1653 
 
 HISTORIC 
 
 1903 
 
 HUNTINGTON 
 
 LONG ISLAND 
 
 N. Y. 
 
When you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever'thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/historichuntingtOOunse 
 
PS 
 
 Press of Redfield Brothers, New York 
 
Introduction 
 
 THIS little volume is produced as a sou- 
 venir of Huntington. It does not pre- 
 tend to be a history. It does not claim 
 to present all the attractions of the good 
 old town. It can be, from its very nature, scarcely 
 more than a suggestion as to what Huntington 
 has been, is, and will be. It is presented as a frag- 
 ment of true history, collected from the most re- 
 liable sources and also as a meagre glimpse into 
 the beauties and advantages which nature has be- 
 stowed upon the region. 
 
 It must be explained that the section which is 
 celebrating in the year 1903 its two hundred and 
 fiftieth anniversary includes not only the present 
 town of Huntington but also the town of Babylon, 
 for this latter town was originally a part of Hunt- 
 ington. It then extended across Long Island, from 
 
 the Sound to the Sea. Within the bounds of this 
 large township are now the villages of Huntington, 
 Coldspring Harbor, Halesite, Fair Ground, Green- 
 lawn, Centreport, Northport, Larkfield, Commack, 
 Elwood, Melville, Pinelavvn, Deer Park, YYvan- 
 dance, Babylon, Lindenhurst, and Amitvville, each 
 of which has been dignified with a separate post 
 office, besides many other settlements and hamlets 
 of equal natural attraction and considerable im- 
 portance. 
 
 This book can only mention some of the con- 
 ditions which have made Huntington what it is to- 
 day. It cannot undertake to mention them all. 
 It merely suggests the reasons why Hunting- 
 tonians can with real pride invite the outside world 
 to look in upon them and see what has been done 
 with the advantages at hand. 
 
11 M akin Land" 
 
" Huntingdon " 
 
 A POST-TOWN of New-York; situated in Suffolk C, 
 Long Island, at the bottom of Brandon harbour, which sets 
 S. by E. from the Sound. It contains about jo dwellings, 
 a Presbyterian and an Episcopal church, but the latter has no settled 
 minister. It is 38 miles E. by N. of New-York, and 133 from 
 Philadelphia." — From Scott's U. S. Gazetteer, Philadelphia, Decem- 
 ber 1st, 
 
 The Author says : " Mileage obligingly furnished by Mr. Patton of the Post-Office. " 
 
BOUTON'S POINT-SEPARATING HUNTINGTON AND LLOYD HARBORS 
 
In the Beginning 
 
 THERE is in the archives at Hague, Hol- 
 land, a report ; a letter of information, by 
 Secretary Van Tienhoven, to the States 
 General of the United Netherlands, 
 dated March 4, 1650. He describes an expedition 
 through Long Island Sound, speaks of various 
 bays and harbors, more especially of Oyster Bay. 
 Then he refers to a bay which he calls Martinne- 
 honck, as follows : " This bay is much deeper and 
 wider than Oyster Bay, and runs westward in, 
 divides into three rivers, two of which are naviga- 
 ble ; the smallest stream runs up in front of the 
 Indian village called Martinnehonck, where they 
 have their plantations. This tribe is not strong, 
 and consists of about thirty families. There were 
 formerly in and about this bay great numbers of 
 Indian plantations which now lie waste and 
 vacant. This land is mostly level and of good 
 quality, well adapted for grain and all sorts of 
 cattle ; on the rivers are numerous valleys of sweet 
 and salt meadows. All sorts of fish are caught 
 there." 
 
 Such is apparently the first written report of 
 the region about Huntington Bay. It is worthy 
 of note here that it was the custom of the early 
 Dutch navigators to call harbors running far in- 
 land rivers regardless of whether the water was 
 salt or fresh. Coldspring Harbor was called 
 " Machaquetack River," etc. 
 
 The country about Huntington Bay was in- 
 habited by the Matinecock Indians, hence the 
 name used by the Dutch : Martinne-honck. 
 
 The town of Huntington was settled in 1653 — 
 250 years ago. The settlers were Englishmen, 
 though nearly all had lived some years in New 
 England, the Bahamas, and many of them also in 
 towns on Long Island. All had left England 
 within twenty years preceding their arrival at 
 Huntington. 
 
 Huntington township was occupied by three 
 tribes of Indians. The Matinicocks occupied 
 the north shore of Long Island from Nissequogue 
 (now Smithtown) River on the east to Scouts or 
 Cow Bay in Hempstead, now North Hempstead, 
 
HOME OF JOHN WOOD, " HUNTER," ONE OK THE ORIGINAL SETTLER 
 
on the west. The Massapeague tribe inhabited the 
 southwest part of the town and adjoining terri- 
 tory on the west. The Secatoguc tribe held 
 land east of these through to the eastern part 
 of Islip. 
 
 The first purchase of land was made by three 
 of the inhabitants of Oyster Bay from " ' Rascokan 
 Sagamore of the Matinnicocks, of the one part ; 
 and Richard Houlbrock, Robart Williams, and 
 Daniel Whitehead, their heirs or assigns, certain 
 quantitie of land lying and being upon Long 
 Island, bounded upon the west side with a river 
 commonly called by the Indians Machaquetack, 
 on the north side by the sea and going eastward 
 to a river called Opcatkowtycke, on the south side 
 to the utmost part of my bounds ; promising, and 
 by virtue hereof I do promise to free the above 
 said lands from all title off and claim that shall 
 be made unto it by reason of any former act ; in 
 consideration of which land the aforesaid Richard 
 Houlbrock, Robart Williams, and Daniel White- 
 head doth promise unto the said Rascokon as 
 followeth : 6 coats, 6 kettles, 6 hatchets, 6 howes, 
 (hose), 6 shirts, io knives, 6 fathom of wampum, 
 
 30 muxes (small brad awls), 30 needles ; further 
 the said sachem doth promise to go, or send some 
 one, in twenty days to show and mark out the 
 bounds, and in case it prove not according to ex- 
 pectation then this writing to be voyde and of 
 none efectt, but in case it be, then this writing to 
 stand in full force, power and virtue. 
 
 " ' Witness our hands the 2th of Aprill, 1653. 
 
 The mark of 
 Richard + Houlbrock 
 Robart + Williams 
 Daniel + Whithead 
 
 " ' The mark + 
 
 of the Sagamore 
 
 the mark + of Hewoikes 
 
 the mark + of Muhama 
 
 the mark + of Syhar.' 
 
 " The marks of 20 other 
 
 Indians are given. 
 
 " On the same day that this deed was given by 
 the Indians to the Oyster Bay men named in it as 
 grantees, the latter assigned all their interest in 
 the premises to certain residents of Huntington, 
 
who became the proprietors and they and their 
 descendants, or assigns, were ever after called the 
 proprietors of the first or ' old ' purchase. This 
 tract from Coldspring Harbor to a brook running 
 into Northport Harbor and from the Sound to 
 about the old country road is about six miles 
 square. 
 
 " The first settlers of Huntington were a body 
 of men, equally distinguished for the soundness of 
 their morals and the purity of their lives. They 
 were characterized by peculiar sternness of prin- 
 ciple, and singular exactness in the discharge of 
 every duty. They looked on every species of vice 
 with a kind of instinctive abhorrence. 
 
 " They brought to this country an unconquer- 
 able repugnance to arbitrary rule. 
 
 " Among the earliest settlers are the names of 
 Tames Chichester, John Conklin and his son 
 Timothy, Robert Cranfield, Jeffrey Este, Isaac and 
 Epenetus Piatt, Jonathon Porter, John Sammis, 
 Thomas Scudder and his brother Henry, 
 Thomas Skidmore, John Smith, John Strickland, 
 John Teed, Abiel, John, Samuel, and Content 
 Titus, brothers ; Joseph Whitman, Thomas Wicks. 
 
 " Jonas Wood, of Halifax, came in 1654, and 
 the next year his father Edman. Edman Wood 
 was an old man and soon died. Jonas Wood, of 
 Halifax, was drowned in crossing the Peconic 
 River, probably in the last part of the year 1663. 
 Jonas Wood, of Oram, was called also Justice 
 Wood because he was justice of the peace. Tim- 
 othy Wood died in Huntington in 1659. 
 
 " Wm. Rogers arrived early with Jonas Wood 
 and Thomas Wilkes (Wicks). He made the east- 
 ern purchase — ' from Cows Harbor brocke to 
 Mesaqnock River —in 1656. 
 
 " Jonathon Rogers, son of William Rogers, ap- 
 pears in the records about the same time. 
 
 " Rev. William Leverick was the first minister, 
 taking charge in 1657-58. The minister was 
 called by the town and paid by the town. The 
 first church was built by the town and, when the 
 population outgrew it, it was enlarged pursuant 
 to a vote in town meeting. A committee was ap- 
 pointed to see that the work was done and a ' rate ' 
 was laid for it. 
 
 " Thomas Fleet came before 1660. He was a 
 large land owner and vessel owner later. 
 
WEST NECK— OVERLOOKING THE BAY AND TRIBUTARIES 
 
" Thomas Matthew s was probably the first mer- 
 chant. He located on the east side of Huntington 
 Harbor before 1660. 
 
 " Stephen Jarvis came from Southold and set- 
 tled as early as 1658 on East Neck. 
 
 " Thomas Brush came from Southold to Hunt- 
 ington in 1656-57. He died soon after 1670 and left 
 children, Thomas, Richard, John, and Rebecca, 
 who all remained in Huntington. 
 
 " John Cory came from Southold about 1659; 
 was town clerk in 1664 and later. 
 
 " John Ketcham held many official positions. 
 
 " Henry Whitney was in Huntington among the 
 first settlers. 
 
 " Robert Williams was a Welchman and a man 
 of intelligence. 
 
 " Jonas Holdsworth was the first school teacher 
 so far as known. 
 
 " One of the first things the people of Hunting- 
 ton did was to establish a school and it was prac- 
 tically a ' free school ' to those residing within the 
 town limits." 
 
PRIMITIVE CONDITION'S ALONG THE BROOKS OF COLDSPRING HARBOR 
 
In Colonial Days 
 
 HUNTINGTON'S first settlers were fully 
 as migratory as their descendants. Many 
 of the prominent settlers had lived in two 
 or three places in New England, some in 
 four, and in a town or two on Long Island before 
 coming to Huntington. Lists of those living here 
 only a few years after the settlement do not con- 
 tain all the names of those who came and lived for 
 a time. 
 
 As a rule the Indians were justly dealt with by 
 the first settlers and there were few difficulties 
 between the whites and the Indians. Though the 
 Indians had given deeds of the lands they had 
 reserved the right to hunt, so that they continued 
 to dwell in their old wigwams and mingled more or 
 less with the whites. They were peaceful. 
 
