FAMILY HISTORY
Founder Frederick H. Heidtmann was born in New York in 1877 to German immigrants. In 1902, at the age of twenty-five, he started the Long Island-based building company now owned by his great-grandsons.
Frederick H. Heidtmann was a respected leader, both professionally and within his community where he served as the mayor of Floral Park. His son, Henry Heidtmann, brought the family to the North Fork, where he had a summer home in South Jamesport.
The Heidtmann business has always stayed in the family, initially being passed down to Heidtmann’s son, Henry G. Heidtmann (1945-1971), followed by his grandsons Glenn F. Heidtmann & Henry G. Heidtmann, Jr. (1972-1995), and now great-grandsons Glenn F. Heidtmann, Jr. and Jeffrey W. Heidtmann. During this timespan, the family has seen an evolution of the building industry.
In the early 1900s construction work was done by hand with manual tools. With the exception of the steam shovel excavators, there were no automobiles or heavy equipment to speed the process. Horse drawn trailers brought materials and equipment to job sites, in lieu of the trucks and trailers you’ll see today. Buildings were a display of quality manual craftsmanship, and took painstaking months and years to complete.
Modern advancements have allowed builders to work faster and more accurately, but the Heidtmann legacy of a strong work ethic and top caliber quality ensured that Heidtmann & Sons would remain a continuing symbol of success and accomplishment.
High-end residential and commercial projects have long been at the forefront of the Heidtmann business. A type-written project inventory from decades ago lists banks and churches throughout Long Island.
More recently, the East End has become a stronger focus, with visible projects such as the Bridgehampton National Bank in East Hampton or the Buzz Chew dealership in Southampton. On the North Fork, notable projects would include the Bridgehampton National Bank building on Front Street in Greenport, 1670 Furniture House in Southold and the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library.
Building memorable structures is clearly the foundation of the Heidtmann business, and they will continue to shape their legacy for this generation and the next.