Farmingville

An Obelisk Honors Vietnam Veterans

Beginnings: After its initial settlement in the late 18th Century by farmers, this quiet, hilly enclave in central Brookhaven was called Bald Hills and Mooney Ponds, but ``Farmingville'' finally stuck. The hamlet between Lake Ronkonkoma and Coram was probably part of the original purchase of Brookhaven land from the Seatalcott (Setauket) Indians in 1655, which extended roughly from Long Island Sound to the middle of the Island, town historian David Overton says. The first farmhouses appeared in the 1770s, but the community's name proved ironic: The sandy pine barrens soil and hilly terrain were not ideal for agriculture, as President George Washington observed on his tour of Long Island in 1790.

School days: Education is serious history in Farmingville. The first school was built in 1817 after residents of Bald Hills asked to be a school district. The second school was erected in 1850 to replace the first one. Classes were conducted there until 1929, after which the building was bought by a private group, the Farmingville Reunion Association, mostly families of people who attended the school. The group has held an annual picnic at the school since 1883. The school has been preserved and the home of Elijah Terry, the first teacher, was moved next to it. Terry's house on Horseblock Road, built in 1823, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Turning Points: Farmingville received mail via Holtsville for years, but in 1950 became a separate post office. It wasn't recognized as a community by the federal census until 1980. Since the 1970s, the community has seen the emergence of a Portuguese community.

Landmark: On Nov. 11, 1991, the 40-member Suffolk County Veterans Memorial Commission dedicated a soaring obelisk-shaped Vietnam War memorial at the Bald Hill site.

Where to Find More: ``Bald Hills-Mooney Ponds-Farmingville, A History of the Community,'' by Marilyn S. Rosenzweig, 1986, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook; also notes of Farmingville Historical Society.