Footnotes to Long Island History
History of Old
Hutchinson Homestead
March 27, 1955
by
Thomas R. Bayles
The Old
Hutchinson Homestead at Middle Island has had a long and varied history,
and was first a tavern and store, then post office, office of the town
clerk of Brookhaven town, and then polling place for the large
mid-Island area.
The house
was located on the middle country road at the foot of the hill near
Pfeiffer’s store, and was purchased a few years ago by Horton Bros and
torn down. The site has since been a cement block factory and sand and
gravel works.
Middle
Island had the first post office in Brookhaven town and the first
postmaster was Apollus Wetmore in 1796. Post riders on horseback
carried the mail through the Island in the first years, and the mail
came from New York once of twice a week. After a few years it was
carried by the stage coaches that came through the middle of the Island,
and furnished the only means of transportation for the people of the
mid-island settlements.
The post
office was at first named Brookhaven and was not given the mane of
Middle Island until about 1818. During these early years the postal
receipts were light, and records of the office shown that the quarterly
receipts between 1811 and 1830 ran from $3.00 to $8.00 a quarter.
Following
Apollus Wetmore as postmaster came Zachariah Hawkins in 1798, Mordecai
Homan, Jr in 1803, Jehiel Woodruff in 1810 and in 1811 Benjamin
Hutchinson became postmaster, and it remained in the Hutchinson family
with the exception of one year until 1901.
The old
Hutchinson homestead was built around 1750 by Daniel Brewster, Jr a
grandson of Nathaniel Brewster, the first minister of the old town
church at Setauket. The house and farm on which it stood were purchased
in 1834 by Benjamin T Hutchinson and store and post office moved there,
where it remained until taken over by Edward Pfeiffer in 1901. In 1840
Mr. Hutchinson opened a tavern also, which was the regular breakfast
stop for the mail and passenger stages passing through. Besides serving
as post office, tavern and store, this house was also the town clerk’s
office for Brookhaven town for 30 years.
Mr
Hutchinson was elected town clerk in 1848, and in 1850 elected county
clerk, and in 1860 was again elected town clerk. During the intervening
years the office went to New Village, Center Reach.) Mr Hutchinson
remained in office until his death in 1877, when his son, Henry P
Hutchinson was elected and remained as town clerk until 1890, when
Roswell Davis of Yaphank was elected, and the office moved to Yaphank.
It was the custom in those days for the office to be located in the home
of the lecte4d official.
After the
death of Mr Hutchinson in 1877 the office of the postmaster was taken
over by his daughter Miss Cynthia Hutchinson, and her appointment dated
October 16, 1877, and signed by David M Key, Postmaster General, is on
exhibition along with the old post office boxes and fixtures in Emil’s
museum in Middle Island. Miss Hutchinson continued as postmaster until
her death in 1901.
For many
years this old house also served as polling place for the voters from
Middle Island, Yaphank, Ridge, Coram and Selden for all the regular
spring and fall elections, and many a political deal was mad under the
horse sheds to the east of the house. In those days election day was a
social event and dinners were served for 50 cents. It was a day of
great activity and continued until at the stroke of six o’clock
inspector John Jones used to step to the door and call out, “Hear ye;
Hear ye; I know declare these polls closed.” Among those who served for
many years on the election board besides Mr Jones were Richard M Bayles,
Fred Ehlers, Thomas Lee, Robert Lyon, Noah Terry and Elbert Homan.