Huntington issues 'Museum Challenge'

The Henry Lloyd Manor House at Caumsett State Historic Park.

By Deborah S. Morris
deborah.morris@newsday.com

The Town of Huntington is challenging residents to visit some of its historic museums.

The first Historic Museum Challenge is set for Saturday, Oct. 20, and Sunday, Oct. 21. Huntington’s historic organizations are opening their museums from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both days to allow residents and visitors to get a glimpse of the breadth of Huntington’s historic treasures.

Participants who successfully complete the challenge by visiting the eight sites over that weekend, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will receive a one year family membership in each of the organizations. The winners will also have a chance to win a library of books on local history and a copy of the video history prepared for the Town’s 350th anniversary celebration in 2003.

“Although the museums are regularly open, sometimes people need an extra incentive to visit,” Town Historian Robert Hughes said. “Our Museum Challenge event is intended to provide that incentive.”

The following museums will be open as part of the challenge:

The Henry Lloyd Manor House, the birthplace of Jupiter Hammon, the first African American poet published in America. For more information call the LLoyd Harbor Historical Society at 424-6110.

The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 367-3418, which houses a nineteenth century whaleboat completely equipped for the hunt, a diorama of Cold Spring Harbor in 1850 as well as an extensive collection of scrimshaw.

A diorama at Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum

The Huntington Historical Society, 427-7045, will open two museums. The Conklin Farmhouse, circa 1750, which withstood the ravages of the American Revolution and the Dr. Daniel W. Kissam House, an example of federal period architecture featuring intricate decorative moldings and a newly restored mid-nineteenth century kitchen.

The John Gardiner Farm, the newest museum in Huntington and the Suydam House in Centerport, circa 1720, will be open for the weekend by the Greenlawn-Centerport Historic Association, 754-1180.

The Northport Historical Society Museum, which was built in 1914 as a Carnegie Library will also be included. For more information, call 757-9859.

The Huntington Lighthouse which sits on a man-made island at the entrance to Huntington Harbor. The lighthouse itself will not be open for the challenge, but a display about the lighthouse will be on view at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building, which will also serve as headquarters for the challenge. For more information on this site call, 421-1985.

Guide maps, which double as admission tickets, will be available for advance purchase for $5. The maps will be $7 on the weekend of the challenge. Beginning Oct. 1, contact any of the above participating organizations or the Huntington Historian, 351-3244, to purchase your guide map/admission ticket.

A family needs only one map for admission to the museums. Proceeds and donations will provide funds for each site to continue its preservation and education programs.

Newsday Photos by Michael E. Ach, 2001