James P. Nolan Sr. met Anne, the woman who would become his wife, when they were both registered nurses at the Kings Park Hospital. James eventually left the hospital to attend the American Academy Institute of Funeral Service. He obtained his funeral directing license and completed a residency at Clayton Funeral Home in Kings Park in 1947.
A year later in 1948, James and Anne went into business for themselves, opening Nolan Funeral Home on Laurel Avenue. Through hard work and a commitment to service, James and Anne were successful and expanded the original building in 1958.
Soon after, their eldest son Jim Jr. began to work at the funeral home, followed by his brother Peter in 1963. (Peter Nolan served as Mayor of Northport from 1978-1998.)
In 1968, ten years after the first renovation, the building was once again expanded- and stands today at the corner of Laurel Avenue and Main Street. |
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Look closely at the sign below the store window on the lower right
The first “undertakers” in the Village of Northport were found at the establishment of S & G A Robbins furniture store on Woodbine Avenue around 1894.
George A. Robbins and his nephew Samuel served the community until George’s mysterious and untimely death in 1899. Samuel took over the business and his son, Harry T. Robbins joined him. He renamed the firm S. Robbins and Son. |
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Taylor-Howe Funeral Home at 81 Scudder Avenue, circa 1970. The house was remodeled in the 1930s
By 1935, Harry Taylor and his partner Robert Davis managed the funeral home and decided to move the business into the old Benjamin T. Robbins (no relation) house at 81 Scudder Avenue. This became the first building dedicated solely for use as a funeral home in the town of Huntington. (It was also the first home in the Village to have indoor plumbing!) In 1946, Harry Taylor bought out his partner and changed the name to Taylor Funeral Home.
Harold Howe, a funeral director from Freeport moved to Northport in 1963 and began working with Taylor eventually buying the business from him in 1968 and changing the name to Taylor & Howe Funeral Home. |
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From left to right: Peter Nolan, Harold Howe, and Jim Nolan Jr. in 1988
| At the Corner of Main and Laurel |
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In 1981, Howe merged his business with Nolan Funeral Home on Laurel and the name was changed to Nolan & Taylor-Howe.
In the summer of 2018 Mark Nolan, the son of Jim Jr. bought the business from his Uncle Peter and changed the name back to Nolan Funeral Home- which still stands today at 5 Laurel Avenue. |
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Nolan Funeral Home is a Business Member of the Northport Historical Society. To learn more visit their website at: https://nolanfh.com/home/. If you’d like to support the Society and become a business member, please visit our website: northporthistorical.org or email [email protected] for more information and to learn about our exciting member benefits.
