March General Meeting

Guest Speaker:  Tricia Foley, Author, Historian
Topic:   “Mary Louise Booth”
 
  Tricia Foley will present the extraordinary

life of Mary Louise Booth, who was a founding

editor of Harper’s Bazaar, wrote the first

history of New York City, and was a leader in

the abolition and suffrage movements. 


Thursday, March 21, 2024
7:30pm @ Swezey-Avey House

 
Refreshments will follow
the meeting. 


April General Meeting 

 
Guest Speaker:  Helen Kalbach, Yaphank Historical Society Curator and Past President
Topic:   “Henry Kavorik, Yaphank’s Poet Laureate”
April is National Poetry Month and Helen Kalbach will tell us about the life and legacy of Yaphank’s Poet Laureate, Henry Kavorik.
 
Thursday, April 18, 2024


7:30 pm @ Swezey-Avey House

 
Refreshments will follow
the meeting. 


May General Meeting 

 
Guest Speaker:  Kathy Schmidt, Yaphank Historical Society Honorary Lifetime Board Member and Founding Society Member
 
Topic:   “The Early Years: Preservation to Restoration of the Robert H. and

Isabella Hawkins House”
 
Thursday, May 16, 2024


7:30 pm @ Swezey-Avey House

 
Refreshments will follow
the meeting. 

It is the Society’s mission to collect, preserve and interpret the history of Yaphank and its surrounding area. 


GET INVOLVED

Become A Member. Join today and help support our mission. 

Make a Donation. Help us continue bringing events, exhibits, and educational programs 

to the community.


Volunteer.
The Society needs people to help with our many projects, events and activities. No matter what your interest or skill, we have a role for you.


The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
Special Thanks for the many generous grants. View the most recent award for the restoration of the Hawkins Family Cemetery.

View here



Thanks to The Suffolk County Department of Parks, Division of Historic Services,

which manages over 200 historic structures containing an array of buildings, gardens and sites of cultural and historical significance. 

The Swezey Family


Visit the Swezey family exhibit in the Swezey-Avey House.  The Swezey family arrived in Southold in the mid-1600s and in Yaphank in the 1700s. Come learn about the family’s lives into the 20th century, including the lives of Dr. Gilbert Hopkins Swezey and his daughter Dr. Sarah Swezey-Avey, the last Swezey family member to have lived in the house from 1944 to about 1960.  To visit, call 631.924.4803 to make an appointment or email us at [email protected] to make an appointment.

The Weeks Family Legacy


Yaphank’s most important family, the Weeks, settled in Millville (now Yaphank) in 1828. Portraitist William Sydney Mount was commissioned to paint James Huggins Weeks and his wife Susan Maria, in 1838. See this permanent exhibit at the Swezey-Avey House.


Our Library Collection, searchable by author, title, subject, and date, and our Archives with online Finding Aid, make excellent research tools.

Our Gift Shop features Yaphank and area history books; new, vintage & “almost-new” treasures.