Hamlet History Sites

Town of Brookhaven Historic Sites Survey.  In the early 1980's, an inventory of historically significant properties and places in the Town of Brookhaven was conducted.  Some of the actual surveys were completed in the mid-1970's, others were completed in the early 1980's.  The survey forms were filed with the Division for Historic Preservation, New York State Parks and Recreation Department.  In addition to the copy filed with the State, copies may also be found at local libraries (including Longwood, Patchogue, and Smithtown), the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, and the Town of Brookhaven Historians Office.

This Section includes a transcription of the surveys for Brookhaven and South Haven Hamlets.  While now identified as separate hamlets, the distinction was less defined in the 17th and 18th centuries (and the boundary between them is still fuzzy). 

Wanting to preserve the original content, I have copied the survey forms as originally prepared, correcting typographical errors.  They therefore record the information known in the 1970-80 time period.

My comments.  Where I have included comments or updated the entries they are indicated by brackets [  ].  

Supplemental Sites.  I have also added sites which were not included in the original surveys, but which I believe have historic or archeological significance.  These sites have an "S" appended to their identification code.  Some of these "new" sites are "archeological" in the sense that they document buildings which no longer exist -- in some cases they have been replaced by newer buildings.  I have tried to assign their identification codes so that they remain in location sequence with the original survey sites.

2004 South Shore Estuary Survey Sites.  In the Summer of 2004, an architectural survey was conducted by Jayme Breschard using a grant received by Long Island Traditions, Inc. from the Preservation League of New York State.  This survey focused on maritime heritage sites (which included homes of baymen/fisherman, boatyards, marinas, and industrial sites) along a 20-mile section of Long Island’s southern shore. Jayme was a graduate student at Cornell University, entering her second year in the Historic Preservation Planning program. She was responsible for documenting the villages/hamlets of Brookhaven, Bellport, Blue Point, Bayport, and Oakdale.  More about this survey may be found at South Shore Estuary Historic Survey.

Her survey of sites in Brookhaven Hamlet have been added to this compilation.  Some of the sites in her survey duplicated sites surveyed earlier, and her updated information has been incorporated into the original surveys, identified by brackets [ ] and attribution.   I have assigned identification codes consistent with the earlier codes so that the sites remain in approximate location sequence with the original survey sites.  The South Shore Estuary Survey report format is not entirely consistent with the earlier survey formats, and therefore a different display format is used.  The original South Shore Estuary Survey Report is available as a Microsoft Word document by clicking on the link icon .

Note:  Not all of the South Shore Estuary Survey Sites have been added to the database as of  22 Sep 2004.

This is an ongoing project -- I have only begun to mine the wealth of information in the Post-Morrow Foundation's historical collection, and have barely touched information at the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society.  Unlike a published book, which becomes fixed in time, I add and update as information becomes available.

Additional resources:

Revised:  19 Oct 2006