 It is presumed that many of the settlers came by 
 water, landing at Huntington Harbor. The lands 
 around the harbor and immediately south of it 
 were first settled. Along the highway leading 
 south from the east side of the harbor lived 
 Thomas Scudder, Richard Higbie, John Betts, 
 
 James Chichester, Robert Cranfield, Nathaniel 
 Foster, Stephen Jarvis, Thomas Powell, Isaac 
 Piatt, Thomas Weeks, Jonas Wood, Thomas 
 Whitson, Henry Whitney, Richard Bryant, and 
 Thomas Scidmore. Down East Neck were, 
 among others, Henry Scudder, Jeffrey and Isaac 
 Esty, Mark Meggs, Thomas Fleet, John Jones, 
 Thomas Joanes, and John Finch. At West Neck, 
 John Sammis, Jonas Brush, John Corey, Timothy 
 and John Conklin, Abial and probably John and 
 Henry also Edward Titus, John Teed, Richard 
 Williams, Timothy Wood, and others were build- 
 ing themselves homes. It seems impossible to 
 locate William or Jonathon Rogers. Many of 
 their descendants were in the east part of the town. 
 William Rogers was, as we have seen, one of the 
 purchasers of the " East Purchase " and he and 
 others had one of the ten farms into which it was 
 divided. Jonathon Rogers built a saw mill at 
 Coldspring and in 1691 had a grant to build a grist 
 mill there and was given the iron and mill stones 
 of the old mill. 
 
HEAD WATERS OF THE HARBOR AND THE HILLS OF CENTREPORT 
 
The settlers early secured the services of a 
 minister, the Rev. William Leverich, about 1658. 
 He remained until 1669 when he removed to New- 
 town, Long Island. 
 
 Town meetings in the early period were held 
 at various times when any business needed atten- 
 tion and all business was attended to at the town 
 meeting. Grants of land were made ; contracts 
 were made for the erection of mills, the contract 
 with the schoolmaster, etc., all were made at town 
 meeting. As the population increased it was not 
 convenient for the whole number of citizens to 
 meet two, three, four or more times a year, so in 
 1667 a constable and four overseers were chosen, 
 and after that time one finds " Orders made by 
 Constable and Townsmen.'' One order related to 
 firmg the woods ; another " Ordered that every 
 man having sufficient warning to attend a town 
 meeting shall come to the place appoynted at the 
 time appoynted : and for neglect herein they shall 
 pay as followeth, for not coming at the ower six 
 pence, for not coming at all three shillings, and for 
 goeing away without Leave from the Company 
 twel pence, and on them that is found Delinquent 
 
 and Denies to pay it shall be taken by Destres 
 forth with." 
 
 In 1666 there were 57 freeholders and heads of 
 families, which in 1684 increased to 84. A com- 
 mittee was appointed to enquire as to those who 
 proposed to settle in the town and none were ad- 
 mitted unless approved by the committee. 
 
 As Mr. Leverich had left, the town voted " that 
 the Constable and Overseers should do what they 
 could toward procuring a minister and what they 
 did or procured to be done herein the town would 
 rest satisfied; and- so left it wholly to their dis- 
 posing." 
 
 The men able to bear arms were enlisted in 
 companies under officers chosen by themselves, 
 and " training " was an early institution in Hunt- 
 ington. 
 
 Laws were made requiring every man to pro- 
 vide himself with arms and ammunition for the de- 
 fense of the settlement, for the division of lands, 
 enclosing of fields, regulation of highways and 
 watering places, for the destruction of w''d beasts, 
 collection of taxes, establishment and support of a 
 school, for the prevention and punishment of 
 
INTERESTING SHORE LINE OF LLOYD HARBOR— SCENE OK MANY SKIRMISHES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 
 
crime, the preservation of good morals, the sup- 
 port of a minister. Mechanics were invited, and 
 induced to locate in the town by gifts of land, and 
 promise of support. 
 
 Ananias Carle, of Hempstead, was induced to 
 settle in the town by a gift of a large farm in Dix 
 Hills as he was a military man, and the people 
 needed an officer to command their local militia 
 efficiently for protection against the Dutch. 
 
 The Rev. Eliphalet Jones remained with this 
 people fifty-four years until his death, aged 91, but 
 in 1 719 the Rev. Ebenezer Prime was employed as 
 his assistant, and in 1723 he was ordained and in- 
 stalled as a colleague pastor. 
 
 The early Huntingtonians were very strict in the 
 observance of the Sabbath, and punished any in- 
 hal itant for desecrating the day. 
 
 The women at the close of the seventeenth, and 
 even of the eighteenth century, carried heated 
 stones or bricks to church in their muffs and the 
 men at church put their feet in fur bags or mocca- 
 sins, with which many seats were provided. At 
 a late date foot stoves were used. Swords were 
 customarily worn, when in full dress, by persons 
 
 both in a civil and military capacity. Hats were 
 made with broad brims and steeple crowns. The 
 coats were made with a long, straight body, falling 
 below the knees, with no collar, or a very low one, 
 so that the stock or neck cloth, of spotless linen, 
 fastened behind with a silver buckle, was fully dis- 
 played. Red woolen stockings were much ad- 
 mired. 
 
 Richard Nichols, the first Colonial Governor, 
 convened a meeting of two Deputies from every 
 town on Long Island, at Hempstead, on the 1st of 
 March, 1665. The Deputies from the town of 
 Huntington were Jonas Wood and John Ketcham. 
 The " Duke's Laws " were enacted and put in force 
 at this meeting. The Deputies signed a very ful- 
 some address to the Duke of York, pledging 
 loyalty as his faithful subjects, which did not meet 
 with the approval of their constituents, and on their 
 return to their homes they were handled without 
 gloves by the people, and insulted in various ways. 
 
 Governor Nichols insisted that the town should 
 take out a patent from him. This is dated No- 
 vember 30, 1666. 
 
 The subsequent patents from Governor Dongan 
 
LOW TIDE AT THE HEAD OF NORTH I'ORT HARBOR 
 
and Governor Fletcher were very similar, differing 
 in some minor points, but not in the vital grant. 
 It seemed necessary to have a new patent because 
 the governor had a good fee for granting a new 
 patent. 
 
 In 1723, June 5, when Rev. Ebenezer Prime 
 was ordained, there were 41 members of the 
 church, 14 men and 27 women. Air. Jones, the 
 pastor, is added to the men, making 15. 
 
 The original church was enlarged once. It 
 stood fifty years, till 1715. The first church was in 
 the valley west of the present edifice. The exact 
 position is unknown, but it was beside Meeting 
 House Brook. The second church stood where 
 the present one stands. When the British occu- 
 pied Huntington they drove the pastor from his 
 hoi se, put horses in his stable, bedded them with 
 his unthreshed wheat, destroyed some of his 
 books, tore leaves out of others to spoil them 
 without taking the trouble to destroy the whole 
 book, destroyed one volume of a set to ruin the 
 work, etc. They tore out the seats of the church 
 for firewood, used the church as a storehouse, 
 afterward as a riding school, finally as a stable. 
 
 At last in November, 1782, more than a year after 
 the surrender of Cornwallis, Colonel Thompson, 
 the commander of the garrison here at that time, 
 ordered the church torn down and used the lumber 
 in building Fort Golgotha. The present building 
 was erected on the same site in 1783. 
 
 The church was at first Congregational, it be- 
 came Presbyteiian in 1748, but elders were first 
 elected in 1754. 
 
 The only other denomination to come before the 
 Revolution was the Episcopal, which erected a 
 church in 1750. Other denominations have since 
 built churches in the town. 
 
 A small church edifice was erected on the south 
 side about 1730. There was probably no church 
 organization then. The building was used occa- 
 sionally until 1778, when the British tore it down 
 and removed the lumber to Hempstead to build 
 barracks. When it was rebuilt after the war a 
 Presbyterian Church was organized. 
 
 At an early period a grist mill and a saw mill 
 were erected on a stream called Ireland's Brook- 
 in Amityville. 
 
 As early as June 21, 1774, Hunting-ton, at a town 
 
SALT MEADOWS AND HARBOR— FROM GRIST MILL DAM, COLDSPRING HARBOR 
 
meeting-, put forth her declaration of rights as 
 follows : 
 
 ist. — That every freeman's property is abso- 
 lutely his own, and no man has a right to take it 
 from him without his consent, expressed either by 
 himself or his representatives. 
 
 " 2d. — That therefore all taxes and duties im- 
 posed on His Majesty's subjects in the American 
 Colonies by the authority of Parliament are wholly 
 unconstitutional and a plain violation of the most 
 essential rights of British subjects. 
 
 " 3d. — That the act of Parliament for shutting 
 up the port of Boston, or any other means * * 
 under color of law to compel them or any other of 
 His Majesty's American subjects to submit to Par- 
 liamentary taxation, are subversive of their just 
 and- constitutional liberty. 
 
 " 4th. — We are of opinion that our brethern of 
 Boston are suffering in the common cause of Brit- 
 ish America. 
 
 " 5th. — That it is the indispensable duty of all 
 colonies to unite in some effectual measure for the 
 repeal of said act, and every other act of Parliament 
 whereby they are taxed for raising a revenue. 
 
 " 6th. — That in our opinion the most effectual 
 means to this end is to break off all commercial 
 intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland, and the 
 British West India Colonies. 
 
 " 7th. — And we declare ourselves ready to enter 
 into these or such other measures as shall be 
 agreed upon by a general congress of all the colo- 
 nies * * *. 
 
 "And, lastly, we appoint Col. Piatt Conklin, 
 John Sloss Hobart, Esq., and Thomas Wickes, a 
 committee of this town to act in conjunction with 
 the committees of other towns in the county, to 
 correspond with the committee of New York." 
 
 As it became evident that the British govern- 
 ment intended to coerce the colonies into submis- 
 sion military organizations sprung up everywhere. 
 Of the ist or Western Regiment of Suffolk 
 County, Gilbert Potter, of this tovvn, was lieu- 
 tenant colonel. Three companies were raised in 
 Huntington at first and later two more, and Jesse 
 Brush was a major in the regiment. 
 
 They were about to join the American army 
 when the disastrous battle of Long Island caused 
 them to disband. 
 
IHK BOUNDARY 
 
 HUNTINGTON SOUTH " — OLD OCEAN OKF BABYLON 
 
"Huntington South 
 
 THE portion of the original township of 
 Huntington which is now included in the 
 town of Babylon was formerly called 
 " Huntington South," and while nearly 
 the entire population of this section was favorable 
 to the cause of independence, there were a few 
 who refused to aid in what they regarded as a 
 rebellion against the constituted government. 
 Among this small minority was one Arthur Din- 
 gee. He owned a large tract of land, a part of 
 which is now embraced in the present incorporated 
 village of Babylon. The tract lay on both sides of 
 the Snmpawams road, extending from the present 
 Railroad Avenue north to the nursery of Prince 
 H. Foster. Mr. Dingee appears to have been a 
 decided loyalist, and doubtless acted in accordance 
 with his convictions. 
 
