Huntington grants Grace Log Cabin historic-landmark status

A log cabin built in 1918 and tucked in the middle of a residential Greenlawn neighborhood — rediscovered, in a sense, by an aunt out on a walk amid the pandemic — has been designated as a local historic landmark.

Grace Log Cabin sits at the edge of a hill overlooking Northport Harbor in the Edwin and Gertrude Grace Nature Preserve off Arbutus Road. The 23.2-acre preserve is mostly surrounded by privately owned homes.

Huntington Town Historian Robert Hughes said the cabin has historic relevance, including being part of an estate dating to around 1914 with grounds designed by the same architect who planned out Heckscher Park in Huntington. 

“The local designation is really going to protect it,” Hughes said, adding that the cabin speaks to the town’s estate period. “Not the big mansions like Oheka [Castle] but a more rustic estate setting, and it has survived all these years pretty much intact; it’s part of the landscape, it’s not imposed on the landscape — it’s more organic in its setting, construction and materials.”

The Huntington Town Board voted to give the structure the designation at its meeting Sept. 16.

Designation helps protect cabin

In an unusual move, the board voted on the measure at the same meeting the public hearing was held. Board members were moved by testimony from those in attendance, including the grandchildren of Edwin and Gertrude Grace, whose family was the last to privately own the property. The grandchildren shared memories of time spent at the cabin and urged the local historic designation be granted.

Local historic designation imposes certain restrictions on what can be done with the cabin, including those on demolition and “unsympathetic alterations,” Hughes said. The cabin is also eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but town officials have yet to pursue that avenue.

The land on which the cabin is built was originally part of Cedarcroft, a high-end subdivision. The land was subsequently subdivided, Hughes said.

In May 2004, Huntington Town purchased the cabin and the 4½-acre property following a recommendation from the town's Environmental Open Space & Park Fund Advisory Committee. Sometime in the 1980s, the town purchased 18 acres of adjacent land to create the preserve, Hughes said.

Rediscovery and push for repairs

In 2008, the cabin had an extensive renovation. However, it has since fallen into disrepair.

Its condition alarmed East Northport resident Karen Steinhaus, who discovered the cabin in 2021 while walking in the preserve to keep her young nephews occupied during the COVID-19 pandemic. She began contacting the town board to push for repairs and eventually local historic designation.

“It’s our history and it should be taken care of,” Steinhaus said. “I couldn’t believe the neglect, especially since our taxpayer money paid for the restoration.”

She said she’s “thrilled” with the designation and looks forward to being on a committee to decide what’s next for the cabin.

Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said it will be a challenge to figure out the best way touse the property. There’s no parking, the trail leading to the cabin does not comply with the  Americans with Disabilities Act, and there is no running water, he said. But, he said, the designation opens opportunities for federal, state and private grants and other funding opportunities.

“I don’t want to make any promises,” Smyth said. “The challenge is finding a way to make the property available to the community for beneficial use” without impacting neighbors.

Hughes said the cabin is unique on Long Island.

“I can’t think of any other authentic log cabin on Long Island and certainly in the Town of Huntington,” he said. “This is not a faux log cabin; this is a true log cabin, made with logs — you usually see that out West or in the Adirondacks.”