Standoff over historic Tooker house in Port Jefferson sparks worries it could fall through the cracks

The William Tooker house is believed to be Port Jefferson's oldest abode and possibly one of the oldest in all of Brookhaven Town.

But efforts by Port Jefferson Village officials to buy the privately owned, two-story house on Sheep Pasture Road — built at least 25 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed — are in limbo amid a dispute between the village and representatives of the limited liability company that owns the vacant structure.

Port Jefferson officials say the owner, TAB Suffolk Acquisitions LLC, reneged on a 2022 deal to sell the boarded-up house to the village. Records show the company agreed to sell the property for $237,000, a relative bargain in Long Island's hot real estate market.

Village officials hope to preserve the house and possibly open it for tours. Officials believe it is eligible for the national and state registries of historic places, which would make it eligible for grants and other aid.

Mayor Lauren Sheprow said she worries about the house's fate if the village is not able to purchase it.

"The village is 100% committed to completing the acquisition of the property to move forward with the historic preservation," Sheprow said in an email. But the seller dropped out of the deal, "even though there was a contract in hand and a $10,000 deposit down on the contract."

Costs covered by grant

The purchase and about $250,300 in repairs were to have been completely covered by a state grant, village records show. The grant may expire in September if Port Jefferson doesn't complete the purchase, the mayor said.

Mary C. Merz, the Patchogue attorney for TAB Suffolk Acquisitions, said a lienholder charged with selling the property is seeking more money from Port Jefferson.

The lienholder, Merz said in an email, "won't agree to the sale at the contract price." She did not identify the lienholder.

"The village did not follow through with [the] purchase and was silent for over two years," Merz wrote. "Then suddenly after two years of silence [the] village wanted to renew [the] contract."

The Tooker house had been eyed by Port Jefferson officials for demolition in 2019 as part of an effort to rid the village of blighted properties.

Two years later, Cold Spring Harbor nonprofit Preservation Long Island said the house was one of five sites across Nassau and Suffolk counties that should be spared from the wrecking ball. 

On Oct. 3, 2022, TAB Suffolk Acquisitions agreed to sell the property to the village.

Signs of the 18th century

The Tooker house, though modified several times over the centuries, bears the telltale signs of 18th-century construction, including pegged wall studs, a hewn-oak timber frame and a fieldstone foundation, according to a 2020 report by the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The study estimated the house was built around 1750 and called it a "rare surviving example of a mid-eighteenth-century English Cape Cod-type dwelling."

The house could be even older — perhaps dating to the 1600s, said County Legis. Steve Englebright (D-East Setauket), a local history expert.

Little is known about Tooker, who died in 1750, but Englebright thinks he was a local businessman who set up shop along North Country Road, which then extended from Setauket to Southold.

“Tooker was probably an entrepreneur, and he probably used the presence of the then-new road as a way to make a living providing water and rest” to travelers, Englebright said.

The house also features its original fireplace, said Nick Acampora, president of the Port Jefferson Historical Society. 

He said the dispute between the village and the house's owner has been "incredibly frustrating."

“What’s incredibly important about this building is the fact that it’s on its original foundation with its original structure,” Acampora said. “Some historical sites have been moved, but this one is on its original foundation. ... It provides a tangible look into the past.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the William Tooker house.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.