 After the occupation of Long Island by the Bri- 
 tish troops he served as captain of militia, having 
 superseded the captain commissioned under the 
 Colonial government — probably Captain Piatt. 
 There is evidence that Captain Dingee assisted 
 
 with his men as an officer in the British service in 
 1776 and 1777, in the work of constructing a fort 
 at Lloyd Xeck. On August 19, 1779, General 
 Delancy issued an order to Captain Dingee to have 
 two hundred and ten men of the Suffolk County 
 militia parade with their blankets, on Monday, 
 August 23, 1779, to be employed in repairing and 
 constructing the fort at Brooklyn, and to cut, hew, 
 and transport seventy-five thousand pieces of tim- 
 ber, pickets, fascines,- etc., to be used in the work. 
 To this order Captain Dingee returned answer that 
 it was impossible. ( )bviously it was a difficult 
 order to enforce. At that time the loyalists (called 
 Tories) complained that the patriots (rebels) of the 
 town of Huntington were very insolent and were 
 only restrained by the presence of Royal troops. 
 Upon the receipt of Captain Dingee's letter Gen- 
 eral Delancy issued a more positive order contain- 
 ing the following : 
 
 " If the requisition of men and material tor the 
 purpose before mentioned is not immediately com- 
 plied with a detachment of troops will be sent into 
 
ONE OF AMl'l YVILLE'S OLD HOMESTEADS 
 
that district, and every person who shall refuse to 
 contribute his assistance toward a work in which 
 the King's services and the interest of the loyal 
 inhabitants are so blended, shall be turned, with- 
 out distinction, out of Long Island, and their farms 
 will be allotted for the support of those who have 
 suffered for real attachment to government." 
 
 Of course further resistance to the order was 
 useless, and it was generally complied with. Gov- 
 ernor Tryon also, in like manner, many times gave 
 orders to captains of the militia of Huntington 
 town to hive cut, and sent to New York City, 
 large quantities of wood for the use of the British 
 troops. 
 
 About the year 1783, the Legislature of the 
 State of New York enacted the so-called "tresspass 
 act ' by which suits could be brought against all 
 persons acting under British authority who had 
 impressed horses, cattle, men, wagons, or wood 
 belonging to patriotic owners. The law made 
 
 those British agents personally liable for acts 
 which, in many instances, they could not avoid do- 
 ing. Besides, those involuntary " tresspassers " 
 could be tried in a county in which they did not 
 reside. The year 1783 was the year that tried the 
 souls of the loyalists, as the years immediately 
 preceding had tried the souls of patriots. Mr. 
 Dingee, realizing that the enforcement of the tres- 
 pass act would deprive him of all his property, exe- 
 cuted to his son Selah a warranty deed for all real, 
 and a bill of sale for all his personal property ; and 
 Hed to St. John, Nova Scotia (now New Bruns- 
 wick'). In 1792 he returned to his home on 
 Long Island. Mr. Dingee had spent about eight 
 years in exile, and during that time the enmity to 
 the loyalists had softened to such a degree that he 
 could dwell at his old home on terms of friendship 
 with his neighbors. Mr. Dingee lived a number of 
 vears after his return, and was a liberal contribu- 
 tor to the support of the Presbyterian church. 
 
I OKI KKASKIJN. I.I.OYI) N ECK— AN. IMPORTANT BRITISH OUTPOST IN REVOLUTIONARY TIMES 
 
Fortifications in Huntington 
 
 HUNTINGTON was the scene of active 
 operations in the colonial period. Both 
 the British and the Continental forces 
 considered this section of sufficient im- 
 portance to warrant attention. The British had 
 several forts within the township, the most impor- 
 tant of which was Fort Golgotha. 
 
 In the fall of 1782 the crowning outrage to the 
 feelings of the patriots in Huntington was com- 
 mitted by Colonel Benjamin Thompson, a Massa- 
 chusetts Tory who was stationed here with six 
 hundred men. Already the old First Presbyterian 
 Church had been torn down and now, although 
 the articles of peace had been drawn up. Colonel 
 Thompson ordered the beams, timber, and planks 
 to be used in the construction of a fort in the 
 center of the village. This he named Fort Gol- 
 gotha. 
 
 The spot honored on July 4, 1903, by the raising 
 of Old Glory has been desecrated by the tread of 
 hundreds of Tory feet. It was this place Colonel 
 Thompson chose as fitting for his fort and one 
 
 which would cause most humiliation to the inhabi- 
 tants. On the top of this hill one hundred grave 
 stones were leveled and the old residents were set 
 to work digging the ditch. An earthwork was 
 thrown up six feet high around the fort, which was 
 two acres in extent. It faced the north and was 
 five rods wide with a gate in the middle. Colonel 
 Thompson erected his own marquee close to the 
 grave of the Rev. Ebenezer Prime, a brave and 
 especially active patriot, in order that he might 
 " tread on the old rebel whenever he went in or 
 out." 
 
 Using the earthwork for one side, the soldiers 
 constructed their barracks of the timber brought 
 from the First Church and the buildings in the 
 vicinity which had been torn down. The tomb- 
 stones were used as tables and ovens, and it is said 
 that many of the people saw the reversed inscrip- 
 tion from the stones erected to the memory of 
 their friends on the bread which the British ate. 
 Some of the gravestones were carted as far as 
 West Hills by relatives of the dead and there 
 
ALL THAT REMAINS OF WEST HILLS STONE BLOCK HOUSE, ERECTED AS A PROTECTION AGAINST 
 
 INDIANS 
 
hidden until the destruction of the fort, after which 
 they were returned to the old cemetery. 
 
 As the war was practically over before the erec- 
 tion of Fort Golgotha, it saw no active service. In 
 1784, after its evacuation by the British, it was. 
 leveled by the people and the material sold at 
 auction. With the proceeds a fence was erected 
 around the parsonage. 
 
 For protection against attack by water there 
 were two forts on Lloyd Neck, one which com- 
 manded the waters at the east side of the neck, and 
 Fort Franklin, on the summit of the high bluff 
 overlooking Coldspring Harbor. Another fortifi- 
 cation was close by the main road, on the summit 
 of Gallows Hill, later called Fort Hill, east of the 
 village. There were some defenses of minor im- 
 portance in the central section of the township. 
 The remains of one of these is still shown on the 
 Place farm at West Hills. 
 
 Fort Franklin was situated upon the high 
 ground at the west side of Lloyd Neck near to the 
 
 west end of Lloyd Harbor. It was a most im- 
 portant point in the days of British occupation. 
 A strong force of His Majesty's men were in 
 charge and with this as a base raids were made 
 upon the surrounding region. Vast quantities of 
 timber and cordwood were felled and the natural 
 resources of this rich country were sadly depleted. 
 Fort Franklin, with its companion earthworks on 
 the east side of Lloyd Neck, at a point command- 
 ing Huntington Bay and its tributaries, offered 
 protection for British ships which, to a consider- 
 able number, were .anchored for varying periods 
 in Huntington and Oyster Bays. 
 
 Colonial forces from Connecticut planned and 
 attempted numerous attacks on these Lloyd Neck 
 defenses and there were some lively actions. The 
 fact that cannonball and heavy shot have been 
 found at numerous points on Lloyd and West 
 Necks gives mute evidence of the genuineness of 
 the family traditions which have been handed 
 down, telling of fierce engagements in this region. 
 
NORTHPORT FROM THE WESTWARD— SPY HILL 
 
Geography 
 
 THE territory embraced in the first town- 
 ship of Huntington, situated thirty to 
 forty miles from New York City, included 
 a strip across Long Island, from the 
 Sound to the Ocean. The township of Babylon 
 has since been formed from the southern part of 
 the area. Hence the two towns are jointly inter- 
 ested in the celebration of the 250th anniver- 
 sary of the settlement. The geographical situation 
 includes a great variety of country. North of the 
 middle section is a range of hills, one of which rises 
 to the highest point on Long Island. Jayne's 
 Hill has an elevation of 421 feet, according to a 
 U. S. government survey. From several of the 
 hill tops one can see Long Island Sound on one 
 side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The 
 northern half of the section is hilly, the southern 
 part almost flat. There are numerous attractive 
 streams and lakes of exceptionally clear water. 
 Many of the hills are heavily wooded and the fields 
 are fertile. The harbors and bays prove wonder- 
 
 fully pleasing, affording delightful facilities for 
 boating, bathing, fishing, and all the salt water 
 recreations. 
 
 On the north side of the region are the villages 
 of Coldspring Harbor, Huntington, Centreport, 
 and Northport, each with a frontage on salt water. 
 Further south are Fair Ground, West Hills, Lark- 
 field, Long Swamp, Dix Hills, Commack, Elwood, 
 Melville, Wyandance, Deer Park, and Half Hollow 
 Hills. Still further south are Pinclawn, Amityville, 
 Lindenhurst, and Babylon. 
 
 The characteristics of the country in the earliest 
 days of occupation by English-speaking people 
 were such as to make it a self-supporting country. 
 The colonists were thus enabled to make a com- 
 fortable living, and found it unnecessary to move 
 on as they had done from other places before 
 reaching Huntington. The development up to the 
 present time has been a gradual and steady growth, 
 and there never was a time when Huntington's 
 prospects were brighter than in the year 1903. 
 
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE OLD TIME GARDENS 
 
Journalism in 
 
 SAMUEL A. SEABURY established the 
 American Eagle in 182 1. In May, 1825, it 
 was changed to Long Island Journal of Phil- 
 osophy and Cabinet of Variety, published by 
 Samuel Fleet. The name was changed in 1827 to 
 Portico. 
 
 The Long Islander was established in 1836 by the 
 
 Huntington 
 
 poet Walt Whitman, whose home was at West 
 Hills. The name has never been changed. 
 
 The Suffolk Democrat was established by Edward 
 Strayhan, a young man of ability, who died soon 
 afterward. It lias passed through many changes 
 of management, and is now called the Suffolk 
 Bulletin. 
 
Captain Kidd Story 
 
 THERE is a story, which has been told so 
 many times in Huntington as the truth, 
 that it is firmly believed, to the effect that 
 one of the members of the crew of Cap- 
 tain Kidd, the famous pirate, escaped from the 
 pirate vessel in Huntington town, bought land, and 
 made his home at Half Hollow Hills. The story is 
 stoutly denied by some historians, but here it is. 
 Take it as gospel truth or not. 
 
 Captain Kidd certainly did visit Huntington 
 town. He was here with, his vessel and his crew. 
 It is alleged that the little sheet of water near 
 Northport, now known as Sweetwater Lake, was 
 in those days an arm of Long Island Sound, nav- 
 igable for large vessels, and Kidd is said to have 
 sought its shelter as a retired and safe anchorage. 
 He is said also to have anchored in Coldspring 
 Harbor. As the story goes, it was when the Kidd 
 vessel was anchored there that Jacob Conklin was 
 sent ashore to get a supply of fresh water. He is 
 said to have been an unwilling member of the crew. 
 Taking advantage of the opportunity to get away, 
 
 he ran into the woods and made his way to the 
 south. A large hollow log is claimed to have given 
 him shelter and cover from the prying eyes of his 
 pursuers. Indeed, it is alleged that the crew of the 
 ship, who came out for him, sat on the very log in 
 which Conklin was concealed and made declara- 
 tions with a great deal of emphasis as to what they 
 would do with him if they should succeed in find- 
 ing the runaway. Night coming on, they gave up 
 the search and returned to the ship. Conklin is 
 then alleged to have made his way toward the mid- 
 dle of the island, following what is now known as 
 " Rogue's Pathway," thence out to Half Hollow 
 Hills. There he met a friendly band of Indians 
 who gave him shelter. 
 
