Long-time Moriches Bay residents may remember when the Havens House was moved across Montauk Highway in Center Moriches where it now serves as a local history museum and gathering place.
At its original location near the head of Terrell River, the home was part of the vast holdings of Benjamin Havens who purchased the estate from the Smith family in 1749. It extended from the river west to Senix Creek and all the way to the “Dongan Line” which is now Sunrise Highway. It’s southern border was Moriches Bay and beyond to the barrier island and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Smiths could spare an acre or two having controlled 81,000 acres of what would become Brookhaven Town assembled by Col. William Tangier Smith, mostly from deals with the indigenous Indian tribes.
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| The Tuttle Duck Barn Robert Chartuk |
After Benjamin Havens’ death in 1797, the property transferred to Captain John Havens (1748-1809) who spent his entire life in the Moriches, and later occupied by his son, Colonel John Havens (1787-1850), who suffered financial difficulty, became land poor, and moved to Patchogue in 1820, selling the property out of the family, the Homestead notes.
After Colonel John Havens’ death, property was purchased back by his son, John Scudder Havens (1826-1903), who, in 1897, remodeled the Dutch Colonial structure with the addition of a Gambrel roof designed by Isaac H. Green Jr. of Oakdale. This more than doubled the size of the house making room for his wife, Mary Amelia Pelletreau of Southampton, and four children. John Scudder was a successful businessman with ventures in land surveying, insurance, and mills in Patchogue. He was also a partner in Howell & Havens, a Patchogue general store, which he eventually bought out and went into partnership with his brother, Charles Havens.
John Scudder’s achievements included Brookhaven Town Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, a founder of the Patchogue bank, a state assemblyman from 1862-1865, Brookhaven Town Supervisor from 1859-1862 and again from 1878-1881, and president of the Suffolk County Agricultural Society from 1891-1898. He was also a board member of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association of the Moriches, located across the street from the estate.
John and Mary Amelia had four children: Leila Eliza, Archibald Sidney, Aimee May, and Sarah Margaret, none of whom married. When the last surviving heir, Sarah Margaret, died in 1965, the property passed to Robert Halsey Pelletreau, her first cousin. He used the property as a hunting lodge and attempted to sell it. The plan precipitated an archaeological dig which confirmed that the land was inhabited by American Indians as early as 9,500 years ago.
These finds inhibited the sale, moving Suffolk County to purchase the property in 1986 and create the 263-acre Terrell River Park, a popular preserve that extends from Montauk Highway all the way to Moriches Bay, including the site of the original homestead. The deal was orchestrated by Center Moriches resident Edward Romaine, a county legislator at the time and now Suffolk County executive, who lobbied for votes in exchange for his support in naming the court complex in Islip after John P. Cohalan, Jr., the former Islip Town supervisor, state Supreme Court justice, and father of former County Executive Peter F. Cohalan.
In 1971, the Havens House was gifted by Pelletreau to the newly formed Moriches Bay Historic Society. It was moved across the street by the Kennelly Brothers, who rotated it 180 degrees and placed it on a new foundation. A ground thaw and a broken cable delayed the move, blocking Main Street for hours.
According to local historian Bertram E. Seides, who helps manage the property along with the nearby Terry-Ketchum Inn and the former Smith duck farm, the Pelletreau family continues to support the historic gem through Pelletreau’s son, Robert, Jr. Seides reported that generous donations enabled the Homestead to replace the 1750 roof and the Dutch gambrel roof.
The home is also supported by antique fairs, car shows, and a museum shop in a converted duck barn donated by the Tuttle family and moved from Eastport in 1998. It was operated for many years as a thrift store by a nearby resident, Frances Chartuk, along with former Center Moriches Fire Chief Gordon Hackney, Richard Herbert, Sue Savochka, Frank and Lilka Lichtneger, and other local volunteers.
For more information, visit: www.havenshomestead.org