History of Patchogue Village, East Patchogue and North Patchogue

Patchogue History

Patchogue Queen City of Long Island's South Shore The Early Years - Hans Henke
It was not my intent when writing this book, to give a precise history of the Village of Patchogue, but more to give the reader a feeling of what life was like in our town many years ago. Acknowledgements... My greatest appreciation to my daughter Susan for helping me master all the computer programs needed to create this book.

"Patchogue - Queen City of Long Island's South Shore The Early Years" by Hans Henke
Patchogue's Early Years 1840-1920s

Patchogue was a relative late comer in the development of Long Islands Suffolk County. In 1655 Setauket was settled by a party from Connecticut, and other settlements soon sprung up in Coram, Mastic, Southaven and St. George’s Manor. On the eastern end of Long Island other parties from Connecticut settled in the Hamptons and on the North Fork in the same time period. The Patchogue area remained a wilderness for a number of years. Humphrey Avery owned the land between the Patchogue and Swan Neck Rivers, covered by unsettled forest. In 1755 he placed this area as lot #3 on a lottery sale. It was purchased by Leoffer d’Leofferda on March 15, 1759. This date marks the beginning of Patchogue.

Patchogue’s three streams attracted the first settlers, who took advantage of the abundance of waterpower available. There are indications of a mill existing in this area as early as the 1750’s. Another mill was built on the Patchogue River in 1798. Squire Mott constructed a dam and built a mill on Swan River in 1814. Many other mills followed over the years. In the beginning of 1800 approximately twelve dwellings stood on the Kings Highway (later called Fulton Street and today Main Street ). Another five dwellings stood on The Lane, which is today’s South Ocean Avenue.

Justus Roe erected Patchogue’s first hotel in 1808 on West Main Street near the Patchogue Lake. In 1820 he built another hotel on the northeast corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue. Austin Roe Built the much larger Eagle Hotel on East Main Street in 1852, which was enlarged to twice its size in 1898.

Patchogue’s location on the Great South Bay and the Patchogue River was ideally suited for the development of the oyster, fishing and shipping industries. The first license to harvest the bay waters was issued by Brookhaven Town in 1820. By 1850 three hundred men made a living harvesting oysters and clams.

Before the arrival of the South Shore Railroad Line in Patchogue in 1869, most commerce with New York City and other parts of the country was done by boat. The Patchogue River made a great harbor, and as a result, schooners weighing up to 450 ton were based in Patchogue, which traded up and down the east coast of the continent and even traveled to ports in the Mediterranean.

The Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Patchogue River in the 1870’s to make it the only deep-water port on the south shore of Long Island. A second dredging in 1900 improved the harbor further. Patchogue became a Port of Entry for the United States in 1875 with a customs house on South Ocean Avenue. The customs house was closed in 1922. In 1870 over three hundred boats were based here. All this activity created a great demand for new boats and their maintenance. The first boatyards were located on the shore of the bay and the Gerard Brothers even built their first boats near the “Four Corners” on Main Street. After the dredging of the harbor, boat yards were located on the river. In 1892 Patchogue had twelve boat yards with over sixty employees, building boats of up to 450 tons.

With the arrival of the railroad in 1869, the opportunity for a new industry- tourism developed. Now within easy reach by rail from New York, Patchogue became a vacation destination for thousands of New Yorkers, who flocked here in the summertime to enjoy the cool southwest breezes from the ocean. Large hotels were built on or near the shoreline that could accommodate over 1600 guests. From 1880 to the 1920’s tourism was a thriving industry. Business declined gradually due to the popularity of the affordable automobile. Motorcars allowed tourists to go to other destinations which, before, could not be reached in reasonable time by rail.

This is the earliest known Patchogue image – an artists 1840 sketch. In the foreground is the West Lake. The building in the right front is the cotton mill of Nathaniel Smith and Daniel Gillette, built in 1832. The large building on the left is the Unichurch on Main Street, opposite River Avenue. The building across the street is the first Methodist church. What is now Patchogue’s center can be seen in the background on the right.

The Unichurch building on the northeast corner of Main Street and Waverly Avenue. Built in 1820 by George Curtiss, it was a great improvement over the small 1894 Meeting House located on this spot. This 36 by 40 foot building was used jointly by the Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist congregations for several years. From 1831 to 1855 the Congregational Church was the sole owner. After 1855 the building was occupied by stores and apartments until it was torn down in the 1960’s.

The first Methodist church on West Main Street. When the Methodists relinquished their share of the Uni-church, they held meetings for a short time in the mill building and then built their own church on West Main Street, approximately 200 feet east of River Avenue. This building was sold to the Catholic Church in 1854 and was moved in 1890 to become a barn.

Originally called the Patchogue Mill, the Terry Gristmill, on the northeast corner of the Patchogue Lake, was built in 1783 and enlarged in 1832. An overshot waterwheel was driving three runs of stone to produce flour. Mr. Terry installed a turbine drive in 1887 and converted the mill to become Patchogue’s first electric power plant.

The Terry House. Miller Edward H. Terry’s house stood slightly north of his mill behind the eastern runoff of the Patchogue Lake. Access to the house would be by the bridge, pictured on the left side of the picture.