 Conklin liked the treatment received so well, and 
 was so pleased with the character of the local- 
 ity, that he purchased a large tract of land. The 
 fine old homestead, which was erected on a 
 knoll, surrounded by numerous bubbling springs, 
 is still standing and in a good state of preservation. 
 The reeion is now named Wvandance. 
 
WOOLEN MILL AT COLDSPRING HARBOR-THE FIRST IN NEW YORK 
 
Early Industries 
 
 EARLY in the history of the town of Hunt- 
 ington there were manufacturing indus- 
 tries of importance. Grist mills and saw 
 mills were erected at Coldspring Harbor, 
 Huntington Harbor, Centreport, and Northport. 
 There were some run by tide water, others by the 
 power from dammed streams. The only posi- 
 tively unique mill, for no other was ever made to 
 run successfully on the same plan, was the wind- 
 mill erected by Daniel Sammis at Huntington. 
 The old mills at Coldspring Harbor, Huntington, 
 and Centreport, still in use, are apparently good 
 for many more years of active service. Genera- 
 tion after generation of the farmers of Huntington 
 township have had grain ground at these mills and 
 still the great wheels turn. 
 
 For about thirty years, from 1830 till the out- 
 break of the Civil War, the whaling industry made 
 Coldspring Harbor a scene of business activity. 
 The Coldspring Whaling Company, incorporated 
 in 1830, owned eight ships, capacity about two thou- 
 sand five hundred barrels each. The prosperity of 
 
 the whaling business made other lines of industry 
 essential. There was a woolen mill where woolen 
 goods, blankets, and carpet yarn were made for 
 many years. There was a large cooperage shop 
 just over the line in the next town which gave the 
 locality the picturesque name Bungtown. Here 
 the barrels and casks for holding the whale oil 
 were manufactured complete. They were then 
 taken apart and packed aboard the whale ships, to 
 save room, and to be set up when they were 
 needed. Shipyards were erected and vessels were 
 built to engage in the coasting rrade. With the 
 close of the w haling industry the other lines of 
 business failed and to-day the grist mill is the only 
 scene of active industry connected with the good 
 old times. From the first the Jones family has been 
 directly allied with business interests at Coldspring 
 Harbor. Huntington town has had .other inter- 
 esting lines of industry. At one time the place 
 ranked among the first in the country in tl ; manu- 
 facture of silver and gold thimbles. The Primes 
 were connected with this work many years, using 
 
STILL WORKING 
 
 -THE NOTED POTTERY AT HUNTINGTON HARBOR 
 
the power from Meeting House Brook to turn the 
 wheels. 
 
 At one time Huntington sent large quantities of 
 bread as far west as New York and as far east as 
 Port Jefferson. Large quantities of live stock 
 were raised for the purpose of supplying the mar- 
 kets of New York and Brooklyn. In later years 
 shell fisheries have taken a far more important 
 position commercially, and oysters, clams, and 
 scallops are now shipped from Huntington waters 
 in great quantities every year. 
 
 The shipment of screened sand and gravel from 
 the beaches along the shores of Long Island 
 Sound and the bays has developed into an impor- 
 tant source of revenue. Huntington materials 
 tin. > form a valuable part of the building materials 
 in all the large cities along the Atlantic Coast. 
 
 Very prominent was the curious wind-mill which 
 for many years was the most conspicuous building 
 in the village, erected in 1825 by Daniel Sammis, 
 near the Methodist Church, Main Street ; a big 
 wooden eagle which surmounted the tall shaft was 
 a roughly carved image and is still in existence. 
 The purpose for which the mill was erected is told 
 
 in this circular issued the year after the mill was 
 started: 
 
 WIND-MILL 
 The public are respectfully informed, 
 that the 
 
 Saw Mill 
 
 of the subscriber is now in operation where he will 
 keep on hand and for sale, all kinds of wagon tim- 
 ber, white oak plank and boards, ash plank and 
 white wood boards, oak lath, chestnut rails and lath 
 for picket fence, white walnut plank for mill cogs; 
 all kinds of timber taken for sawing delivered at 
 
 the Mill 
 
 He will keep pine timbers for piazza columns, 
 and will turn them at the shortest notice ; also, he 
 will cut wood screws, and keep on hand turned 
 broom-handles, at two dollars and fifty cents a 
 hundred. Daniel Sammis, 
 
 Huntington, Dec, 21, 1826. 
 
 It became the favorite playhouse of boys who 
 to-day are sedate business men. Every Saturday 
 or other holiday, when there was breeze enough 
 to make the huge wheel revolve, boys were 
 
HUNTINGTON TIDE MILLS 
 
found on the outer rims or on the roofs over the 
 journals of the big upright shaft. 
 
 The wheel was about fifty feet in diameter, ele- 
 vated at forty to fifty-six feet according to position 
 of the rider, whether in the lower or upper rim. 
 The wheel which gave the power was suspended 
 from a central shaft, seventy-two feet high, built 
 in two sections. The lower part was of pine, 
 twenty-two inches in diameter at the bottom and 
 thirty-nine feet long. The upper section was of 
 white oak, thirty-three feet long and eight inches in 
 diameter at the top. Between the two rims, which 
 were carefully braced, were eighteen sails. They 
 
 were so arranged with weights attached to wires 
 that they feathered when coming into the wind and 
 filled when going before it. They swung with 
 sudden jerks and the boys had to be careful in rid- 
 ing on the rims to avoid places where the sails 
 would swing. 
 
 The upper part of the mill was blown down in a 
 heavy gale about 1867 and since then several 
 changes have been made in the old building. It is 
 a time-honored structure, however, and older 
 Huntingtonians will be glad to see the picture of 
 this old relic, which was taken from an India ink- 
 sketch made by Henry Lockwood. 
 
COLDSPRING TANNERY— KOR GENERATIONS SOLE MANUFACTORY ON DRUM-HEADS IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
Pedagogue's Contract 
 
 FROM the earliest times Huntington has 
 been loyal to the cause of education. Wit- 
 ness the terms of the agreement made with 
 one John Holdsworth, teacher. 
 The agreement verbatim is as follows: 
 "A covenant made the eleventh day of ffebruary, 
 1657, at a corte or towne meeting; betwixt the in- 
 habitants of the town of Huntington of the one 
 p'tie ; and Jonas Holdsworth of the other p'tie, 
 whereby the said Jonas Holdsworth doth engage 
 himself to the said Inhabitants During the term of 
 ffoure yearcs ; to be expired from the thirteenth 
 day of Aprill next ensuing the day of the date 
 hereof, ffor to schoole such persons or children as 
 shall be put to him for yt end ; by ye sd. Inhabi- 
 tants. And likewise the sd. Inhabitants doth allso 
 engage themselves to the said Jonas Holdsworth, 
 for to build him a sufficient house, and to give him 
 with ye said house, a persell of ground ajoining to 
 it, for accommedation thereunto. And, further- 
 more, the said Inhabitants doth likewise engage 
 themselves to pay unto ye said Jonas Holdsworth 
 
 for and in consideration of his sd. Schooling; 
 twenty-five pounds (accompt) and his diat the first 
 yeare ; and allso to allow him what more may 
 come in by ye schooling of any that come from 
 other whars. The said twenty-five pounds is to be 
 paid ye sd. Jonas, as folloarth : Three pounds, 
 twentie shillings in butter at six pence p. pound, 
 and seven pounds two shillings in good, well-sized 
 Merchantable trading wampum, yt is well strung 
 or steand, or in such comodities as will sute him 
 for clothing, these" to be paid him by ye first of 
 October and three pounds twelve shillings in 
 corne ; one-halfe in wheat and the other indian, at 
 three ; and five shillings p. bushcll (provided, yt it 
 be good and merchantable) to be paid by the first 
 of March, and ten pounds, fourteen shillings in well 
 thriving, young cattell, that shall be then betwixt 
 two and foure years old (the one halfe being in the 
 stear kind) these to be Delivered him when ye 
 yeare is expired. And also the two next ensuing 
 years, To pay the sd. Jonas Holdsworth Thirty-five 
 pounds p. yeare ; with ye foresaid aloance of what 
 
IN OLDEN TIMES, "A B C" CLASS-TO-DAY, THE KINDERGARTEN 
 
may come in, by such as come from other places ; 
 the said thirty-five pounds is to be paid as follow- 
 eth (viz., five pounds in butter at six pence p. 
 pound, and ten pounds in such wampum as is 
 above mentioned, or in such comodities as will 
 sute him ; these all to be paid ye first of October ; 
 and five pound in corne ; by ye first of March, the 
 half in wheate and the other in indian, at five and 
 three shillings p. bushel (so that it be good Mer- 
 chantable) and fifteen pounds in well thriving 
 young cattel betwixt two and foure years, the halfe 
 being in ye steare kind ; these are to be Delivered 
 when ye yeare is expired (being valued by indif- 
 ferent men) and the fourth or last yeare to pay ye 
 
 sd. Jonas Holdsworth ffourty pounds in such pay 
 as is above mentioned, according to the measure 
 and quantitie proportionally and at fore sd. times 
 of payment. 
 
 "Allso it is agreed of that firewood bee gotten 
 and brought for the school, when ye seasons shall 
 require it, by such as send their children to school. 
 And the said Jonas Holdsworth shall have liberty 
 for to chuse ffoure men that shall be bound to him 
 for the true performance of the foresaid engage- 
 ments. 
 
 " A rate was laid'for the skull house." 
 All debts, taxes, and other obligations were paid 
 with commodities. 
 
THE ACADEMY OCCUPIED THE SITE OF THE PRESENT SCHOOL BUILDINGS 
 
Educational Record 
 
 THE old academy, which stood at the top 
 of the hill near the site of the present 
 schools, is remembered by older resi- 
 dents of Huntington to-day, but not 
 by the younger generation. It was a com- 
 paratively large building, well in advance of the 
 average school house. It had a reputation that 
 extended far and wide. Many pupils went out 
 from it to take positions of honor and reflect credit 
 upon the institution. Mr. S. O. Lee, now an hon- 
 ored resident of Huntington, was the last in charge 
 of the Academy. When the Union Free School 
 was established the Academy gave place to the 
 larger and finer building which forms a part of the 
 
 present Grammar and High School edifices. The 
 Primary and Kindergarten building was construct- 
 ed later. The academy, according to Mr. Lee, 
 stood nearer to the road than the present struc- 
 ture and possibly encroached on what is now the 
 public highway. 
 
 To Huntington belongs the honor of having or- 
 ganized the first union free school in New York- 
 state. This was done under a special act of the 
 legislature. 
 
 As in the old times, so to-day there is the keen- 
 est interest in educational affairs in Huntington, 
 and the work done in the schools is a source of 
 pride throughout the township. 
 
