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JUNE 2013
8
THE TIDE OF MORICHES JUNE 2013

A step back in time

Havens Homestead opens this month
BY LOREN CHRISTIE Havens Homestead, a classic American shingle-style beauty, located at 15 East Main St. in Center Moriches, was built when some of the rst settlers put down roots in Suffolk County. Currently it is in the process of becoming a historic house museum that will open to the public on June 14, revealing a picture of what life was like for the Havens family, who lived in the home over the course of three centuries. In relation to the entire lifespan of the structure, Havens Homestead is resting on a fairly new foundation. The house was moved across the street in the 1970s. Patchogue lawyer Robert Pelletreau inherited the home and the 260-acre parcel it sat on from his rst cousin Sarah Margaret Havens (1875-1965) who died with no heirs. Pelletreau sold the land to a condominium developer who did not want the house. He gifted it to stewards who were forming The Moriches Bay Historical Society in 1974 and many yard sales were held to fund the move. Consequently, the home was then lifted off the 260-acre parcel to an acre of property across Montauk Highway (CR 80) that was gifted to MBHS along with it. The preservation gods were with the MBHS back then, and when development plans for the 260-acre parcel fell through, Suffolk County bought it for $17,000,000 in 1980, renaming it Terrill River Suffolk County Park Preserve, or Havens Estate Nature Preserve. Keeping the property in its natural state for perpetuity was tting, since an archeological dig done during an inquiry for development revealed extensive artifacts from Native American Indian tribes that occupied the land for thousands of years. The stone footings marking the original Havens Homestead driveway entrance are still visible in the woods across from where the historic house museum now rests. Bertram Seides, president of the Moriches Bay Historical Society (MBHS), is facilitating the restructuring of Havens Homestead under the direction of the societys Board of Directors. MBHS member Mary Field said Seides is a busy man. Were moving forward with getting the application in line and submitted to New York State Parks for putting the park on the State Register of Historical Sites along with the house, Seides explained, adding that the two applications must be led separately because the properties are owned separately, one by the county and the other by MBHS. Processing them both at the same time would be a wonderful thing, Seides said. Bert is not one to let the grass grow beneath his feet, Field said, adding, He is a do-er. When New York was just a colony, the Havens family owned all of Moriches from Terrill River to Senix Creek north to Dongans Line (approximately Sunrise Highway). They constructed a small gable roof structure. A new structure was built to the west of the old house in the Dutch Colonial style in 1750. According to Seides, while Redcoats

The Havens with the Vernon-Ray-Emory Tuttle barn. The house will be open to the public on June 14.

were embedded in Long Island, the Havens family was divided politically and the house was occupied by the British. One can only imagine dinner conversations that must have occurred between Loyalist and Patriot relatives and friends. The July 3, 1779 issue of Rivingtons New York Gazette reveals a war-related ruckus that involved the Havens clan. A party of Rebels had a feast at the house of Benjamin Havens at Moriches, (a most pernicious caitiff,) and several of the inhabitants attended this frolic. The homestead would remain the same for over a hundred years, until it was remodeled and expanded in 1898 by descendant John Scudder Havens (1826-1903). Then, a new two-and-a-half story Dutch Gambrel Colonial Revival style addition was attached to the west end of the 1750s style Dutch Colonial. However, John Scudder Havens did not spend his whole lifetime living at Havens Homestead. In fact, he grew up on a farm in East Patchogue. The Havens migration from Center Moriches to Patchogue occurred after his father, Colonel John Havens (1787-1850), married Eliza Ketcham from Eaton Neck, sold the Center Moriches family homestead in 1820, and opened a general store in downtown Patchogue Village on the corner of Main Street and Havens Avenue. When the original store burned down, John Scudder Havens and his brother Charles rebuilt it in brick. Feeling a tug on the heartstrings for his dads old Center Moriches homestead, John Scudder Havens, who was at that point a prominent Patchogue merchant, was able to buy back the house in 1857 for $6,200. He married Mary Pelletreau in 1865, and the couple returned to the homestead to raise

four children, (Eliza, Archibald, Mary Amelia and Sarah Margaret). He served as a New York State Assemblyman during the Civil War and also as Brookhaven Town Supervisor twice. Interestingly, John Scudder Havens also managed the Union Twine Mill after the death of owner Justus Roe. The mill was located on the Patchogue Lake, near what is now the Patchogue YMCA. Havens leased the mill in 1880. The 1898 expansion of the Havens house included changes to oors and walls as well as the addition of dormers. While the structure still retains the 18th century and 19th century sections, restoration is ongoing to reect the internal appearance of the home during Sarah Margaret Havens occupancy. When John Scudder Havens health began to fail, his son Archibald (1868-1951) helped him manage the Patchogue business. James Shand took over the store in 1914 and today the building is occupied by Brickhouse Brewery. Archibald eventually settled at Havens Homestead and established a surveyors ofce in Center Moriches. His grandparents, Col. John Havens and Eliza Ketcham Havens are buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Patchogue Village. The grounds of the Havens Homestead include a historic barn that was gifted by the Tuttle family in memory of Vernon Tuttle, Ray Tuttle and Emory Tuttle. The lower oor of the barn serves as a vintage gift shop that supports the upkeep and renovation of both the Vernon-Ray-Emory Tuttle barn, Havens Homestead and the property. The upper oors of the barn are currently being converted into an educational program space and an ofce. The rst public tours of Havens Homestead

will occur on Friday, June 14 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The suggested house museum tour donation is $5 per person; children under 13 years of age are free. The MBHS is seeking donations of period furniture or any items that may have been previously associated with the Havens House. For more information, contact MBHS at (631) 878-1776 or write to Havens Homestead, Moriches Bay Historical Society, 15 Main Street, P.O. Box 31, Center Moriches, NY 11934. Q

The Havens monument in Cedar Grove Cemetery at 80 Jennings Ave., Patchogue.

Photos by Loren Christie