Current and Upcoming Events
Save-The-Date: The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society's 2012
Exhibition Opening and Gala- Saturday, June 16th
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society's annual
Gala and Exhibition opening will be held on
Saturday, June 16th. This year the exhibition
will focus on international photography star
Bruce Weber, who lived in Bellport in the 70s
and 80s and brought many fashionables and
friends to the village, and who used Bellport as
background for many shoots of both famous
personalities (a specialty) and for fashion
shoots. The gala will celebrate the opening that
night of the Bruce Weber exhibition. Don't miss
this night of food, drinks, music, dancing, an
auction and fun!
Recent Events
The
BBHS sponsored an Art and
Architecture tour to Cuba from 21 to 28
January 2012.
Five nights were spent in Havana and two
nights in the colonial city of Trinidad. The
agency who arranged the trip for us, Insight Cuba,
is a non-profit organization with long
experience in arranging trips to Cuba. Insight
Cuba has a people-to–people license from the
United States Department of the Treasury.
Click here for more information,
including a detailed itinerary.
2011
BBHS Members And
Friends Christmas Party
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society held
their annual Holiday Brunch this past weekend.
It was a chance to mingle with friends and
neighbors in a historic setting. The food and
company couldn’t have been better and
everyone had a terrific time! Below are photos
from the event.
Bellport-Brookhaven
Historical Society Annual Meeting
By clicking on the link below, you’ll be able to
listen to Victor Principe, President of the
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, as he
addresses the Annual Meeting, 2011, of the
Society.
Please Click Here
Dr. Carol Bleser
Presents, “Slavery On Long Island”
By
clicking on the link below, you’ll be able to
listen to Dr. Carol Bleser’s presentation, “The
Long Forgotten History of Slavery and Plantation
in Colonial Long Island,” which she presented at
the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society in
November of 2011.
Please Click Here
Robert Hickey Presents, "Etiquette: What's
Changing, Why and What Next?"
The
first lecture in the Historical Society's Fall
Lecture Series was on “Etiquette” and Robert
Hickey, the speaker from the Protocol School of
Washington, was absolutely fascinating. Among
many other things, Mr. Hickey explained that
“etiquette” is really the expected norm within a
given group. If you behave as the other members
of the group expect you to, you’re accepted as
being part of the group. If you don’t, you’re
perceived as being an outsider and not part of
the group. If you take a few minutes to listen
to the beginning of the lecture we're sure
you’re going to listen to the entire program. It
was great!
Click here to listen to the lecture.
About Nearthebay
and the World of Birdsall Otis Edey
The gracious old
houses of this area are not just charming; some
of them were home to fascinating people. This
year the Historical Society focuses on the life
and times of Birdsall Otis Edey (1872-1940),
dynamic suffragist, pioneer of Girl Scouting,
humanitarian and vigilant historic
preservationist and her beloved Bellport home
Nearthebay, the fine Greek Revival house built
c. 1838 and owned by her family from 1865 until
1945. Through her Village Improvement Society,
Birdsall Otis Edey campaigned persistently to
preserve and improve the appearance of Bellport.
Her success in having the Montauk Highway bypass
Bellport, Brookhaven Hamlet, and East Patchogue
is her great legacy.
Nearthebay and
the World of Birdsall Otis Edey Exhibition
The exhibition is
primarily drawn from the Edey family archives,
generously loaned to the Society by the Paige
family, heirs of Birdsall Otis Edey. Nearthebay
was owned by Birdsall’s family from 1865 until
1945. Birdsall was born in 1872 and married
Frederick Edey at Nearthebay in 1893, The house
she inherited served as the favored backdrop to
the life and times of this dynamic figure.
Although Birdsall had homes elsewhere, she
considered Bellport her real home describing it
as “this blessed corner of the earth where I
belong.”
Bellport-Brookhaven
Historical Society Gala, "Nearthebay" - June 11, 2011
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The descendants of Birdsall
Otis Edey
at "Nearthebay." |
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The
descendants of Birdsall Otis Edey
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Bellport-Brookhaven
Historical Society Annual Antiques Show - May
29, 2011
2010
BBHS Members And
Friends Christmas Party
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society held
their annual Holiday Brunch this past weekend.
It was a chance to mingle with friends and
neighbors in a historic setting. The food and
company couldn’t have been better.
Click here watch a video slideshow of the event.
