Originally called New Street and then Pleasant Avenue, Scudder Avenue was laid out around 1869 and connected South Bayview Avenue (now Woodbine Avenue) with Reservoir Avenue. The road ran through land owned by Captain Henry Joel Scudder and upon his death in 1887, fell to his son, Edward M. Scudder. Edward would later parcel out the land, and sell it in lots.

The first record of a Scudder living in Cow Harbor was that of Thomas Scudder, who was born in Kent, England in 1624. He first emigrated to Salem, Massachusetts, but later settled on the North Fork in Southhold, Long Island. He then moved west on the island and helped found the Town of Huntington. There he married Mary Ludlam and they had seven children.

One of their sons, Timothy Scudder, born in 1668, owned extensive lands in Crab Meadow and when he died in 1740, he bequeathed them to his son Timothy Scudder II.

Timothy Scudder II married Mary Whitehead and they had eight children, including Henry Scudder, born in 1743 and Joel Scudder, born in 1746. Both sons would distinguish themselves in battle during the struggle for freedom from British rule. 

Henry Scudder, a resident of Crab Meadow, became a Lieutenant serving in the Revolutionary War. He was captured by the British after the Battle of Long Island, paroled in a prisoner exchange, and then became an elusive spy for the Continental Army. His drawing of a map of British Fort Slongo (Salonga) helped launch the surprise attack and secure a victory for the American forces. After the war, he was chosen as a delegate from Suffolk County to aid in the adoption of the Constitution.

Henry’s brother Joel was also a Lieutenant and fought at the disastrous Battle of Long Island. He too was captured by the British, and was thrown into the bowels of the infamous prison ship The Jersey where he died of fever.