Tags Posts tagged with "Three Village Community Trust"

Three Village Community Trust

John Turner

The Three Village Community Trust’s 18th annual Fall Gala will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Old Field Club. 

The Fall Gala is the Trust’s most important source of funding to “Protect the Places You Love” and encourages everyone in the community to attend. As an all-volunteer and a not for profit organization, the Trust depends on the Gala to support its many projects throughout 2023. 

“Study of Sky over the Three Village Inn” by Christian White

This year’s special honoree for the evening will be noted author and lecturer John Turner, widely recognized as one of the most respected and influential voices for the protection of our natural environment. Turner is co-founder of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the Conservation Chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and an active member of numerous environmental advocacy organizations. 

Every Trust site benefits by this event: Patriots Rock Historic Site, The Immigrant Factory Worker Houses, The Hawkins Homestead, the Smith/deZafra House, the Tyler House, the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway, the Steven D. Matthews Preserve and the Bruce House. Additionally, this event helps fund the Dr. Robert deZafra Acquisition Fund — helping the Trust to purchase additional historical properties in the future. By attending you will be helping to preserve and protect some of our area’s most treasured sites. 

There will be live music by Carl Safina and Moment’s Notice, a light buffet, an art raffle for a Christian White painting titled “Study of Sky over the Three Village Inn,” spectacular raffle baskets, and much more. 

Tickets to the event, which are $75 per person, can be purchased on the Trust’s website, www.threevillagecommunitytrust.org. For more information, call 631-942-4558, or email [email protected].

by -
0 125
Herb Mones, right, announced the Three Village Community Trust’s new challenge grant in honor of Maria Hoffman. Her husband, George, above left, was on hand for the announcement on Sept. 27. Photo above by Rita J. Egan

Three Village Community Trust members gathered in Setauket for a special announcement Sept. 27.

Maria Hoffman. Photo by Robert Reuter

Standing in front of the Bruce House headquarters on Main Street, TVCT president Herb Mones announced the kickoff of the Maria Hoffman $50,000 Challenge Grant campaign. Hoffman was a land trust member and an aide to state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket).

Mones said nearly $10,000 had already been raised toward the goal. A $50,000 matching grant was acquired from the state by Englebright earlier this year, and Mones said the funds raised would go toward the restoration of historical properties in the Three Village community and the land trust’s operational costs. 

Mones said Hoffman “impacted so much of what we have inside of this community on a continual basis, and provided the services that often we needed through a legislative office. She did it with grace, she did it with dignity and she always did it quietly.”

Englebright described Hoffman as “the right-hand side of my brain.”

“I think it’s appropriate that we recognize her and remember her to continue her legacy,” the assemblyman said, adding she was the “brains behind the whole operation” at his office.

He also talked about Hoffman’s sense of place that she memorialized through her work and with her photography and artwork, too.

Hoffman’s husband, George, was also in attendance. He said his wife loved the Three Village area and Setauket Harbor. The Bruce House was a spot Maria Hoffman always cherished. When the home was up for sale before they met in 2009, she was looking for a house but knew it would be too small if she were to marry one day. He added she was also excited when the immigrant worker homes were moved to the location from their former site near the Setauket firehouse down the street.

In addition to the state matching grant, Investors Bank recently gave TVCT a separate $4,000 grant. These funds will go toward restoring the immigrant worker houses which need work, such as replacing deteriorated exterior siding and damaged interior wallboard.

Up next for Gallery North in Setauket is Home · Land · Nature, a selection of recent works by artist Han Qin, on view from Sept. 29 to Nov. 13. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 6  to 8 p.m. 

Artist Han Qin

The solo exhibition features small, medium, and large cyanotypes, woodblock prints, and drawings that explore concepts of home and the process of relocation. 

Drawing from her own experience of migration, Qin renders moments of passing through, of conflict, of getting together, and of migrating into form and image. Her artwork incorporates poignant, structural elements of Confucian philosophy, conveying the fluidity of identity and its evolution.