The 2010 Robert H. Pelletreau Distinguished Service Award in Historic Preservation
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society has
presented the 2010 Robert H. Pelletreau
Distinguished Service Award in Historic
Preservation to the Congregation of the Middle
Island United Church of Christ in recognition of
their dedicated and heroic efforts to preserve
and restore the historically significant church
formerly known as the Middle Island Presbyterian
Church. Pictured, left to right: Dr. Carol
Bleser, Victor Principe, Dr. Jan
Harting-McChesney, and Pastor Stephen Shick.
The award was instituted in 2001 and is made
possible by the many contributors and donors who
wish to honor the memory of Robert H. Pelletreau,
Historical Society President for twenty-two
years and dedicated preservationist. It is
presented in alternate years to the person or
organization that has significantly contributed
to historic preservation in Suffolk County.
Previous recipients of the Pelletreau Award have
been:
2001 Bertram Seides for the Ketcham Inn
restoration
2003 Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association
for preservation of the 1730 Suydam
Homestead and the 1905 Gardiner Barn
2005 Yaphank Historical Society for restoration
of the Mary Lousie Booth House, the
Homan-Gerard House and the establishing of a
Nature Trail and Conservation Center
on Carman's River
2007 Charla Bolton, noted Preservation Advocate
for Long Island and Radey Johnson and
Jane Platt for the restoration and
rehabilitation of the 1770 Pelletreau House
The 2010 Award To Middle Island United Church Of
Christ
Presbyterianism was the first formal religion of
Brookhaven Town when it was established at
Setauket in 1665. The original Setauket
congregation helped form the South Haven
Presbyterian Church in the early 18th century to
serve the newer communities of the South Shore,
which church in turn helped form the Middle
Island Presbyterian Church in 1766. Reverend
David Rose was the shared minister. His South
Haven parish went from Blue Point to Moriches to
Middle Island. The Middle Island Presbyterian
Church was part of this network that provided
congregants not only the Bible, but books and
medicine as Rev. Rose traveled his parish on
horseback.
The current church built in 1837 is a
late-Federal vernacular interpretation of the
Wren-Gibbs form of English church architecture.
It is a one and a half storey, rectangular
structure with projecting entrance with steeple
above. The windows are Gothic-arch louvered
windows in the main sanctuary, and in the tower
and steeple. The ceiling in the main sanctuary
is tin, the molding is simple with plain trim
around the doors and windows. The steeple was
added in 1863 and the bell installed in 1870. A
1935 addition to the north side of the building
provided a social room, pantry and church
offices. The church is one of the few remaining
historic structures on the Middle Country Road
corridor in Middle Island. Fortunately is was
listed on the National Register of Historic
Places in December 2005.
In 1966 the congregation moved to a new building
at another location. In the years that followed,
the church fell into increasing disrepair. In
2009 the building was sold to the Middle Island
United Church of Christ. In the first few months
of their occupancy this small congregation of
thirty-four managed to stabilize the structure
and to do emergency repairs to windows, floors,
electricals and plumbing - enough to survive the
first winter. They accomplished this by working
around the clock using their own labors and that
of a force of community volunteers.
The Robert H. Pelletreau Award recognizes the
restoration work accomplished to date, and
provides validation to proceed with the
remaining ambitious program. The award is given
in alternate years to the person or organization
that has significantly contributed to historic
preservation in Suffolk County, and is
accompanied by a presentation plaque and is also
commemorated by the engraved acknowledgment of
the awardees on the Pelletreau Bowl, a silver
bowl made in the style of Elias Pelletreau, Long
Island Revolutionary War-era silversmith and
ancestor of Robert H. Pelletreau who was
President of the Historical Society for
twenty-two years.
The Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society's Tree
Dedication
On
Sunday, August 29th, The Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society held a
ceremony to dedicate the Society's historic “Candelabra Spruce Tree” in the
memory of Alyda and Frank Calamita, generous donors to the Society. Mr. and
Mrs. Calamita's son, Nicolas Jansen, his wife Nancy, and their son Johann
were all present at the event.
Carol Blesser opened the proceedings dedicating the "Candelabrum Spruce" as
a permanent memorial to Frank & Alyda Calamita. Ms. Blesser also did a
heartfelt recitation of Joyce Kilmer's "The Tree." She noted that there are
now two benches with brass plaques engraved with the names Alyda & Frank
Calamita and a table under the tree of all to enjoy.
Mary Samuels, a
wonderful local artist, created a painting of the Candelabra Spruce for the
occasion. Photos and information provided by Joyce Stanley and Pamela
Lerner.