Terry’s mill on Main Street, opposite West Avenue. The three men standing in front of the mill are, from left to right : Terry’s brother-in-law Fred P. Smith, his employee Oscar Mills, and Edward H. Terry. This photograph dates from 1882.

The 1857 Business Directory of Patchogue
Arthur J.H.	proprietor of the Ketcham House
Bell J.R.	butcher
Chapel & Rice	Physicians
Conklin W.S.	dealer in dry goods and groceries
Deanert J.	dealer in stoves, tin, sheet iron ware and metallic roofing
Edwards E.	dealer in dry goods and groceries
Fishel & Brothers	dealer in dry goods and groceries, ready made clothing
Green E.	paper manufacturer
Havens J.S. & C.S.	dealers in dry goods and groceries, hardware, crockery, dresses and shoes
Hawkins S.C.	harness manufacturer
Hawkins W.	boot and shoe maker
Horton J.G.	cabinet maker
Lambert A.	dealer in dry goods, groceries and millinery
Parks H.	mason
Preston W.S.	MD physician
Price & Smith	sash and blind manufacturer
Roe A.	proprietor of Eagle Hotel
Roe E.	house builder
Rose C.	express
Sell J.W.	stages
Skinner S.B.	sail maker
Smith J.R.	house builder
Smith P.	merchant tailor
Smith O P.	ship builder
Stirling W.A.	rector of St. Pauls Church, principal of Stirlings English and Classical Academy
Sharpe F.	wagon maker
Smith M.	keeps boarding house
Soker J.S.	stages
Thurber G.W.	lawyer
Terrell C.H.	sash and blind manufacturer
Van Arsdale N.	baker
Weeks B.A.	clothing manufacturer
Woodhull B.	lawyer

An 1857 Map of Patchogue
On this 1857 map of Patchogue, Main Street is called Fulton Street and Ocean Avenue is called Water Street. Yet earlier names for Main Street and Ocean Avenue were “Kings Highway “and ‘The Lane” respectively. The lower 1858 map shows what is now South Country Road, then called Union Street.

An 1858 Map of East Patchogue
Squire Mott built this mill on Swan Lake in 1814. In the early years, one of the products of this mill was oil pressed from flaxseed.
The mill burned in 1854 but was immediately rebuilt. Later owners of this mill were Dick Saxton and Nathaniel Swezey, who operated it as a gristmill. A fire destroyed the mill on April 24, 1931.

Squire Mott built this mill on Swan Lake in 1814. In the early years, one of the products of this mill was oil pressed from flaxseed. The mill burned in 1854 but was immediately rebuilt. Later owners of this mill were Dick Saxton and Nathaniel Swezey, who operated it as a gristmill. A fire destroyed the mill on April 24, 1931.

A view of Montauk Highway at Swan Lake in the 1890’s. The first building on the left side of the picture is the Swezey house with the Vrooman mansion standing behind it. Swezey’s gristmill is in the center of the picture, and the structure on the right could be part of Roe’s cotton mill.

A beautiful picture of the Swan River Gristmill in its hay day.

An interior picture of the Swan River gristmill taken in 1930, when it was used as a tea room for several years. This is an 1860 bill head from John Roe’s cotton mill. John Roe operated a cotton mill on Patchogue Lake and one on Swan Lake. These were the third and fourth cotton mills in the United States. The Swan Lake mill drove five hundred spindles. Built in the 1840’s, the mill had disappeared by the turn of the century.

This is an 1860 bill head from John Roe’s cotton mill. John Roe operated a cotton mill on Patchogue Lake and one on Swan Lake. These were the third and fourth cotton mills in the United States. The Swan Lake mill drove five hundred spindles. Built in the 1840’s, the mill had disappeared by the turn of the
century.

In 1820 , Roe’s tavern stood on the northeast corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue, or Pine Street, as it was called at that time. It was a stopover for the Sag Harbor stagecoach. According to the historian Paul Bailey, Austin Roe had another tavern prior to this one, which was located further west on Main Street. The 1820 tavern was split up into several sections after the new Roe Hotel was built on Main Street, and these sections were converted to homes after they were moved to locations on Oak Street and Jayne Avenue.

The Central Hotel was located 100 feet west of the Four Corners, on the south side of West Main Street. It was built as a home for Daniel Gerard about 1850. Under the later owners, the Ketcham and Rice families, it became a hotel. Dr. Rice added a drugstore on the east side. Clay Losee bought and rebuilt the hotel in 1880 and it could then accommodate one hundred guests.

In the 1830’s Jonathan Beers built a large home on the southwest corner of Main Street and West Avenue. James Ketcham operated a tavern and the post office here in 1840. In 1872, Captain George Hawkins bought and remodeled this building, and it became the South Side Hotel. The hotel had other owners and names in later years, including Felter’s Hotel (1888), the Lakeview Hotel (1890). Mr. Cox owned the hotel around the turn of the century. His employee, Mr. Greenfield, bought the hotel in 1911 and it became the Greenfield Hotel.

