Bohemia Village Voice

In a town called Islip (writes Sophie Fennessey), in the heart of Long Island, New York, lies a community wrought with history and tradition. Here, it is filled with rich European folklore and buried in the midst of Suffolk County. It has been given the name of Bohemia.
LONG ISLAND
The first and original Bohemia however, was established in the Middle Ages in a region of central Czechoslovakia and has been known as such ever since. In 1855, three friends and their wives, who were seeking asylum from the Hapsburgs ruling, founded what was to become Bohemia, Long Island. They were John Vavra, John Kratchovil and Joseph Koula. It is said that they arrived in the woods of Suffolk County on the 5th of March and began to build a settlement for themselves there. Joseph Koula was a cabinet-maker by trade and with the help of the other two men he built each of them a house in which to live.
CIGARS
The six then encouraged fellow family members and friends to emigrate and join them in their new-found freedom and the settlement steadily grew. In 1859, the Eastern European settlers named the newly established community the ‘Village of Tabor’ which, literally translated, means ‘Camp.’ Some time later, due to the majority of the residents being of Bohemian origin, the name was later changed to Bohemiaville to reflect this. Then, at a public meeting in 1894, the name was officially changed once more and conclusively to Bohemia. At this time, many of the earliest settlers were farmers although the first industry of Bohemia was cigar making and by the end of the nineteenth century there were eight cigar factories in both the Bohemia area and neighbouring Holbrook. This continued until 1930 when the Bohemian hand-made cigars were all but substituted by machine made ones, imported from New York City, and the trade was gradually displaced.
CZECH
The European and Czech influence remained strong until the 1960’s when the ethnicity of the area became more diverse and by 1970 Czechs were the fourth largest community in the area. Today, they represent only five per cent of the Bohemian population in Islip although according to the census of 2000, there are around 1,262,527 Americans who consider themselves to be of full or partial Czech descent, in addition to 441,403 persons listing their ancestry as Czechoslovakian.
TODAY
As it stands today, the area of Bohemia has come a long way and now has a total area of 8.8 square miles and a population of around 9,871 with 3,326 separate households. Of these, the average annual income is $65,308 USD, which at today’s conversion rate equates to £32,900 GBP, which is far higher than the UK’s national average, which currently stands at £22,000 per annum.
One hundred and fifty-three years after the dense woodland of Suffolk County was first inhabited, much has changed and progressed. As well as creating a future and a legacy, the three men who started it all also left behind a rich and colourful tapestry of folklore, legend and myth which to this day, enhances the character of Bohemia and adds to its delicate charm and appeal. As well as this, one of the homes built by the three on their first arrival, still stands today as a quiet reminder of the humble beginnings of this modern community.