In 1629, 11 Africans arrived in New York and were sold to the Dutch Colonial government in what is now Manhattan. It began an era of slavery in the state that would extend to Southold Town. It’s a moment in local history that is largely overlooked. (more…)
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The Southold Town Planning Board is moving forward cautiously with the proposed Tuthill conservation subdivision — four parcels totaling 112 acres in Orient — as archaeological research, evaluation and field testing continue to reveal multiple “historic remains” on the property. (more…)
George Cork Maul, a Southold Town 375th Anniversary Committee member, in front of a mile markers along Main Road in Peconic. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
There were a lot of things Benjamin Franklin accomplished in his life.
The Founding Father invented bifocal lenses and the lightning rod, was a successful newspaper printer, served as America’s diplomat to Paris during the Revolutionary War and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
But one thing he did not do, local historians now say, was place mile markers along Southold Town’s Main Road. (more…)
Suffolk County Historical Society executive director Kathy Curran addresses participants Saturday at the annual meeting of the Association of Suffolk County Historical Societies in Riverhead. (Credit Rachel Young)
How does a historical society keep from becoming history itself? It was a question on the minds of about 40 local historians Saturday morning in Riverhead.
The historians gathered in the main exhibition gallery of Suffolk County Historical Society for the annual meeting of the Association of Suffolk County Historical Societies.
“What’s going to happen if we don’t get the next generation in the door?” said Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, the ASCHS vice president. “That is the biggest problem. There is definitely a generational gap.” (more…)
KARL GROSSMAN
Long Island is known for, among other things, beautiful beaches, the site of the first “mass-produced” suburb in the U.S, the resort areas of the East End, notably the Hamptons and peaceful Shelter Island, and for farmland that allows Suffolk County to remain the top farming county in New York State in yearly produce. But Long Island isn’t sufficiently recognized for its major role in the American Revolution. (more…)
A six-mile stretch of Main Road could be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The corridor includes Aquebogue’s Old Steeple Church, built in 1862 and designed by a farmer with no architectural experience, as well as Aquebogue Cemetery, which dates back to 1755 and contains the graves of numerous Revolutionary War soldiers. (Credit: Andrew Lepre)
Four of the five Riverhead Town Board members have signed a letter asking the town’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and the state Office of Parks and Recreation to withdraw the town’s application for a proposed National Register Historic District along Main Road in Aquebogue, Jamesport and Laurel, according to Councilman George Gabrielsen. (more…)
The Mattituck Presbyterian Church is turning 300.
The church, which is located at the corner of Main Road and Old Sound Avenue, recently unveiled the official logo designed to commemorate the church’s anniversary in 2015. (more…)
The Tercentenary parade winds its way through a packed downtown Southold in 1940. At center is the feather-covered float of the ‘Old Crows.’ (Credit: Southold Historical Society Courtesy Photo)
Southold Town Historic Preservation Commission chairman Jim Grathwohl called the historians of Southampton Town “colleagues and competitors” during a Southold Town Board work session Tuesday.
When he learned of the comment a few hours later, Southampton Town historian Zach Studenroth laughed, calling the remark “accurate.”
“We have a friendly rivalry,” he said.
Historians from the two towns even tease each other about which was founded first.
But when it comes to planning next year’s celebrations for the 375th anniversaries of Long Island’s two oldest towns, Southold historians freely admit that, this time around, Southampton is way ahead of them. (more…)
An Italianate style home on Bay Avenue. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Greenport’s historic architecture is a modern-day link to the village’s storied past. The buildings illustrate its progression from pre-Revolutionary roots through its commercial peak as a whaling hub into a modern-day working waterfront with a thriving tourism industry.
Read more about Greenport’s historic architecture at northforker.com.