Author Bill O'Byrne stops at Huntington cafe to discuss novel take on Culper Spy Ring

Daria Lamb, owner of Mighty Fine Cafe in Huntington, said the recipes there were founded in the American classics — "as American as apple pie." On Thursday, the cafe will serve up a different take on an American classic, with a local history lesson on the side.

Continuing its celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Mighty Fine will host author Bill O’Byrne, a former Long Islander, for a book signing and Q&A about his new historical novel, “Samuel Culper: Setauket Spy.” The book explores the Culper Spy Ring, a network of spies who fed intelligence to Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

Lamb said she hopes hosting the event will encourage Long Islanders to learn more about the history that took place in their own backyards.

“It’s easy to be so busy that you don’t notice your own neighborhood,” she said. “I’m hoping it gives people fresh eyes about the fact that Huntington’s been here for hundreds of years.”

The event begins at 5 p.m. and includes light refreshments. Tickets are $10, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay, the former home of Culper Spy Ring member Robert Townsend.

Justinne Lake-Jedzinak, director of education and public programs at Raynham Hall, said the proceeds will help fund some of the museum's educational programs, making local history more accessible to students.

“We can teach about the Culpers, and we can bring in students either completely free of charge or for reduced rates,” Lake-Jedzinak said.

Attendees also can expect a presentation from O’Byrne about the research behind his novel, which took him 13 years to complete, wrapping up in May of this year.

Rather than write a documentary-style history, O’Byrne structured the novel as a first-person narrative told through the eyes of Abraham Woodhull, the Setauket farmer who spied for Washington under the alias Samuel Culper.

O’Byrne said the importance of the Culper Spy Ring lies in its legacy.

“It’s basically the beginning of the CIA,” he said. “All of the military intelligence before that was either military or mercenary.”

O’Byrne said that growing up in East Setauket, across the street from a historical marker for the Road Tavern, a site tied to the Culper network, he spent years dreaming about what had happened there, even after he left Long Island.

“This is part of my childhood fantasies,” he said. “As an interest, it goes way back.”

O’Byrne, who now lives in Pennsylvania, went to college in Chicago and spent 22 years abroad doing mission work. But he said his connection to Long Island and its history has remained strong.

O’Byrne's appearance is a natural fit for Mighty Fine, which opened in Huntington at the end of April and has already become a gathering spot for community events, including arts and crafts nights, library discussions and live music.

“We’re a place where not just people interested in history come, but people interested in their community and people,” Lamb said.

The cafe’s building carries its own bit of history. Lamb said the property was once owned by the famed African American educator Booker T. Washington, who spent several summers in Huntington.

Lamb and O’Byrne both grew up on Long Island and attended the same high school, The Stony Brook School, making the night an unexpected reunion as well as a dive into history.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to do like a series of Long Island history?” Lamb said, adding that she’d like to see the cafe explore other eras of the Island’s past.
O’Byrne is scheduled to lecture at the Three Village Historical Society on Oct. 19 about the first Culper letter in its collection.

For now, O’Byrne's hope for the Huntington event is to show people the importance of a piece of Long Island history that can be easily overlooked.

“It’s just one of those forgotten pages in history,” he said. “We didn’t just go from the Declaration of Independence to Yorktown to independence. That was this whole seven-year process, and Long Island was key.”