Jackson Heights is named after Jackson Avenue, itself named after John C. Jackson.
Until 1909 the area was a marsh called Trains Meadow. That year Edward A. MacDougall’s Queensboro Corporation bought the land and named it after Jackson Avenue, today’s Northern Boulevard; ‘Heights’ echoed the prestige of Brooklyn Heights. Roosevelt Avenue, formed in 1917 by combining other streets, honours President Theodore Roosevelt; some sources add Franklin D. Roosevelt.