There is a sense of displacement, chaos, triumph, and eventual replanting in Home · Land · Nature. Qin translates social phenomena and movement — among groups and individuals — into works which incorporate traditional cyanotype, woodblock printing, 3D scanning, and digital printing methods. 

‘The Triumph of Wanderers’ by Han Qin

“One of the elements that excites me about the exhibition is that while Han’s work draws on the emotions of her own lived experience of migration, they are universal in their ability to connect with viewers. … The works silently call viewers to explore them and ask where they themselves are or have been among these images,” said curator Kate Schwarting.

In collaboration with the Three Village Community Trust (TVCT), Gallery North will also present an outdoor projection event featuring Han Qin’s multimedia work at the TVCT’s Immigrant Worker Houses, located behind the Bruce House at 148 Main Street in Setauket, on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. This projection event will highlight the important experiences of all immigrant groups throughout the history of the Three Village community.

Gallery North will also host an ArTalk with Han Qin on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 pm. 

Generously sponsored by Jefferson’s Ferry, bld Architecture, and Suffolk County’s Department of Economic Development and Planning, the exhibition, reception and affiliated events are free and open to the public.

Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket, is open Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.

by -
0 122

The Three Village Community Trust hosted its 7th annual Chicken Hill Country Picnic and Barbecue Aug. 20 on the grounds of the Setauket Rubber Factory Workers Houses at the trust’s headquarters on Main Street.

The rubber factory, which produced items such as shoes, boots and rain gear, was once located near the property. The small houses provided homes for the Eastern European and Russian immigrants that worked at the factory. The area surrounding the site soon became known as Chicken Hill.

The nearly 100 attendees at the Aug. 20 event were treated to corn on the cob, hamburgers, chicken dogs and more, while being entertained by musician, author and storyteller Johnny Cuomo. The afternoon also included tours of the factory workers houses that were built in the late 1800s and Three Village history talks.

“We hosted many young newcomers to the Three Villages who are interested in its history and culture,” Herb Mones, TVCT president, said in an email. “It was so good to see that Chicken Hill is no longer ‘a community lost in time.’”

“Today, these small, rustic houses are a visual reminder of the hopes, dreams and struggles of so many of our nation’s immigrants,” Mones said.

Proceeds from the event will go toward restoration of the houses and other TVCT historical properties. The trust will also use funds for the upkeep of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail.

Photo by Michael Rosengard
Tickets are on now on sale!

The Three Village Community Trust invites the community to its 7th annual Chicken Hill Country Picnic and Barbecue on the lawn of the Bruce House, 148 Main St., Setauket on the grounds of the Setauket Rubber Factory Houses on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 4 to 7 p.m.

A fun, family event to celebrate the history of the Three Villages, participants will enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, chicken dogs, drinks, art raffle and raffle baskets.

Headlining the entertainment for the afternoon will be Johnny Cuomo, the popular musician, author, and storyteller. Johnny has established himself as a distinctive voice of America’s tunes, Irish songs, folk music, and minstrels. The Trust is thrilled to host Johnny Cuomo in the heart of the Three Villages – at Chicken Hill. There will also be house tours and talks about the history and importance of a ‘community lost in time’ – Chicken Hill.

All proceeds from the event will go to the ongoing restoration of the Factory Worker Houses, and the other historical properties of the Trust, as well as the upkeep of the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, $5 kids 5 to 12, under age 5 free. Bring seating. Rain date is Sunday, Aug. 21.

Online sales at: threevillagecommunitytrust.org or mail a check to TVCT, PO Box 2596, Setauket, NY 11733

Need more info? Call H. Mones at 631-942-4558, or write to [email protected], or [email protected]

 Background:

 The three Factory Worker Houses at 148 Main Street in Setauket were built in the late 1800’s and represent an important part of the American immigrant experience.

Near this site, the Setauket Rubber Factory operated as Long Island’s leading producer of domestic goods.  Hundreds of workers helped manufacture such items as shoes, boots and rain gear.