Bellport Brookhaven Historical Society's Antiques
Show & Sale
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society's Antiques Show & Sale was a huge
success and the weather couldn’t have been better. There were vendors
offering antique furniture, Americana and primitives, mid-century modern
furniture and furnishings, paintings and prints, decoys, jewelry, silver,
rugs, dolls and toys, and collectibles.
Click on the speaker to the left to see a
slideshow of photos from the Show.
If you own a Mac instead of a PC,
click here to download the latest version
of Windows Media Player specifically for Mac users! This download is FREE!
John Deitz's Special Presentation, "Brookhaven
Hamlet Cultural Heritage 101"
On Sunday, November 15, 2009, John Deitz gave a
special presentation entitled, "Brookhaven Hamlet
Cultural Heritage 101." From
the late 19th century to well into the 20th century, Brookhaven Hamlet was
home to many artists - literary, performing, and visual. The small but
vibrant artists' colony that came to the Hamlet, whose roots were from New
York City, added their imprint to Brookhaven's 200-year history of farming
and fishing by creating a change of
character that is still with us today.
John's program portrayed many of the Hamlet's
earliest
artists.
These
included visual artists Malcolm Fraser, Mary Aldrich, Walter Clark, Frederick Kost, William Glackens, Raymond Perry, Garner Rea, Rea Irvin, Ida Haskell,
Alice Boughton and Claire Avery. Also included were literary artists James L.
Ford, Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap and performing artists Ellen Learned,
Emily Wagner and Carol Robinson.
To listen to John's presentation, just click the speaker below.
Click to
Listen
The Bellport-Brookhaven Historical
Society Exchange Shop
The always popular
Bellport Brookhaven Historical Society Exchange
Shop is located at 12 Bell Street in Bellport
Village. The Exchange Shop features a selection
of antiques and interesting collectibles for
sale at better than reasonable prices. New items
arrive weekly. They encourage New Consignments.
For information call: 631-286-0888.
Below are just some of the
types of wonderful items
you'll find at the Shop!
Click on the speaker to the left to see a slideshow of photos of
what the Exchange Shop has to offer!
If you own a Mac instead of a PC,
click here to download the latest version
of Windows Media Player specifically for Mac users! This download is FREE!
"Bellport Revisited"
According to the
book’s publisher, “Bellport Revisited”
chronicles the history of Bellport Village
through a wealth of historic images, most never
published before, from several private
collections and from the extensive archives of
the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society
Museum. Victor is donating all royalties from
the book to the Historical Society. Click here
for more about "Bellport Revisited,"
Click for a short video featuring Victor
Principe discussing the concept behind his new
book
About the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical
Society
The
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society is
located at 31 Bellport Lane, right next to the
Bellport Village Hall.
In 1967 Miss Florence Crowell deeded her property and house at
31 Bellport Lane to the Society. The house was built in 1833 by Hiram
Post, a master ship builder and cost $800. He built for the ages...the
house foundation is made of ship ballast stone, there are extra heavy
floor beams and the older sections of the house contain square nails and
wood pegs. The flagpole is a ship mast and the fish on top is a replica
of the trout carved to celebrate Daniel Webster's 1827 trout catch on
Carman's River.
Other buildings on the property include the Barn Museum
holding the Sperry gyroscope exhibit, the Wilbur Corwin decoy
collection, the antique tool collection and dolls and toys from the mid
1800's. New to the Barn Museum is the collection of antique wedding
gowns donated by Bellport residents.
The Brown Building houses the
legendary Pelletreau doll collection of more than 500 miniature dolls
from throughout the world and the extensive antique painted tin
collection. The Museum Complex also includes the Blacksmith Shop, the
Chester Memorial Boathouse; the Milk House and the Gazebo.
The Museum Complex is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday,11:00 am to
4:00 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Admission is free to Society
members. For non-member adult admission is $5; $4 for seniors. Children
12 and under free. For more information call 631-776-7640.
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President:
Victor Principe
1st Vice President: Kate Carmel
2nd Vice President: Anna Lou Fletcher
Treasurer: Jonathan Pokorny
Recording Secretary: David Cleaves
Corresponding Secretary: Robert
Duckworth
Curator: Dolores O'Connor
Archivist: Margaret Munson
Director of Museum Exchange Shop: Robert Duckworth
Director of Buildings & Grounds:
Joseph Doran
Events Coordinator: Margaret Munson
Membership: David Cleaves