1853 Charles Terrel built this new Methodist church on the southeast corner of Church Street and Railroad Avenue, where it served the community until the new church in 1890 was ready on South Ocean Avenue. This church later became the residence of Millard Weeks. In 1926 the building became an apartment house and it was totally destroyed by fire in 1939. Mr. Greenfield rebuilt the house in 1940, using the original foundation.

The Congregational church on the northwest corner of North Ocean Avenue and Lake Street was dedicated on November 27 1855. The parsonage was located opposite the church on Ocean Avenue. This church was sold after the new church on East Main Street was completed and it became the main part of the Lyceum in 1895.

The tower of Fishel’s store, which later became Swezey and Newins, was an often used vantage point for local photographers. This view, looking north, shows the Congregational church on the corner of Lake Street and North Ocean Avenue. Jennings Avenue is on the upper left, and the bell tower and the buildings of the first firehouse are on the right. The time this picture was taken would be about 1890.

This is one of the earliest photographs of Patchogue, taken from the roof of Roe’s Eagle Hotel in 1863. Ocean Avenue is running through the center of the picture, and the corner of Church Street is just to the right of the dark barn. The large white building, on the extreme upper right, is the Methodist church on the corner of Church Street and Railroad Avenue. The Patchogue River is running through the upper part of the picture.

The artist Edward Lange made this sketch of Patchogue in 1876. In the foreground is the boatyard of Saxton and Gil Smith. Across the river lies the Patchogue Railroad Station. Patchogue was the end of the line from 1869 to 1872. On the horizon are, from left to right, the steeple of the Methodist church, Fishel’s tower, the Eagle Hotel and the old Lyceum on South Ocean Avenue. The school on Academy Street and the Episcopal church are on the right.

Here is a view of the north side of West Main Street near the Four Corners after the blizzard of 1888. This group of stores had, from left to right, the following occupants: John Rorke’s shoe store, Henth’s barber shop, Nugent & Cowle’s paint and wallpaper store, Wick’s candy shop, Charles Ryder, tin ware and plumbing, Gilbert Carter’s restaurant, Bartlett’s saloon, Samuel Cohen, haberdasher and Fishel’s general store.

One of the oldest buildings in town is the former John S. Havens store on west Main Street. Mr. Havens operated this general store beginning in 1857. The building burned in 1865 but was soon rebuilt. The upper floor hall was used for Odd Fellows and Masons meetings. The Shand Family bought this store in 1914 and today it is the Brickhouse Brewery.

Scudder and Hawkins restaurant and oyster saloon was built in the 1860’s on the northeast corner of West Main Street and Havens Avenue. Over the years many other businesses had their stores in this building, which was eventually destroyed by fire in 1991.

In 1851 John Roe Smith built a new hotel for Austin Roe on the north side of East Main Street, 300 feet east of
the ”Four Corners”. It became a well known stopover for travelers. Artist Edward Lange made this sketch of Roe’s Eagle Hotel.

The Clinton Roller Skating Rink, on the east side of South Ocean Avenue, was built during the roller skating craze in the early 1880’s. The builder and proprietor was Gelston Roe. When the skating fad died out, Mr. Roe remodeled the building. A large stage was added and the building became a social hall called the Lyceum. Later this building was turned sideways, facing Ocean Avenue, and converted into a row of stores.

Teams of 12 pair of oxen are pulling the heavy car for the experimental Boynton’s Bicycle Railroad through Main Street in this 1892 picture. Mr. Boynton had built a two mile test track near Dunton Lake in East Patchogue, where this car reached 40 miles per hour during 1893 test runs.

The large building in this picture, on the northwest corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue, was built in 1879 and called Tower Hall. Fishel’s general store occupied the bottom floor, offices were located on the second floor and the upper floor was a social hall. In 1894 Swezey and Newins opened their store here. Before 1879 Walter Howell’s store stood on this spot for many years. The building in the center of this picture is the well known McBride’s Drugstore, established in 1881. This picture also was taken after the 1888 blizzard.

A view of South Ocean Avenue from Main Street, taken in the early 1880’s. The signs on the buildings advertise the following businesses, from front to rear: Van Arsdale’s Bakery, Village Market- C.H. Hawkins, O. Johnston’s Costume & Ready Made Boots and Shoes and “ The Advance “ on the long, narrow protruding sign. The roads are still unpaved and South Ocean Avenue looks like a country lane

This view shows South Ocean Avenue, as seen from the “Four Corners”, after the blizzard of 1888. Starting from the right, the following
people or businesses occupied these buildings: Mathieus (groceries), Frank Miller (stationary), John R. Davis tavern, Mary Deere, Bailey’s Hardware Store and George D. Gerard (groceries). Van Arsdale’s bakery stood on the corner of Main Street, but the building burned a few years before this picture was taken.

Business Ads From The Year 1877

Patchogue Business Directory ----- 1877

Patchogue Business Directory ----- 1877

A group of young ladies riding their bicycles on muddy West Main Street. This picture was taken inthe late 1880’s. The white building is the Gerety home and the dark building next to it is John S. Haven’s store.

A Fishel’s store bill from the year 1869.

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