Immigrants arriving in New York City from Eastern Europe and Russia were offered steady work and inexpensive housing at the factory. These new Americans came to this area in the hopes of a better life, although the work was difficult, conditions poor and the pay low.

Housing was provided by the factory in the form of the modest “factory houses.” Each of these “company houses” has essentially two rooms – one room on the first floor and one on the second floor. Several families would crowd into the houses to afford the monthly rent payments. The surrounding area – a half mile in each direction – came to be known as “Chicken Hill.”

Yet, despite the poor working and living conditions, the immigrants helped build a vibrant community. By 1881, by there were enough Irish-Catholics in Setauket to hold a St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and build the community’s first Catholic Church on Main Street. The Jewish population, recruited from Ellis Island, was large enough to support a  synagogue – the first on Long Island – called Agudas Achim or “Good Fellowship.

Saved from demolition due to the efforts of NYS Assemblyman Steven Englebright, the Three Village Community Trust and dedicated community volunteers, the “Immigrant Worker Factory Houses” were moved to this site for the purpose of preservation and restoration.

Today, these small, rustic houses are a visual reminder of the hopes, dreams and struggles of so many of our nation’s immigrants.

by -
0 99
Members of the Three Village Community Trust, left, hand out lemonade to attendees of the Setauket Memorial Day Parade May 30. Photo from Three Village Community Trust

By Chris Mellides

Founded in 2003, the Three Village Community Trust has been a staple in the community and despite the rough times wrought on by the pandemic, the land trust’s members and community volunteers remain optimistic for the future.

Since 2020 onward, COVID-19 has been a thorn in the sides of many businesses and nonprofits on Long Island and elsewhere. Despite state-sanctioned shutdowns, through a dedicated volunteer membership, this not-for-profit organization has continued its community-centric efforts to preserve and beautify historical sites Three Villagers can admire in the area. 

Members of the Three Village Community Trust, left, hand out lemonade to attendees at the Setauket Memorial Day Parade May 30. Photo from Three Village Community Trust

During the pandemic when things were at their worst, TVCT voted in one of its founders, Herb Mones, to take over from longtime president Cynthia Barnes. 

Financial manager, Greg de Bruin, has been a contributor to the trust for years. “I became truly aware of how much responsibility the trust has assumed and how much it could affect our community for the good,” he said. “Herb Mones, who was installed as the new president at [the March 2021] meeting, happens to be very good at getting those points across,” de Bruin added. 

The TVCT properties include the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway, Patriots Rock Historic Site, the Factory Worker Houses (also known as the Rubber Factory Houses), the Hawkins Homestead, the Smith/de Zafra House, the Bruce House headquarters, the Stephen D. Matthews Preserve and the Tyler House, according to Mones. 

When asked how the trust was able to stick it out during the unforeseen global pandemic, Mones said, “The trust had to be creative.”

“We developed a number of unique online events to connect with our membership, and at the same time raise revenues ‘to keep the lights on,’” the president said. “Many of our properties are under renovation, with large price tags to do the correct historical renovations. And utilities, insurance and maintenance services are a big lift.” 

Treasurer Hope Kinney said that she helps de Bruin in making sure the bills are paid the for the properties that mean a lot to the Three Village area community. 

“The trust is amazing, they do so much for our community,” Kinney said. “We preserve many properties and help beautify the Three Village community. We have many events to help raise money for all these things we do.”

Among these fundraising projects, the trust headed up a relief effort for the people of Ukraine by asking residents to donate.  The TVCT also recently installed sunflower art at its different properties throughout the area to show support for the Ukrainian people and to raise awareness of the crisis in that country. 

De Bruin said that “obtaining funding to execute our mission is a never-ending effort. We receive funding from government grants at all levels and from private donors in the community. To get people or agencies to contribute, we have to show them that we have a worthy mission, that we have plans to accomplish the goals of the trust, and that we are succeeding in executing them.”

Aside from receiving support from the local community, the trust has recently secured a $50,000 matching grant from state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). 

