Huntington shines fresh spotlight on its farming past with free exhibit

An exhibit examining Huntington’s farming history and how it still thrives today is on display at Town Hall.

While much of Long Island at one time was a farm, the exhibit, "Farming in Huntington," sheds light on such things as why pickles and cabbage were a wise and profitable item to grow in Huntington. It helps tell the story of Huntington connecting long-ago farmers to today’s roads, which are now named for those families.

"Visitors can expect to see genuine artifacts from Huntington’s farming history, items from existing farms, and we even flash forward," said Huntington Town Clerk Andrew P. Raia, whose office is responsible for the exhibit. "We have a cool display from a millennial gentleman who grows and sells microgreens."

The exhibit spans three floors of Town Hall and features a diorama of a farm, images, artifacts and antique items loaned by local farms. There’s also an activity book that was developed to enhance the exhibit and introduce farms that still exist, Raia said.

Agriculture was the mainstay of the town, which was settled in 1653. If one wasn’t a farmer, one’s occupation likely supported the needs of local farmers, Raia said. Eventually, other industries such as whaling, new technologies and transportation linked Huntington’s population to points west, and farming took a backseat, Raia said.

"This exhibit gives you the history of Huntington farming from the beginning to the end," he said.

Raia credits town archivist Antonia Mattheou with suggesting a farming exhibit.

Raia and his staff visited more than 20 farms in pursuit of information and artifacts. The exhibit doesn’t only highlight traditional farming fare such as potatoes, pickles and other vegetables, but also agricultural references including apples, sod and vineyards.

Mattheou said the idea came up after she noticed that because of the COVID-19 pandemic people were not going to supermarkets as often, opting instead to go to farmers markets.

"Farmers markets are not farms, but I thought it would be wonderful if we see how many farms remain in Huntington," she said.

Town historian Robert Hughes said that though Huntington is not unique as far as farming, it does offer a microcosm of the agricultural experience throughout Long Island. Farming can tell the history of a place and can even mark when changes begin, he said.

"It’s a vanished part of Huntington’s history," Hughes said. "A lot of people may not realize that where all of these houses are, there used to be farms."

Hughes points out that at the beginning of the 20th century, farm owners closer to downtown had already started to realize that transitioning from farming toward real estate development was profitable. Hughes quotes George A. Sammis, who owned about 50 acres in the area and whose family name adorns a local street, with having such foresight.

"In 1900 he realizes, ‘One of the most profitable crops a farmer can raise is a series of cottages to be occupied by owners.’ That was in 1900, people started converting farms into houses," Hughes said.

The free exhibit will be on display through the end of the year.