Julius M. Braunsdorf -- Father of Pearl River

Many of us who grew up in Pearl River knew that Braunsdorf was the inventor of outdoor lighting and might have invented the light bulb before Thomas Edison, but few of us know how much he did for our home town. He had moved to the area in 1864 from NYC although he was born in Prussia, in 1870 he bought a couple of hundred acres of what is now downtown Pearl River. He donated land for the railroad and donated the money and property for the present brick station. He designed the street layout and donated the land for Central Avenue that went through the center of his property. His idol was Benjamin Franklin and he named Franklin Street for him. William, John and Henry Streets were named after his sons.