Huntington's 
 
 MANY famous men have had their homes 
 in Huntington. Some of them were 
 natives of the town. To mention them 
 all would be to exceed the scope of this 
 publication. Perhaps no Huntingtonian achieved 
 greater renown than old Silas Wood. 
 
 The first Silas Wood was a principal agent in 
 negotiating and planning for the settlement in 
 1653, though he did not remove to West Hills, 
 where he settled, until later. The second Silas 
 Wood, son of Joshua Wood, was born at West 
 Hills September 14, 1769. He received a prepara- 
 tory classical education, and, at sixteen, entered 
 Princeton College, N. J., and graduated with 
 hoi or and served for a time as tutor in the col- 
 lege. In 1795, at the age of 26, he was elected to 
 the legislature from Suffolk County and served 
 four years in Johnstown, New York. In 18 13 he 
 was made solcitor in chancery and returned to 
 Huntington to practice his profession. In 1817 he 
 was elected to Congress and was re-elected five 
 successive terms. His speeches in Congress, on 
 
 Famous Men 
 
 the Missouri question, the tariff, commissioners to 
 Greece, etc., were all of eminent ability. While 
 serving in Congress he wrote a history of Long 
 Island and he secured the establishment of a semi- 
 weekly mail service through Long Island, the first 
 to go east of Jamaica. 
 
 He urged the people to patronize the mail, say- 
 ing if it failed to pay it would be withdrawn at the 
 end of a year. He died March 2, 1847, leaving no 
 children. 
 
 OI CHARD CON KLIN was born in Coldspring 
 Harbor in 1756. He was among those who 
 took refuge from the British in New England. He 
 skirmished with the British at the time they took 
 Danvers and was wounded in the hand. He was a 
 prisoner in the British fleet and as such was con- 
 fined in the Barbadoes jail. At one time he was 
 a prisoner on the admiral's ship in New York 
 Harbor ; he escaped and made his wa" to his 
 home at Coldspring Harbor. His return was re- 
 ported and the British attacked the house, firing 
 
through the barred door, where he stood until the 
 rest of the family had escaped to a neighbor's. He 
 then retreated through a swamp and the woods to 
 the shore where his vessel lay. During the War 
 of 1812 he captured a vessel loaded w ith grain and 
 flour for the British. 
 
 While a prisoner on the admiral's ship off Bar- 
 bados, Richard Conklin witnessed examples of the 
 severity of English naval discipline. Two men 
 were sentenced to receive a certain number of 
 lashes on board every ship of the fleet. When 
 they came along side the admiral's vessel one man 
 had died and the other was nearly insensible. 
 
 Captain Enoch Conklin was a brother of Rich- 
 ard Conklin. During the war of 1812 he built a 
 privateer called Arroi<.\ She carried twenty guns 
 afid one hundred and twenty men. In 1814 she 
 was given a commission by the United States gov- 
 ernment. She sailed from the port of New York 
 in September of that year, but neither vessel, cap- 
 tain, nor crew ever returned. Stephen Bernard 
 Conklin was an officer. Captain Conklin left a 
 wife and three children. 
 
 Richard Montgomery Conklin was judge of 
 
 county courts. He was at one time captain of the 
 Huntington militia company. 
 
 /^\NE of the bravest and most stubborn patriots 
 of Huntington was Major Jesse Brush. It 
 has long been said that at one time he alone re- 
 pulsed a party of British who attacked his home. 
 Rather than take the oath of submission he aban- 
 doned his farm and became one of the terrors to 
 the Tories and soldiers stationed in and about the 
 town. 
 
 One of the Tories of that time writes : 
 " A party of rebels have a place of resort at 
 Bread and Cheese Hollow, on a by-road that leads 
 from the houses of two men now in rebellion, viz. 
 Xath'l Piatt and Thos. Treadwell, to that of the 
 noted Sam'l Phillips near the Branch. They ex- 
 tend along the road from said Phillip's to the well- 
 known Piatt Carl's, and have stopped several per- 
 sons on horseback and in wagons and robbed a 
 number of houses in Smithtown and Islip within 
 the last ten days. They are said to be commanded 
 by a rebel, Major Brush, formerly of Huntington." 
 In 1780 he was captured at Smithtown and was 
 
REAR-ADMIRAL HIRAM PAULDING-HIS FITTING MEMORIAL 
 
held prisoner in a New York jail for one month. 
 He was then liberated through the efforts of 
 Henry Scudder. 
 
 The Brush homestead, situated on Lloyd Har- 
 bor, a rendezvous for British and Tories, was the 
 scene of many stirring events. The name Brush 
 was especially hated by the British and no one 
 bearing that name was treated with any consider- 
 ation. 
 
 ' J^O &' ve especial prominence to separate fami- 
 lies in a publication of this character might be 
 considered out of place, but no mention of well- 
 known Huntington families would be complete 
 without reference to the Lloyds, who owned Lloyd 
 Neck, by special grant. It is claimed that Lloyd 
 Neck is the only part of the town that was visited 
 by royalty in the days of English possession. 
 
 EW Huntingtonians achieved greater distinc- 
 tion in government circles than did Hiram 
 Paulding, Rear Admiral, U. S. N. He had a de- 
 lightful home on the shore of Lloyd Harbor, the 
 homestead overlooking- Huntington Harbor. He 
 
 was very fond of his Huntington home, which was 
 beautifully furnished and decorated with trophies 
 from many countries. He was a nature lover and 
 had large numbers of rare trees and plants. His 
 simple and appropriate rough granite monu- 
 ment occupies a place of prominence in the grave- 
 yard, at a place where the visitor may look out 
 over the blue waters which the Admiral loved so 
 well, and on which he did noble service for his 
 country. 
 
 * HE Meade family has furnished many officers 
 to the Navy Department, both as naval and 
 marine officers, who have always served with 
 marked ability and attained high rank. 
 
 JX recent times perhaps no Huntington man has 
 done more to earn the lasting gratitude of his 
 townspeople nor occupied positions of greater 
 prominence and responsibility than Temple Prime. 
 Born of good old Huntington stock he inherited 
 the best tendencies and developed them to the 
 gratification of his countrymen. He represented 
 the United States in diplomatic capacity with 
 
THE PROTESTAN1 EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD 
 
pronounced success. His last years were spent in 
 Huntington, where in a quiet way he put into exe- 
 cution many enterprises which were and still are 
 of great benefit to the community. Educational 
 
 interests were uppermost in his thoughts and 
 endeavors, and his name will ever be linked with 
 the excellent record of the Huntington public 
 schools. 
 
SOME OF NATHAN HALE'S MEMORIALS 
 
Nathan Hale 
 
 AN article written by Stephen Hempstead, 
 Sr., published by the Long Island Star, 
 1827, says : " I was attached to Capt. 
 Hale's Company in Col. Webb's Regi- 
 ment of Continental troops and in his confidence. 
 After the retreat of our army from Long Island he 
 informed me he was sent for by Headquarters and 
 was solicited to go over to Long Island to discover 
 the disposition of the enemy's camp. He said I 
 was to go with him as far as I could with safety 
 and wait for his return." He tells of going as far 
 as Norwalk and of Hale taking passage for Hunt- 
 ington, and of his being captured at " The Ced- 
 ars," Mother Chichester's Tavern. 
 
 .Onderdonk, the historian, says: "Capt. Hale, 
 an American spy, was detected near Huntington 
 and executed in New York." Accounts differ 
 widely, however. The following story of this 
 Revolutionary hero, compiled from authentic 
 sources, has been most carefully written and all 
 points verified by consulting all possible sources of 
 information. 
 
 He was born in Coventry, Conn., June 6, 1755, 
 the sixth son of stern Deacon Richard Hale and 
 his wife Elizabeth. He developed into a large 
 framed youth six feet tall, fond of outdoor exer- 
 cise. He was the best all round athlete in Yale 
 College, which he entered at the age of sixteen 
 years. He was an able debater and was popular 
 with his classmates. His motto was " A man 
 ought never to lose a moment." This was a direct 
 inheritance from his pious and indefatigable father. 
 
 His father intended him for the ministry, but he 
 became a schoolmaster and his first charge was at 
 East Haddam, Conn. His father, on his second 
 marriage, brought into the household a step 
 daughter, Alice. An attachment sprung up be- 
 tween the two which the deacon opposed. Ac- 
 cording to the custom of those days he promptly 
 married her to Merchant Ripley. 
 
 On receipt of news of the Battle of Lexington, 
 Hale, in addressing a mass meeting, advocated 
 marching on to Boston. He joined the Revolu- 
 tionary army. He first saw active service in the 
 
MOTHER CHICS' 
 
 INJM— THE PLACE OF NATHAN HALE'S DISCOVERY 
 
defense of New London. On September 24, 
 through Johnathan Trumbull, he was introduced 
 to Washington. 
 
 While on a furlough he received a captain's com- 
 mission. At about this time it is related that he 
 cut evening prayers to attend a wrestling match. 
 
 Following the evacuation of Boston, a British 
 sloop anchored in the East River. Hale, of his 
 own volition, captured this sloop from under the 
 guns of an English war vessel and conducted her 
 into American lines. 
 
 As he succeeded in his attempt he received 
 thanks and forgiveness instead of censure for his 
 unauthorized action. 
 
 In 1776 Washington, with 14,000 men, found 
 himself awaiting the attack of 25,000 foreign vet- 
 erans. The contemplated British move was of 
 vital importance, as a simultaneous attack from 
 both the North and East Rivers would have des- 
 troyed the American army on Manhattan Island. 
 Washington called his officers together and asked 
 for a spy. Hale, who had been ill, arrived late and 
 was the only officer to volunteer to undertake to 
 secure the desired information. 
 
 Captain John Hull, a close friend of Hale's, ad- 
 vised against it, saying that detection was certain. 
 Dressed as a schoolmaster Hale walked forty miles 
 from Harlem Heights and crossed on the foggy 
 night of September 15, 1776, to Long Island, land- 
 ing in Huntington at a place afterward called " The 
 Cedars," near a Tory tavern kept by Widow Chi- 
 chester. He reached New York in safety, re- 
 mained two weeks within the British lines and 
 undoubtedly secured much valuable information. 
 On his return to Huntington his success in escap- 
 ing detection made him reckless and overconfi- 
 dent. Although in the enemy's country, sur- 
 rounded by British officers and Tories, he 
 attracted attention in conversation with the offi- 
 cers, was recognized by one of the Tories, said to 
 be a relative, and betrayed. Madame Chichester, 
 rushing into the room, declared that a boat was ap- 
 proaching the shore. Hale, throwing all caution 
 aside, rushed out of the tavern and down to the 
 shore, expecting to meet a boat from a patriot 
 ship. He gesticulated and hailed, and discovered 
 when he reached the craft that it was filled with 
 the enemv. Hale was taken aboard the British 
 
MEMORIAL LIBRARY-SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AND NATHAN HALE COLUMN AT THE FOOT OF FORT 
 
 GOLGOTHA HILL 
 
guardship Halifax, Captain Quarne commanding, 
 and thence was sent to General Howe's headquar- 
 ters at New York. His first prison was a green- 
 house connected with the old Beekman mansion, 
 Fifty-first Street and First Avenue. Discovering 
 on Hale drawings of fortifications and details of 
 great importance to the Colonial army, Howe, 
 recognizing the value to be gained by securing 
 Hale's services, offered him free pardon providing 
 he entered the British army. Hale refused and 
 Howe ordered Provost Marshal Cunningham to 
 hang him at daybreak, September 27, 1776. The 
 old jail stood on the east side of City Hall Park, in 
 New York City, under what was later the Hall of 
 Records, and has recently been torn down. 
 