“The recently announced grant from the assemblyman is so critical to us,” Mones said. “We have worked very hard to emerge out of the pandemic, and this grant will be important to assure our sustainability in the future. We are honored to be the recipient of the grant and are deeply appreciative.”

The number of projects that have culminated thus far in the trust’s almost-20 years history has been impressive. Kinney said that her favorite restoration project was the Rubber Factory Houses: “We have been using the properties for many events recently and it is so beautiful.”

Sporting new gutters this spring, with newly painted windows, doors and trims, the Rubber Factory Houses are a rustic collection of three wooden buildings that were restored by community volunteers.

According to Mones, an electric feed was added to bring electric to the structures. An electrical panel, outside receptacles, outside lighting and some indoor light switches and receptacles were also added.

The houses were relocated in 2011 to the Bruce House grounds from the Setauket Fire District property on nearby Old Town Road. 

“The trust hopes to expand its community outreach and continue its momentum in ‘protecting the place you love,’” Mones said. “We see the trust as a friend, partner and leader in helping to make the Three Villages a very special place.”

For more information on the Three Village Community Trust, visit www.threevillagecommunitytrust.org.

by -
0 87

By Herb Mones

As the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis continues to unfold, it is important for Three Village residents to reflect on our area’s historical ties to the peoples of Eastern Europe. 

In the late 1800s, many Eastern Europeans fled persecution to seek a better life in the United States. A number of these immigrants came to Setauket to find work at a local manufacturing plant that would eventually employ as many as five hundred men, women and children. Small “Factory Houses” were built by the company’s owners for the arriving workforce. Three of these historic Factory Houses are at 148 Main St. in Setauket, where they are undergoing restoration by the Three Village Community Trust. 

Most know the sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. Today, as the Ukrainian crisis deepens, it symbolizes hope, determination and solidarity for a free and independent people. 

The Three Village Community Trust, in support of the Ukrainian people and to raise awareness of the crisis, has installed sunflower art at its different properties throughout the area. 

Now, the Trust is heading up a relief effort for the people of Ukraine by asking residents to donate. 

All proceeds will go to Ukrainian aid organizations vetted through Charity Navigator. People can donate at the Trust’s website: threevillagecommunitytrust.org, or by mailing a check payable to TVCT-Ukrainian Relief, c/o Three Village Community Trust, PO Box 2596, Setauket, NY 11733. 

Ukrainians helped build our community, now it’s time to consider helping Ukraine.

Give some thought to sunflowering your front yard or business. Help spread sunflowers to the entire community and the world.

Herb Mones is the president of the Three Village Community Trust. 

Photo from Three Village Community Trust

Held with the support of the Three Village School District, the Three Village Community Trust’s first annual Winter Coat Drive is now underway through Dec. 16. This is a wonderful opportunity for residents to help those in need by dropping off a winter coat at the Trust’s headquarters at the Bruce House, 148 Main Street, Setauket. The Trust encourages community members to simply place their donation of clean winter coats on the front porch. Coats will then be delivered to local families. For more information, call  631-428-6851.

Maria Hoffman will be the honoree at this year's gala. Photo from TVCT

The Three Village Community Trust will hold its annual Fall Fundraising Gala on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the Old Field Club. This event supports the Trust’s year-round programs and projects. 

Currently, the Trust is conducting major restoration work at the Hawkins Homestead, the Smith/deZafra House, and the three Factory Worker Houses. The Trust is also working to enhance both Patriots Rock Park and the Greenway Trail. With so many undertakings, this year’s Gala will be more an important than ever to keep the Trust moving forward to “Protect the Places We Love.”

The special guest and honoree at this year’s gathering is Maria Hoffman.  An artist, photographer and naturalist, Maria is one of the most beloved and respected figures in our community and is widely known as “Everybody’s Best Friend.”  Now, after three decades of community service as Chief of Staff to New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright, Hoffman has retired and, at the Gala, will reflect on her life and career in the Three Villages. 

