Yaphank As It Is, Was, Will Be

BOOTH HOUSE PROJECT UPDATES

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS! We sincerely appreciate your support for this important project. Your contributions (more than $3000 so far) have enabled us to quickly move forward with our restoration efforts. This status report will bring you up-to-date with our progress. Watch for continued updates in the Newsletter and on this website. The Society is working closely with the Suffolk County Parks Department on this restoration project. We believe the community and all visitors to the Yaphank Historical District will benefit from this addition to the area..."

>>>>>>>>   July 2011; Booth House Project UPDATE
>>>>>>>>   June 2011; Booth House Project UPDATE
>>>>>>>>   Jan. - Feb. 2011; Booth House Project UPDATE
>>>>>>>>   Nov. - Dec. 2010; Booth House Project UPDATE
>>>>>>>>   September 2010; Booth House Project Report

MARY LOUISE BOOTH IN BROOKLYN

Recently, several YHS Board Members accompanied Richard Martin, from Suffolk County Department of Parks, Division of Historic Services, on a fact finding tour of historic Brooklyn sites where Mary Louise Booth, and her family, lived and worked. The Booth Family monument in Cypress Hills Cemetery, in Brooklyn, was photographed, as was her father's home at 81 Hamilton St., in the Williamsburg section. To view some slides from the trip, and to see a shortened version of a Mary Louise Booth timeline, click here

THE BOOTH HOUSE RESTORATION

The Booth House Restoration is a joint effort between Suffolk County and the Yaphank Historical Society. The Mary Louise Booth House, c. 1829, will be restored with period furnishings and displays to reflect the life and career of Ms. Booth. The Museum will be open to the public.

We believe that the completion of this restoration and establishment of the museum will complement the Robert Hewlett Hawkins House property and further increase the stature of the Yaphank Historic District. The Historic District will continue to serve as a cornerstone of our community, provide a gateway to the historic homes along Main Street, and help insure that only development which appropriately reflects the historic and rural character of our community be approved in the future. View the Booth House Interior as it is now...

HOMAN HOUSE RESTORATION

circa 1790. The Homan-Hard house, also known as the Yellow House, stands alongside the site of the Homan-Gerard Mills. (The Mills were the backbone of Yaphank's thriving industry during the 1800's.) The house is currently owned by Suffolk County. It was purchased by them in 1963 as part of Southhaven Park. It is now second on the County list for restoration.

FUTURE YAPHANK HISTORIC CENTER

Here is a future vision for a Yaphank Historic Center. If we can secure the existing gray cottage across from the Hawkins House, we will have a Visitor Center for our beautiful historic district, comprised of the restored Hawkins, Booth, and Homan houses, plus the Suffolk County/Yaphank Historical Society Mary Louise Booth Museum, and Main Street itself, with over 40 historic homes, dating as far back as 1726.