Miller Place

Legacy of a Family Divided by Revolution

Beginnings: This beautiful and historic community on Long Island Sound was named after the prolific family of Andrew Miller, a barrel maker-turned-farmer. He arrived from Setauket about 1679, buying land from John Thomas, who apparently was the first settler. Miller died Dec. 24, 1717, and is buried in Mount Sinai's Sea View Cemetery.

The Revolution: Miller's Place, as it was then known, was primarily on the Patriot side, but the Miller family was divided. Avowed Tories were Richard Miller, son of the namesake, and Capt. Solomon Davis. Richard Miller was shot dead in May, 1776, by militia near Selden while recruiting for the British. In August, 1781, in midnight raids on houses of two Patriot Miller families, the British mutilated a Miller family man, who survived, but shot dead 16-year-old William Miller when he looked out a window to see what the commotion was about. Davis, who became very rich as a privateer serving the British, was murdered in Jamaica after the war.

Turning Points: Miller's Place became Miller Place in 1894, about the time the tourist trade began and the same year the railroad came (though it discontinued service in 1938 for lack of business). Since World War II, development has been steady, but many old houses of the 18th and 19th Centuries remain along Main Street (North Country Road), and the community is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Where to Find More: ``History of Miller's Place,'' by Margaret Davis Gass, at Port Jefferson Public Library and Comsewogue Public Libraries in Port Jefferson Station, and ``Miller Place,'' by the Miller Place Historical Society, including list of 28 historic houses.