Live music by the renowned Carl Safina and the Natural Causes will fill the party air with magical jazz, and there will be chances to win some fun-filled raffle baskets. The big art raffle prize this year is an oil painting by the well-known artist Nancy Bueti-Randall, titled “Late Day at the Beach.”  

Tickets to the event can be purchased on the Trust’s website, www.threevillagecommunitytrust.org. For more information, call 631-689-0225 or visit [email protected].

Meet Big Bill Tory at the Sherwood Jayne House during Culper Spy Day. Photo from Preservation Long Island

UPDATED! This article was updated on 9/17/21 to reflect a change to the schedule of events (in bold).

By Heidi Sutton

On Saturday, Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Three Village Historical Society, Tri-Spy Tours and the Long Island Museum will host a day of spy-related tours and activities for the 7th annual Culper Spy Day, named for the Culper Spy Ring founded by Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington’s chief intelligence officer during the Revolutionary War.

The annual event is the brainchild of Margo Arceri, who first heard about George Washington’s Setauket spies (including her favorite spy Anna Smith Strong) from her Strong’s Neck neighbor and local historian, Kate W. Strong, in the early 1970s.

Diane Schwindt of Stirring Up History, pictured with Margo Arceri, will offer colonial cooking demonstrations during Culper Spy Day. Photo from Mari Irizarry

“Kate W. Strong, Anna Smith Strong’s great-great-granddaughter, originally told me about the Culper Spy Ring when I used to visit her with my neighbor and Strong descendant Raymond Brewster Strong III. One of her stories was about Nancy (Anna Smith Strong’s nickname) and her magic clothesline. My love of history grew from there,” she said in an interview in 2015.

Seven years ago Arceri approached the Three Village Historical Society’s President Steve Hintze and the board about conducting walking, biking and kayaking tours while sharing her knowledge of George Washington’s Long Island intelligence during the American Revolution.

Today, Arceri runs the popular Tri-Spy Tours in the Three Village area, which follows in the actual footsteps of the Culper Spy Ring. “I have to thank AMC’s miniseries Turn because 80 percent of the people who sign up for the tour do so because of that show. And now that Turn has come to Netflix it has taken this community to an entirely other level,” she said. 

It was during one of those tours that Arceri came up with the idea of having a Culper Spy Day, a day to honor the members of Long Island’s brave Patriot spy ring who helped change the course of history and helped Washington win the Revolutionary War. After a successful five-year run, last year’s event was sideswiped by COVID-19 and was presented virtually on Facebook Live. 

Meet costumed docents from Oyster Bay’s Raynham Hall on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society. Photo by TVHS

This year the family-friendly event returns but on a smaller, more intimate scale as participants will have the opportunity to visit eight locations in Setauket, Stony Brook and Port Jefferson to learn about the patriots who risked their lives through tours, spy stories, colonial cooking demonstrations, historic letters, musical performances, and many children activities. 

Escorted by Arceri, Mrs. Q of Karen Q. Patriot Tours of NYC will be on location live on social media and in costume visiting many of the locations. With the exception of the Sherwood Jayne House, all events are free.

While the Three Village Historical Society has remained closed since last January, it will reopen for the one-day event. Mari Irizarry, Outreach and Communications Manager at the Society, is ready to welcome visitors. “We miss our community. There is so much rich history, heritage and culture that is part of the Three Villages and beyond and we are excited to share it on Culper Spy Day,” she said.

Arceri’s favorite part of the day is “seeing all these organizations coming together as a whole. It really is our Revolutionary story,” she said. “Everywhere you turn in the Three Villages you are looking at an artifact, and as the historical society believes, the community is our museum and I would really love to put that on the forefront of people’s minds.”

Schedule of Events:
View Revolutionary War artifacts from the collection of Art Billadello at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library on Culper Spy Day.

