Photo of Samuel Coles Jackson, First, from Jackson Family History, by J. Montgomery Seaver. P. 11 Courtesy of the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/jacksonfamilyrec00seav/page/n7/mode/2up
Samuel Coles Jackson (1827-1890) was an entrepreneur and landowner who was a member of the prominent Jackson family of Newtown in the present-day Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst areas of Queens. Jackson was the final owner of Jackson Mill, which was located at what is now the entrance to LaGuardia Airport where 94th Street crosses the Grand Central Parkway. First built in the mid-1650s by Dutch settlers, the mill was in operation until 1870.
Jackson was one of three sons born to Thomas Birdsall Jackson and Martha (Coles) Jackson. Thomas was a lawyer, judge, and politician who served in the United States Congress from 1837 to 1841. In 1835, the family moved to Newtown to an area called Fish’s Point near Flushing Bay. The mill on their property, which was used to grind wheat and corn, was known by three names over the course of its more than 200 years in operation, including Kip’s Mill, Fish’s Mill, and finally, Jackson Mill.
Once known as Trolley Triangle for the trolley that ran through the area, Jackson Mill Green is located at the intersection of 94th Street and Jackson Mill Road, between 23rd and 24th Avenues. Originally opened in 1950, the park was renamed as Jackson Mill Green in honor of Samuel Coles Jackson in 1997.
"Jackson Mill Green," New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, accessed August 19, 2025, https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackson-mill-green/history
History of Queens County, New York : with Illustrations, Portraits, and Sketches of Prominent Families and Individuals, via Internet Archive, accessed August 19, 2025, https://archive.org/details/historyofqueensc00unse/page/n431/mode/2up?q=%22Jackson+Family%22&view=theater
“Samuel Coles Jackson memorial,” FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193555208/samuel_coles-jackson
“JACKSON, Thomas Birdsall,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed August 19, 2025, https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/J000027
Sergey Kadinsky, “Jackson’s Mill Pond, Queens,” Hidden Waters Blog, April 20, 2016, https://hiddenwatersblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/jacksons-mill-pond-queens/
Kevin Walsh, “Jackson Mill Road Tracks,” Forgotten New York, August 15, 2010, https://forgotten-ny.com/2010/08/jackson-mill-road-tracks/