His produce had the capability to last months, instead of going bad in just a few days.
Sadly, a blight soon attacked Huntington’s farms, ruining the town’s crops, but Ballton was able to find a variety that was resistant to it and shared it with his community.
“In today’s day and age, I’m sure that scientists would make you pay a lot of money to get that strain, but not Sam,” Raia said. “Sam gladly showed other farmers how to plant their crops. For Sam, it was always about community.”
Even today, Huntington is still known for its pickles and cabbages. Every September, Greenlawn hosts a pickle festival to educate residents about the history of farming in Huntington.