1. THREE VILLAGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 93 North Country Road, Setauket. Located in the circa 1800 Bayles-Swezey House. Here you can take part in oudoor events including an invisible ink demonstration; Spy Stories on the TVHS Porch from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.; view a patriotic quilt display and demonstration and take part in colonial crafts with the Daughters of the American Revolution Anna Smith Strong Chapter; Author’s Row: come meet authors Beverly C. Tyler, Selene Castrovilla and, Claire Bellerjeau, available for book signings; view Revolutionary War letters from Stony Brook University’s Special Collections; take part in spy games and meet costumed docents who will talk about Raynham Hall, Culper Jr. and their Culper Spy connections; and enjoy a live colonial cooking demonstration and samples with Diane Schwindt of Stirring Up History. 631-751-3730.

2. THE STUDIO AT GALLERY NORTH, 84 North Country Road, Setauket. Visit The Studio to enjoy free Revolutionary War era arts and crafts for children throughout the day. Guests will have an opportunity to create a Tin Punch ornament or a chance to create a decoder & color a quilt square. Activities will occur on the patio, just outside the Studio. 631-751-2676. 

3. EMMA S. CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY, 120 Main St., Setauket. The library (circa 1892) will present a concert featuring 18th century songs the trio Rose Tree from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the Library lawn. View Revolutionary military paraphernalia from the collection of Art Billadello in the Library’s lobby. Kids can enjoy a craft from noon to 3 p.m. 631-941-4080. Please note the previously scheduled bubble and comedy show on the lawn from 11 a.m. to noon has been canceled.

4. CAROLINE CHURCH AND CEMETERY, 1 Dyke Road, Setauket. Built in 1729, this timber frame building has maintained its Colonial appearance. Now an Episcopal church, during the Revolutionary War the Caroline Church was Anglican and a Colonial extension of the Church of England. The graveyard contains the remains of six Patriot soldiers as well as soldiers from World War I and II. View the inside of the church from the vestibule and tour the cemetery with docents from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Just added! Setauket Presbyterian church next door will be offering tours of their cemetery from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. 631-941-4245.   

5. PATRIOTS ROCK HISTORIC SITE, Main Street, Setauket (across from the Setauket Post Office). This glacial erratic boulder is said to be the location of the Battle of Setauket on Aug. 22, 1777. Stop here between 10 a.m. and noon to meet representatives from the Three Village Community Trust who will discuss the importance of Patriots Rock and its local and environmental history. 631-689-0225.

6. THE LONG ISLAND MUSEUM, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate with permanent and changing exhibitions on American history and art, along with the finest collection of horse-drawn carriages in the country, some of which belonged to Revolutionary War heroes. Visit the History Museum between noon and 5 p.m. to view the newly uncovered Culper Spy Ring letter and see LIMarts Collaborative Art Group doing a plein air painting / sketching on the grounds that day. 631-751-0066.

7. SHERWOOD-JAYNE HOUSE, 55 Old Post Road, East Setauket. Originally built around 1730 as a lean-to saltbox dwelling, the house and farm were maintained as an operational farmstead for over 150 years by members of the Jayne family. Visit with Big Bill the Tory aka William Jayne III, who will explain the noble intentions and virtuosities of King George III and tells you the TRUTH about Washington’s pesky band of renegade spies! Program runs continuously from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Masks must be worn inside. $5 per person, children under 5 free. Pre-registration is recommended at www.preservationlongisland.org.

8. DROWNED MEADOW COTTAGE MUSEUM, corner of West Broadway and Barnum Avenue, Port Jefferson. The Revolutionary War-era Roe House was originally constructed circa 1755 and Phillips Roe, a member of the Culper Spy Ring along with his brother Nathaniel and cousin Austin, was known to have lived there. Visit the cottage between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and attend an unveiling with Mayor Margot Garant at 11 a.m.

————————–

Participating organizations for the 7th annual Culper Spy Day include Tri-Spy Tours, Three Village Historical Society, Stony Brook University Special Collections, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, The Long Island Museum, Raynham Hall, Drowned Meadow Cottage, Preservation Long Island, Gallery North, Karen Q’s Patriot Tours NYC, Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Stirring Up History, Three Village Community Trust, and Caroline Church of Brookhaven

For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org