Wading River house has portions that date back to 1774

British colonists hadn’t yet signed the Declaration of Independence when the original portion of this five-bedroom, 2.5-bath home in Wading River was built in 1774. It’s now listed for $399,000.

The original portion of the now 3,850-square-foot residence on 1.54 acres consists of the current living room, dining room and two of bedrooms on the east side of the house, says owner Harry Wood.

Wide-plank wood floors, two original brick fireplaces and late 18th-century wood beams in the basement and living room are among the original features that have been preserved.

“I walk in now, and I look up — they’re the rough-hewed ones — thinking, ‘The person that was there with an ax and all of the tools he used, after he had done that, he might have served with George Washington,’ ” Wood says.

Using bulldozers, Wood says his father in the late 1940s pushed the house onto a new foundation along soaped-up poles while securing the structure with fire hoses.

On its new foundation, his father methodically added onto the residence over the years.

“After he bought the house — I know that he wanted to move it back,” Wood says. “He contacted some of the local contractors — they said it can’t be done. If he was told it can’t be done, he will go ahead and do it.”

The first floor includes a foyer, living room, parlor, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, four bedrooms, 1.5 baths and a laundry room.

Upstairs, there is a bedroom, a full bath and a large office with built-ins that was constructed by Wood’s father. A full 1,385 square-foot basement includes the home’s utilities.

The property includes a two-car detached garage, says Joshua Whalley, operations manager for Thomas J. McCarthy Real Estate.