 He was refused writing materials and even the 
 Bib'e by the brutal Cunningham. A guard, how- 
 ever, furnished the desired articles, and Hale spent 
 the night writing letters. 
 
 Cunningham demanded a confession. Hale's 
 reply was in the epigrammatic sentence : 
 
 " I only regret that I have but one life to lose 
 for my country." 
 
 Cunningham at once ordered his negro hangs- 
 man, Richmond, to " swing the rebel off." 
 
 The news was carried to Alexander Hamilton, 
 then captain of artillery, by a British officer under 
 a flag of truce. 
 
 Near the spot where Hale was captured, on the 
 shore of Huntington Bay, a large glacial boulder 
 bearing three bronze tablets, suitably inscribed, has 
 been placed. In the village center, at Huntington, 
 and most appropriately close to the Memorial 
 Building, a shaft of polished marble and a public 
 drinking fountain for man and beast have been 
 erected. Various statues have been erected in bis 
 memory, notably at City Hall PaiK. New York 
 City, and on the Yale campus, Xew Haven, Conn. 
 
WALT WHITMAN, HIS HOME AND HIS INSPIRING OAK 
 
Walt Whitman 
 
 OF the many literary men who have made 
 their homes in Huntington perhaps none 
 lias occupied a more prominent place in 
 the public mind than Walt Whitman, 
 bard of Huntington. Many of the happiest days 
 of his life were spent in the good old town of Hunt- 
 ington, and it is universally conceded that his best 
 work was inspired by the charming surroundings 
 of his simple home at West Hills. Read carefully 
 his " Specimen Days *' and you get not only a fair 
 insight into what was best in his makeup, but also 
 many strong suggestions as to what he found most 
 enjoyable in life. His passionate love of country 
 life was fed by a wealth of attractions, which, odd- 
 ly enough, are practically the same to-day as in the 
 time when the poet roamed through the hills, 
 woods, and orchards. 
 
 The quaint old house in which he made his home 
 is still standing and is still used as a home. The 
 
 arrangements have been changed but little. The 
 old time architecture gives a charm to the house 
 and the little kitchen garden is fenced in, as in 
 many other old-fashioned homes. Not far from 
 his home, near the house of Philo Place, is the 
 grand old oak which Whitman eulogized. The 
 fine old woods, the bubbling springs, the babbling 
 brooks, the broad and fertile fields, which made the 
 poet's heart throb and brought lustre to his eye, 
 are just as beautiful to-day as in the days when 
 Whitman explored them. Admirers of his writ- 
 ings, who make pilgrimages from different points 
 to see his former home and the glorious country 
 surrounding, which moved him to passion, are 
 filled with delight, and it has been said full many 
 a time that there was in Whitman more than mere 
 poetic fancy, surely sound judgment and apprecia- 
 tion of what is really good in life, or he never would 
 have made his home among the hills of Huntington. 
 
THE CROSS ROADS WELL AT COM MACK 
 
Historical Briefs 
 
 IN 1771 there was an outbreak of smallpox and 
 variolus inoculation was practised, in many 
 cases with fatal results. Popular indignation 
 resulted in prohibiting any persons except 
 Dr. Gilbert Porter and Dr. Daniel Wiggins from 
 practising inoculation. A penalty of £10 was im- 
 posed for violation of this order. Patients were 
 inoculated and confined in quarantine. They fully 
 recovered. Dr. Wiggins practised in the Eastern 
 section of Huntington, Dr. Potter at Coldspring 
 Harbor. 
 
 The first fort erected was for protection from 
 Indians in the year 1680. It was destroyed and 
 the materials donated to the town minister. 
 
 A dwelling and 15 acres of cleared land in the 
 early years was worth £10 12s., while two cows 
 were valued at £9 10s. 
 
 The only record of Indian trouble was at Cold- 
 spring in 1681, at the house of John Robinson. 
 The Indians stole guns, tobacco, venison, and rum. 
 
 The white settlers erected at West Hills a stone 
 fort, which they occupied nights when out hunting. 
 
 It was where Samuel Coill's orchard is. It was a 
 solid mahogany building without doors, reached 
 by a ladder. 
 
 About the middle of the eighteenth century there 
 were large quantities of wheat, rye, and corn 
 grown. Five flour mills were in constant opera- 
 tion and saw mills on all the brooks. 
 
 On September 14, 1775, the Provincial Congress 
 sent 100 pounds of powder to the town of Hunt- 
 ington. 
 
 On September 5, 1775, Gilbert Porter, of Hunt- 
 ington, was elected lieutenant-colonel at a meet- 
 ing held at Smithtown. The first three companies 
 of the First, or Western Regiment of Suffolk 
 County, elected their officers at Huntington. 
 
 In the early days Indian sewant pr wampum was 
 used very largely in place of money. John 
 Jacob Astor employed men on Long Island to 
 make it, that he might send it to the Northwest 
 and exchange it with Indians for furs. As wam- 
 pum was made from shells, and immense shell- 
 heaps are found to-day in several parts of Hunt- 
 
I'KoDl CIS OK THE FERTILE SOIL-OE VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THE COLQNISTS 
 
ington town, it is probable that the Huntington 
 Indians were engaged in tins work. 
 
 It was in court that the name " Bungtown " was 
 first used. A woman who was a witness against a 
 Kanaka, who was arrested for disturbing the 
 peace, hesitated when asked where she lived, then 
 answered " Bungtown." The name has stuck to 
 the place ever since. 
 
 Most of the Coldspring Harbor whaleships were 
 very successful, but the " Old Tuscarora " was con- 
 sidered very unlucky. 
 
 Woolen manufacture was begun at Coldspring 
 Harbor about 1700. 
 
 In 1705 Gov. Cornbury wrote to England: " 1 
 am well informed that upon Long Island and Con- 
 necticut they are setting up a woolen manufacture 
 and I myself have seen serge made on Long Island 
 that any man may wear. Now, if they begin to 
 make serge they will in time make coarse cloth, and 
 then fine. * * * I hope I may be pardoned if 
 I declare my opinion to be that all these colonies, 
 which are but twigs belonging to the main tree 
 (England), ought to be kept entirely dependent 
 upon and subservient to England." 
 
 The salt meadows at Coldspring Harbor were 
 " sold at an outcry by an inch of ye candle." The 
 person who bid last as the candle flame expired 
 took the property. This was a general practice for 
 many generations at auction sales. 
 
 Matinecock Indians had a village in Wigwam 
 Swamp (Coldspring Harbor). There was a very 
 large shell heap near Whitewood Point as late as 
 1825. A shell heap of considerable size is on the 
 DeForest property at the present time, partially 
 covered by vegetation, and another is on the west 
 side, near the School of Biology. 
 
 In the early days there were apparent inconsist- 
 encies in Huntington town. Rum was a very com- 
 mon article of trade, yet there was a heavy penalty 
 for drunkenness. There were also penalties for 
 swearing, for lying, and for bigamy. One man 
 was fined for carrying a bag of nual through Cold- 
 spring Harbor " during ye meeting hour." An- 
 other was fined " for driving his steer home on ye 
 Sabbath." 
 
 Many of the early settlers of Coldspring Har- 
 bor were engaged in trading at ports in the Barba- 
 dos, the Carolinas, and the West Indies. 
 
COLDSFRING GRIST MILL AND NORTH FORT " TROUGH " MILL 
 
On April I, 1690, the town trustees voted and 
 consented that there should he laid out fxD acres of 
 land " upon ye north side of ye Wigwam Swamp 
 (Coldspring Harbor) a top on ye hill reserved for 
 a parsonage lot." 
 
 The oldest house in Coldspring Harbor is more 
 than 250 years old. It was occupied during the 
 revolutionary period by Capt. John Rudyard and 
 family. He was the son of Col. Thomas Rudyard. 
 He was the owner of the brig Lucinda, making 
 voyages across the ocean. He was away during 
 the battle of Long Island. When he returned, find- 
 ing that his family had been annoyed by the de- 
 mands of British soldiers, he had three iron bars 
 made for each door of his house. One of his 
 daughters married a British officer and went to 
 Nova Scotia to live, as her husband declared he 
 could not live under the American flag. 
 
 In 1805, when the Rev. Marmaduke Earle, of 
 Oyster Bay, was preaching in Coldspring Harbor, 
 there was a revival of religious feeling. One hun- 
 dred people were immersed in the water of the har- 
 bor in the severe winter. The ice was cut away to 
 permit the impressive ceremony to be performed. 
 
 It is said that the first paper made in America 
 was manufactured at the paper mill at the dam 
 crossing the cove just in front of the old Conklin 
 property at Coldspring Harbor. One of the Conk- 
 lins sent the paper to England and had a Bible 
 printed on it, the first printed on American paper. 
 
 Coldspring Harbor was called by the old naviga- 
 tors Natchaquatuck River. Long Island Sound 
 was called by the Indians Caumsett. 
 
 John Adams built the first mill in Coldspring 
 Harbor, about 1660. 
 
 In 1680 a grant -was made to John Robinson by 
 the town. The next year the Indians broke into 
 his house, rolled out a barrel of rum, stole guns 
 and clothing and so frightened him and his family 
 that they fled in the night to Huntington. 
 
 In 1682 a grant was made by the town to John 
 Adams to build a saw mill; in 1790 to Devine 
 Hewlett to build a grist mill; in 1782 to Richard 
 Conklin to build a paper mill. These were all at 
 Coldspring Harbor. 
 
 Land was first owned in Coldspring 7 T arbor as 
 a homestead in 1665. 
 
 At the first recorded meeting of the trustees 
 
THE OLD GRIST MILL, UAUYLON-NOVV USED FUR MANUFACTURING TOY WHIPS 
 
of Huntington the first business transacted was to 
 declare void an order of commissioners laying out 
 a highway in " Wigwarm Swamp " (Coldspring 
 Village), July 12, 1695. 
 
 The wigwams of Long Island Indians were fif- 
 teen or twenty feet wide and eighty or more feet 
 long, as the families might conjointly require. The 
 frame was made of two rows of poles, bent to- 
 gether and covered with rushes. The bridge was 
 left open for the smoke to escape. This frame was 
 
 interlaced with the bark of trees. Each family 
 had its own fire for cooking and comfort. Their 
 utensils consisted of earthen pots and gourds. 
 
 Jonas Chichester was the last deputy sent to 
 Connecticut from Huntington, in 1663. 
 
