Tour recalls Huntington's Revolutionary past as nation's 250th birthday approaches

George Washington dined here, and the food was — well, OK.

Washington’s visit to Huntington in 1790 was the inspiration for a recent tour of historical sites downtown and in Lloyd Neck, in line with the town's 250th anniversary celebration of America.

As the country gears up for its semiquincentennial, the tour was an effective way to highlight some local figures and places that played roles in the birth of the nation, Huntington Town Historian Robert Hughes said.

“The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is a great opportunity to revisit the sites and learn about the people important to the American Revolution and the Town of Huntington,” he said.

The tour was in collaboration with the nonprofit 1653 Foundation, the Huntington Historical Society and Town Clerk Andrew Raia’s office. Hughes was joined by town archivist Antonia Mattheou to host the April 23 event, which coincided with Washington's trip through the town 236 years ago and when he dined at a local tavern.

While America’s first president didn't visit most of the tour sites, they all have strong ties to the Revolution, Hughes said. They included forts; the birthplace of Jupiter Hammon, who was America’s first published African American poet; and the homes of early Huntington residents.

Elaine Giordano, of East Northport, was among the 50 or so people to ride in two trolleys to the sites. Giordano said she’s lived in the Town of Huntington her whole life and still learned so much on the tour.

“Who knew the British occupied Long Island for so long?” she said. She sees some of the buildings and sites around town in her everyday travels, she said, but never really knew the history behind them. “It was just very informative and interesting.”

According to Hughes, the British were in Huntington for 6½ years. 

Stops on the tour included:

Fort Hill estate

The estate on Lloyd Neck is where the British built Fort Franklin in 1778, and where the berm remains.

It was the largest and most important of several forts the British built along the North Shore when they occupied Long Island. Its location served as protection to Oyster Bay and was an easy launch for attacks on Connecticut, according to Hughes. It was later abandoned for a fort built on the site of the Old Burying Ground cemetery on Main Street.

Old Burying Ground

In 1782, after abandoning Fort Franklin, British commander Benjamin Thompson decided to use the Old Burying Ground site to build a new fort. British forces dismantled the Old First Church just east of the site and used the lumber to build the fort.

About 100 gravestones were damaged during the fort's construction. Some of the gravestones were used to build ovens. According to Hughes, when bread was baked in those ovens, the inscriptions on the gravestones were baked into the crust. 

The Lloyd manors 

The Joseph Lloyd Manor was built between 1766 and 1767 on the ancestral lands of the Matinecock Nation on Lloyd Neck. The house is best known today as the place where Hammon, an enslaved man, wrote his best-known work.

That stop was followed by a visit to the Henry Lloyd Manor House and the George Weir Barn, which are also on Lloyd Neck. The house was built in post-medieval style. It's one of a few remaining examples of that style of architecture, according to the Lloyd Harbor Historical Society, which owns the house. Hammon was born in the house in 1711.

Old First Church

The church was used as a storehouse and stable by the British during the Revolution. It was rebuilt shortly after the they evacuated. The church’s bell had been removed during the occupation and installed on the British warship Swan. The bell was eventually recovered but damaged and had to be recast. It hung in the steeple until 1967.

Platt's Tavern site

It was on April 23, 1790, that Washington and his companions traveled from Smithtown to Huntington, where they ate at Widow Platt’s Tavern, a meal the president said was “tolerably good,” according to documents from the time, Hughes said. The tavern was near what's now the southeast corner of Main Street and Park Avenue in Huntington. 

Also in line with the 250th anniversary, the town is set to unveil a historic marker Friday honoring Dr. Gilbert Potter, who served as a captain in the Battle of Ticonderoga. The town also will outline a new webpage featuring its local Revolutionary War-era history.

While the tour was one of a kind, for now, visitors to the Huntington Historical Society website can view the town's Revolutionary War Trail virtual videos, executive director Stephanie Gotard said. They feature many of the stops that were visited on the tour, she said, and are narrated by Hughes.