Center Moriches house gets landmark status

Brookhaven Town officials have granted landmark status to an 18th century Center Moriches house that some residents say gives the community a "sense of place."

The 2 1/2-story John Scudder and Mary Pelletreau Havens Homestead is "one of the best preserved and oldest residences in the Moriches community," town officials said in a news release. The town board unanimously named it a landmark on Sept. 17.

"This is an exciting moment," Burt Seides, president of the nonprofit Moriches Bay Historical Society, which owns the house, said in a statement released by the town. "This residence is a significant home with historical value, with a very prominent position in the community that helps to give it a sense of place."

The house was built in 1740 and moved to its present spot on Montauk Highway in 1974. Several generations of the Havens family lived in the house until 1965.

Town Councilman Dan Panico said landmark status protects the house from being demolished. Proposed changes to the house would be subject to approval by the town Historic Advisory Committee, he said.

"We are fortunate to have a historic structure such as the Havens Homestead in a condition that allowed the town to pursue its important landmark designation," Panico said in a statement.