 Previous to 1793 there was no post office on 
 Long Island. In 1775 a Scotchman rode a volun- 
 tary post to Huntington. This was a violation of 
 law, but the necessity of the case condoned the 
 offense. 
 
THE G. A. R.'S ANNUAL MARCH OF MEMORIES 
 
The Celebration 
 
 THE occasion of the 250th anniversary of 
 the settlement of Huntington has been 
 seized upon as the proper time for a cele- 
 bration. Uniting the feelings of pride, 
 which are natural under the circumstances, with 
 the patriotic sentiments of the Fourth of July, this 
 date has been selected for the observance. All the 
 people of Huntington have united in the prepara- 
 tions for the event, and there has been a zest in the 
 perfection of plans which from the very first 
 augured success for the undertaking. 
 
 The programme, as definitely arranged in ad- 
 vance, is as follows : 
 
 Friday Evening, July 3. — Reception of old resi- 
 dents in the Central Presbyterian Church ; Colo- 
 nial Ball at the Opera House. 
 
 Saturday, July 4. — Sunrise, gun salute and gen- 
 eral flag raising throughout the town ; meeting of 
 committees in Opera House at 8 130 a. m. 9 a. m. — 
 Parade and flag raising on site of old British Fort 
 Golgotha on Burying Ground Hill by G. A. R. 
 Post, cadet corps of school assisting; dedication 
 
 of cannon donated by U. S. War Department ; 
 singing by school children ; speech by Townsend 
 Scudder. 10 a. m. — Parade. 1 1 a. m. — Histori- 
 cal address by Hon. H. C. Piatt at Opera House. 
 Noon. — Colonial luncheon for guests at Union 
 Club rooms. 1 p. m. — blushing Seventeenth Sep- 
 arate Company's military drill on Main street; 
 escort meet President Roosevelt ; bells ring and 
 cannon salute ; address of welcome by Hon. Wil- 
 liam M. McKinney ; invocation by the Rev. S. T. 
 Carter ; addresses by President Theodore Roose- 
 velt, Mayor Seth Low, William H. Baldwin, Jr., 
 St. Clair McKelway, Thomas P. Peters, U. S. Dis- 
 trict Attorney William J. Young and others ; bene- 
 diction by the Rev. John C. York. 8 p. M. — Band 
 concert. 9 p. M. — Fireworks. 
 
 This to be followed on Sunday, July 5, by a union 
 service of the churches of Huntington village in 
 the First Presbyterian Church, the Rev. S. T. Car- 
 ter, D.D., preaching. 
 
 The following is a list of officers and commit- 
 tees having in charge the celebration of the 250th 
 
BABYLON'S SPLENDID SCHOOL 
 
anniversary of the settlement of the town of Hunt- 
 ington : 
 
 President, Henry S. Brush. 
 
 Vice-Presidents — Walter Jennings, George W. 
 Conklin, Henry H. Denton, Rowland Miles, Carll 
 S. Burr, Jr., J. K. Rudyard, Robert F. Gurney, Ed- 
 ward S. Ireland, William Hirsch, Solomon Ketch- 
 am, Edward Daily, E. Piatt Ackerly, Horatio Hall, 
 Alexander S. Gardiner, Henry P. Carll, August 
 Hecksher, George S. Pearsall, Henry A. Brown. 
 
 Treasurer, Douglass Conklin. 
 
 Recording Secretary, H. A. Baylis. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary, C. P. Rogers. 
 
 Executive Committee — H. S. Brush, Wm, Mc- 
 Kinney, Rowland Miles, N. S. Ackerly, John 
 Smithers, Thomas Young, Rev. J. C. York, Wm. 
 L. Bingham, Chas. Hirsh, H. Irmisch, C. S. 
 Burr. Jr., Wm. Jones, Walter Jennings, Robert de 
 Forest, W. J. Matheson, August Hecksher, John 
 T. Robb, Edward Ireland, R. F. Gurney, H. H. 
 Denton, Horatio Hall, W. Wilton Wood, Edward 
 Daily, Solomon Ketcham, John E. Ireland. J. B. 
 Cooper, S. P. Hildreth, Frank P. Haff, Willard P. 
 Reid, Joseph Irwin, Ansel B. Gildersleeve, A. S. 
 
 Pettit, S. K. Gould, Thomas Aitkin, D. Woodhull 
 Conklin, Allison E. Lowndes, Emmet B. Hawkins, 
 Harry H. Funnel!, Isaac Rogers, George R. Rog- 
 ers, George W. Conklin, Edward Thompson, 
 Charles B. Scudder, Charles 1). Smith, W. 15. Sam- 
 mis, W. Woodhull Sammis, Charles T. Sammis, 
 Henry T. Funnell, Dr. W. B. James, Geo. Taylor, 
 Arthur K. Buxton, C. Von Pustau, W. X. Baylis, 
 E. R. Ackerly, E. A. Sweet, Nelson May, W. E. 
 Truesdell, Grant Hamilton, George Hewlett, 
 Henry Rogers, Ira 1!. Young, Edward Carll, W. 
 H. Monfort, Oliver Carll, I). P. Morse, John J. 
 Robinson, J. P. Kane, J. A. Fckert, James Moffeti, 
 Sidney Smith, F. Augustine Dowden. T. Edward 
 Dowden, Carll Jackson, Sidney L. Seaman, Solo- 
 mon Smith, L. H. Fishel, John C. Robbins, Jere- 
 miah Robbins, Benjamin P. Field, Dr. W. W. Hew- 
 lett, Henry C. Piatt. W. T. Louden, J. F. Wood, 
 G. P. Williams, Philip Strack, George C. Hendrick- 
 son, Oscar E. Schmidt, C. E. Shepard, Dr. G. P. 
 Sword, Geo. S. Pearsall and the officers of the 
 association. 
 
 Reception Committee — Joseph Irwin, Geo. W. 
 Conklin, Thomas Young, John F. Wood, 
 
Henry F. Sammis, William McKinney, Carll S. 
 Burr, Sr., William Nichol, J. N. R. Smith, Chas. A. 
 Hallock, H. B. Fullerton, C. H. Newman, C. H. 
 Smith, H. S. Brush, W. E. Jones. 
 
 Invitation Committee — Rev. Samuel H. Seem, 
 Rev. John C. York, Rev. George T. Eddy, Rev. 
 Charles Tomlinson, Rev. John Mitchell, Rev. J. F. 
 Aitkin, Rev. A. H. Wyatt. 
 
 Decoration Committee — Fred B. Sammis, 
 Henry W. Gaines, A. L. Field, Archibald Fun- 
 nell, William O'Hora, Philip Maurer, L. M. 
 Brush, Hewett G. Sammis, A. H. Funnell, William 
 Robbins, Fritz Galow. 
 
 Stage Committee — Daniel L. Baylis, Daniel S. 
 Wood, A. B. Gildersleeve, W. Wilton Wood, 
 George A. Sammis, Brewster G. Sammis. 
 
 Badge Committee — E. B. Dusenberry, G. De- 
 Kay Townsend, Daniel Gerard. 
 
 Fireworks Committee — H. B. Fullerton, Philip 
 Pearsall, David Trainer, Charles E. Sammis. 
 
 Committee on Speakers — E. D. Davidson, Rev. 
 J. C. York, J. F. Wood, C. S. Burr, Jr., Rowland 
 Miles, C. E. Shepard. 
 
 Transportation Committee — Isaac R. Swezy, W. 
 Cringle, Henry W. Gaines. 
 
 Press Committee — Waller S. Funnell, C. E. 
 Shepard, H. S. Rushmore, Simon W. Cooper, Dan- 
 iel Arthur, H.G. Simpson, Henry Livingston, Q.B. 
 Street, W. B. Trainer, C. P. Rogers, H. A. Baylis. 
 
 Program Committee — Arthur Chase, morning 
 exercises; Henry T. Funnell, afternoon exercises; 
 Philip Pearsall, evening exercises. 
 
 Finance Committee— Douglass Conklin, John 
 W. Arthur, I. Whitson Valentine, Tunis Burr, 
 John Colyer, Charles E. Brush, William H. 
 Stoyle, O. Smith Sammis, John B. Scudder, Lean- 
 der Wright, Charles F. Hartt, Stanley H. Lowndes, 
 Hiram Baylis, H. B. Fullerton, W. B. Gibson. 
 
 Entertainment Committee — Miss Sarah Maybee, 
 Miss Emma Brush, Mrs. Douglass Cbntiline, 
 Mrs. John F. Wood, Mrs. Fred. L. Burgess. 
 Mrs. C. P. Rogers, Mrs. H. F. Rogers, Mrs. J. 
 Newell Sammis, Mrs. John Arthur, Mrs. Willard 
 N. Baylis, Miss Elizabeth Wood, Miss Agnes Rog- 
 ers, Miss Louise L. Conklin, Miss Nina Lindsay, 
 Miss Josephine Brock, Miss A. Haigh, Mi. .s Lot- 
 tie Gildersleeve. 
 
WILD GEESE AND OTHER GAME ABOUNDED THEN AS NOW. 
 
Music Committee — William S. Funnell, Mrs. 
 Charles H. Smith, George F. Barr, Mrs. F. B. 
 Sammis. 
 
 Grand Army Committee — George F. Barr, 
 Walter R. Hewlett, Stephen Bloxsom, Willianm 
 H. Beers, Jonas Higbie, A. P. Dodge, N. S. 
 Ackerly and representatives of Babylon Post. 
 
 Colonial Committee — S. O. Lee, Miss Anna 
 
 Paulding, Commander Ebenezer S. Prime. Mrs. 
 Frederick B. Sammis, Henry D. Kerr, Miss Emma 
 Paulding, Mrs. H. C. Piatt.' 
 
 Printing Committee — H. B. Fullerton, Walter 
 S. Funnell, C. E. Shepard. 
 
 Industrial Parade Committee — Geo. W. Conk- 
 lin. 
 
 Police Committee — H. L. Field, H. H. Denton. 
 
GOOD SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, ROADS, WATER WORKS, OAS, ELECTRIC LIGHT, TROLLEY AND ICE PLANT 
 
The Old Town of Huntington, Long Island, N. Y. 
 
 HUNTINGTON to-day is one of the most 
 thriving towns on Long Island. As a 
 business center and as a place of ideal 
 homes it challenges comparison. Its 
 possibilities have been by no means exhausted, 
 though not neglected, and there is a spirit of en- 
 terprise, which is certain to result speedily in still 
 further satisfactory development. There is at pres- 
 ent a population of about four thousand. A large 
 and rapidly increasing summer contingent, made 
 up of city people, find a sojourn on the shores or 
 among the hills a most delightful way of spending 
 all but the severely cold months. 
 
 This region has through express trains, local 
 trolley lines, express and freight delivery, steam- 
 
 boat connection to New York City and New Eng- 
 land, several newspapers, telegraph, telephone, 
 electricity, gas, waterworks supplying artesian 
 well water, unexcelled fire department, hygeia ice 
 plant, national and state banks, opera houses, 
 public library and free reading rooms ; high, gram- 
 mar, primary schools and kindergarten ; first-class 
 hotels, many summer hotels and boarding houses, 
 modern livery stables, exceptional shopping facili- 
 ties, including branches of leading department 
 stores, physicians -and surgeons of high standing, 
 churches of all religious denominations. 
 
