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Southold Historical director stepping down in May

Geoffrey Fleming is leaving Southold in May to become the new director of the Huntington Museum of Art, located in Huntington, West Virginia. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)
Geoffrey Fleming is leaving Southold in May to become the new director of the Huntington Museum of Art, located in Huntington, West Virginia. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

Longtime Southold Historical Society director Geoffrey Fleming is stepping down next month.

Mr. Fleming, who was appointed to the position in 2003, is leaving to become the new director of the Huntington Museum of Art, located in Huntington, West Virginia.

“It has been a good run,” Mr. Fleming said in a statement released by the historical society Friday afternoon. “I am pleased with all the progress we have made here in Southold, especially the work done to preserve our collection and maintain our buildings. I am very proud of our popular lecture series, our award winning publications program, and that we now offer more programs than many other similarly sized institutions on the North Fork.”

In the 12 years as director, Mr. Fleming oversaw the design of a number of new publications, several of which won awards for the quality of their research, including the landmark book, “A Shared Aesthetic: Artists of Long Island’s North Fork.” He also founded the society’s fundraising committee and created its first website.

He also found time to serve with other local and regional organizations such as the Long Island Museum Association and the Brecknock Hall Foundation, which oversaw the restoration of Brecknock Hall in Greenport, one of the largest stone mansions built during the 19th century on eastern Long Island.

“He will be missed,” said Herb Adler Jr., the current President of the Society, in a statement Friday.