Group working to save Maine Maid Inn

A last-minute effort is under way to try to prevent the demolition of the Maine Maid Inn, which historians say was once the most prominent stop on the Underground Railroad on Long Island.

The East Norwich Civic Association has filed an application with Oyster Bay town to have the two-story 1789 structure in Jericho declared a landmark, which could offer it protection from the wrecking ball.

"It's the right thing to do," said Matthew Meng, president of the association. "Most people think it's a landmark, and are astonished to learn it's not."

Oyster Bay's Landmark Commission will hold a public hearing on the application May 25 and -- if it approves landmark status -- will forward its recommendation to the Oyster Bay Town Board, said Phyllis Barry, a town spokeswoman.

The board would hold its own public hearing and make a final ruling, she said.

Granting landmark status would prevent the owner from altering the exterior or demolishing it unless he receives special permission from the town, she said. The owner would have to prove that keeping the structure in place would be a hardship.

The Inn, located amid the "Jericho Preserve" of several historic buildings that were the center of a Quaker community known statewide for its abolitionist activities, has been closed and for sale for two years.

Its fate remains uncertain. Breslin Realty, which is handling the potential sale, did not return calls. Earlier this year the asking price was $1.6 million.

Kate Velsor, a SUNY Old Westbury professor who has spent the past 16 years investigating and documenting the Underground Railroad on Long Island, said she believes the Inn will be preserved. "The community obviously wants to come together and save it," she said.

A National Park Service official recently visited the site, and expressed interest in making the Inn part of the park service's national Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, which has 425 locations around the country, but none on Long Island, Velsor said.

Nassau County had expressed interest in purchasing the building. Monday, county spokesman Brian Nevin said the Department of Real Estate is still exploring the possibility and doing a financial analysis.

The Underground Railroad, which helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the North through a secret network across the United States and Canada, is a little-known facet of Long Island's history.

In the 1800s the Maine Maid Inn was a large home owned by Valentine Hicks, the second president of the Long Island Rail Road. He was also the son-in-law of Elias Hicks, the Quaker some credit with getting the state to abolish slavery.