 There Is an exceptional variety of delightful 
 drives, with surprising scenic attractions ; safe sail- 
 ing, still-water bathing, and excellent fishing. 
 
A Hearty Welcome, Neighbor! 
 
 ARE-UNION and Reception will be held on 
 the Evening of July 3, 1903, in the Central 
 Presbyterian Church, to whose Pastor, Elders, 
 and Trustees, The 250TH Anniversary Associa- 
 tion is indebted for this neighborly courtesy. 
 
QUESTION and ANSWER 
 
 Quickly Transmitted and Received 
 
 TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION 
 
 Most Rapid and Satisfactory of all Methods 
 
 New York & New Jersey Telephone Co. 
 
 81 Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
THE CORN EXCHANGE BANK 
 
 CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 QUEENS COUNTY BRANCH 
 
 WILLIAM L. WOOD, .... Manager 
 J. HARVEY WOODHALL, . Ass't Manager 
 
 ADVISORY 
 
 BOARD 
 
 Wm. A. Nash 
 
 Walter E. Frew 
 
 T. T. Barr 
 
 J. B. Woodruff 
 
 William Halls, Jr. 
 
 Emanuel Lehman 
 
 M. A. Metzner 
 
 Wm. F. Havemeyer 
 
 W. H. Baldwin, Jr. 
 
 James R. Willets 
 
 J. H. Smedley 
 
 G. J. Garrettson 
 
 J. S. Alerbach 
 
 W. H. Nichols 
 
 Chas. Ca 
 
 
 
 . $2,000,000 
 
 Surplus and Profits, . 
 
 . 3,150,000 
 
 
 . 32,000,000 
 
 WILLIAM A. NASH, 
 
 
 WALTER E. FREW, . . 
 
 . Vice-President 
 
 THOMAS T. BARR, . . 
 
 . Vice-President 
 
 FREDERICK T. MARTIN, 
 
 . Cashier 
 
 WM. E. WILLIAMS, . . 
 
 . Ass't Cashier 
 
 Safe Deposit Vaults 
 
 For Rent, $5.00 a Year and upwards 
 BANKING HOURS 
 
 8:30 A. M. to 4 P. M. 
 Saturdays, 8:30 A. M. to 12 Noon 
 
 Checks Drawn on this Bank are payable through 
 the New York Clearing House without charge 
 
 YOUR ACCOUNT SOLICITED 
 
 North 
 Shore 
 
 Water Front 
 
 Bargains Houses &f Farms 
 
 Daniel 
 M. 
 
 Gerard 
 
 Special 
 List.... 
 
 FURNISHED 6? 
 UNFURNISHED Huntington 
 COTTAGES L. I. 
 
 HUNTINGTON HOUSE 
 
 Corner Wall and Main Streets, Huntington, N. Y. 
 
 Bath and All Improv 
 ESTABLISHED 1833 
 Telephone Call — 1 6 Huntington 
 
 JESSE L. SMITH & SH 
 
 CHARLES H. SM1T1 
 
ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH 
 
 THE history of Catholicity in Hunt- 
 ington is the history of the 
 Catholic religion in Suffolk 
 County. It arose from very humble be- 
 ginnings. Brought here principally by 
 Irish immigrants in search of better con- 
 ditions and more peaceful times than they 
 had left in Ireland, it has taken deep root 
 and promises in the not distant future to 
 multiply a hundredfold. 
 
 In 1840 one Catholic missionary-priest 
 went about Suffolk County visiting once 
 in three months Greenport, Riverhead, 
 Sag Harbor, Islip, Smithtown, and Hunt- 
 ington in search of Catholics to minister 
 to them the comforts of their religion. 
 
 In sixty years that one extensive parish 
 has developed into twenty-five parishes, 
 with almost as many resident priests, and 
 a church-going population of eight thou- 
 sand. In 1840, the Catholic Church did 
 not hold so much as a single piece of real 
 estate in the county. To-day her hold- 
 ings amount to six hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. 
 
 The church was incorporated January 
 3, 1865. The incorporators were John 
 Loughlin, John F. Turner, J. J. Crowley, 
 Patrick Dowden, and Mott. Hoban 
 
 What constituted the parish of Hunt- 
 ington thirty years ago is now divided 
 into eight distinct parishes: Oyster Bay, 
 
 Northport, Amityville, Farmingdale, 
 Babylon, Bayshore, Brentwood, and Islip. 
 
 The pioneer Catholic missionaries held 
 services in private houses in the various 
 districts and townships of the county 
 from 1840 to 1849. 
 
 One house now standing where mass 
 was celebrated in Huntington and mar- 
 
 riages and christenings performed is the 
 Hoban Homestead, near the First Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 On August 15th, 1849, the first Catho- 
 lich Church in Huntington, and probably 
 in Suffolk County, was opened. It was sit- 
 uated on the road leading from West 
 Neck to Coldspring Harbor on ground 
 which is now devoted to burial purposes. 
 
 The Catholics for miles around attended 
 mass there till it was destroyed by fire in 
 1866. The Rev. Jeremiah J. Crowley, who 
 was pastor at the time, set about to pur- 
 chase a more desirable site for a church. 
 He secured the present admirable property 
 on Main and Anderson streets, a plot 
 200 feet square, and built upon it a sub- 
 stantial brick church, which seats 500 peo- 
 ple, at a cost of $29,000. This church was 
 dedicated on June 27, 1869, by Bishop 
 Loughlin. Father Crowley's labors ex- 
 tended to Oyster Bay, Babylon, Islip, Bay- 
 shore, Northport, and Eaton's Neck, and 
 everywhere among the old people his name 
 and memory are held in benediction. 
 
 After a rule of thirty-five years Bishop 
 McDonnell transferred him to a lighter 
 charge in Brooklyn, where he was pastor 
 emeritus of St. Ambrose Church. Father 
 Crowley died >n August 28, 1901. and his 
 remains lie buried in the dear old Hunt- 
 ington that he loved so well. 
 
 St. Patrick's communicants number 650 
 adults, 150 children; total, 800. The value 
 of property is $40,000. The non-resident 
 priests were Rev. John O'Donnel', 1840; 
 Kev. Michael Curran, 1846; Rev. Edward 
 McGuinness, 1847; Rev. John McCarthy. 
 1854; Rev. Michael O'Neill, 1858. Resi- 
 dent, Rev. J. J. Crowley, i860; Rev. John 
 C. York, 1895- 
 
Copies of this 
 
 . . Souvenir . . 
 
 Mailed to any Address for FIFTY CENTS by 
 DAVID W. TRAINER 
 
 HUNTINGTON 
 
 Stationery 
 Souvenirs and 
 
 Sporting Goods LONG ISLAND, N. Y. 
 
 Suffolk Hotel 
 
 CHARLES A. HALLOCK, Proprietor 
 
 - HUNTINGTON, N. Y. 
 
 Every Accommodation for Permanent 
 and Transient Guests 
 
 First Class Livery 
 in Connection 
 
 THE BEST OF 
 EVERYTHING 
 
 1653 — Tallow Dip Electric Light— 1903 
 
 Suffolk Electrical Co. 
 
 Huntington, Long Island, N. Y. 
 
 Electrical Contractors and Machinists 
 
 TELEPHONE : 37 HUNTINGTON 
 
 Motto — Promptness and Accuracy 
 
 Gilbert F. Caire, LL.B. 
 
 Auctioneer, Real Estate and Insurance Broker 
 
 Elegant Farms, Shore Fronts, and the finest Village Property For Sale 
 in the Town of Huntington and at Oyster Bay, N. Y. 
 
 COTTAGES, FURNISHED OR UNFURNISHED, TO RENT FOR THE SEASON 
 
 $20,000 to Loan on Bond and Mortgage 
 
 All Legal Papers Executed 
 Office : Hirschfeld Building, opposite Bank, Huntington, N. Y. 
 
BANK OF HUNTINGTON 
 
 Capital Stock, $30,000 Surplus, $70,000 
 
 THOMAS YOUNG 
 President 
 
 HENRY F. SAMMIS 
 Vice-President 
 
 DOUGLASS CON KLIN 
 Cashier 
 
 Transacts a general banking business. 
 Conservatively and carefully managed. 
 It solicits accounts of firms and indi- 
 viduals, assuring them facilities equal to 
 city banks. All deposits by mail ac- 
 knowledged on receipt. Collections 
 promptly made on all accessible points. 
 
 HUNTINGTON, N. Y. 
 
 A Good Advertisement Well Placed 
 
 DOES THE BUSINESS 
 
 Our Record Proves It 
 TRY MODERN METHODS, AND = 
 
 -THE FULLERTONS 
 
 HUNTINGTON, :: LONG ISLAND, N. Y. 
 
 Skill Counts 
 
 Plumbing, Steam and Gas F itting, Heating and 
 
 $fo ~ 
 
 Cooking Outfitting, Ro ofing and Guttering. 
 
 DONE BY SKILLED WORKMEN 
 
 WE HOLD FIRST PLACE 
 
 S. E. GRANT 
 
 121 WALL STREET 
 HUNTINGTON, N. Y. 
 
 MORRISON & THOMPSON 
 
 NEW YORK AVENUE 
 
 HUNTINGTON, N. Y. 
 
 An Ideal 50^ r es 
 
 Overlooking Long Island bound 
 
 Property Magnificent water outlook 
 
 A view of i 50 miles in both directions. 
 Plenty of fruit, fine spring water, etc. 
 
 E*ery thing desirable for 
 
 Summer Residence, Price S 5 > 5 00 
 
 D. M. GERARD 
 
 HUNTINGTON, L. I. 
 
PURE AIR PURE WATER 
 
 PERFECT DRAINAGE 
 
 20TH CENTURY SCHOOLS AND CONVENIENCES £ 
 
 HOME 
 
 All the 
 Year Round 
 
 Ideal 
 Conditions 
 
 LONG 
 ISLAND 
 
 Send 4 cents postage for Summer Homes 
 
 list of hotels and boarding houses. 
 
 Send 6 cents postage for Unique Long 
 
 Island, photographic reproductions. 
 
 Send 8 cents postage for Long Island, 
 
 illustrated description. 
 
 LONG ISLAND RAILROAD CO. 
 
 raSK^SK Fifth Avenue, New York City 
 
H untington and 
 "Huntington South" 
 
 ^ Present Unequaled Attractions 
 
 Varying from Ocean Beaches to Tree Clad Hills, 
 with Fertile Rolling Land Connecting. : : : : 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 Coldspring 
 
 Commack 
 
 Centreport 
 
 Elwood 
 
 Northport 
 
 Pinelawn 
 
 Greenlawn 
 
 ueer rariv 
 
 Babylon 
 
 Larkfield 
 
 Amityville 
 
 Halesite 
 
 Melville 
 
 Fair Ground 
 
 Lindenhurst 
 
 And 
 
 Wyandance