Huntington History

Huntington Station is home to two Teich Houses.  The better known is the house where Dr. Samuel Teich had lived and had his medical office for over 50 years.  The other is a smaller home nearby on Academy Place which is where Dr. Teich lived when he was growing up, and which is now the first historic landmark property in the vicinity of the Huntington train station..  The house on Academy Place is owned by the Town of Huntington and will be available to be used by community groups and also has exhibits about the Teich family, Huntington Station, and the Station’s African American history.  The Town Board designated the house a historic landmark on April 10, 2018.  This is the story of that house.

On July 15, 1899, Allison E. Lowndes filed a subdivision map for property on the west side of New York Avenue in what was then known as Fairgrounds, now Huntington Station. The subdivision, which stretched from the intersection of New York Avenue and Lowndes Avenue south to Railroad Street, was one of the first residential subdivisions in the fast growing area. Over the next 15 years, much of the land around the train station as far west as Oakwood Road and as far east as Lenox Road (south of the tracks) and Kelsey Avenue (north of the tracks) would be subdivided.

The Teich House on Academy Place

Even before the subdivision had been filed with the County, Janet F.L. Drake had contracted to buy lots in the development, which was referred to as Lowndesborough[1] (although the name does not appear on the subdivision map and does not appear to have stuck). Mrs. Drake began construction of three cottages immediately.[2] Two cottages, including the subject house, were on the north side of Academy Place (then known as Hillside Avenue); the third was across the street.

By August at least one of the new cottages was available for rent.[3] Mrs. Drake, who owned several parcels of land in Huntington, seems to have been an active real estate investor and developer. However, by 1916, she suffered a reversal of fortune. At least three properties she owned were sold at foreclosure, including the property on Academy Place.[4] The two houses on the north side of Academy Place were purchased at auction by Roswell S. Baylis,[5] who in turn sold the lots to John I. Colyer two years later.[6] And two years after that, in 1921, Mr. Colyer sold the two houses to Rosie Teich, wife of Max Teich.[7]

Max Teich, who had worked in the grocery business, operated Hillside Dairy from the property, which included a cow barn in the rear yard. The Teich family had been instrumental in forming the Huntington Hebrew Congregation and were active members of the Huntington Jewish community.

Mrs. and Mrs. Teich raised two children in the house—their son Samuel and daughter Fay.   After Samuel Teich graduated from Huntington High School in 1924, he attended Cornell University and then the Long Island College of Medicine. He purchased the Murray House at 1090 New York Avenue and set up his medical office there in 1935. During his 50 years of practice, Dr. Teich became a well-loved member of the community, delivering thousands of babies and also caring for other residents.

Dr. Teich’s sister Fay Merksamer remained the house on Academy Place after her mother died in 1961.[8] Her son Jay lived in the house until it was purchased by the Town in 2012 as an extension of Gateway Park.

For the most part, the house retains its original appearance. The front porch has been enclosed and the kitchen enlarged, but otherwise the massing and appearance are intact.

The house was designated a s a historic landmark because it represents the early suburban development of Huntington Station. In fact, it was one of the first suburban houses built in that area. . It is a good example of turn of the twentieth century vernacular architecture. Furthermore, it is closely identified with the Teich family, who were active members of Huntington’s early Jewish community. Dr. Teich continues to be a well-known figure in Huntington Station’s twentieth century history.

[1] The Long-Islander, May 6, 1899, page 2

[2] Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 19, 1899, page 14

[3] The Long-Islander, August 26, 1899, page 1.

[4] The Long-Islander, March 10, 1916 and November 3, 1916

[5] The Long-Islander, January 26, 1917, page 4

[6] The Long-Islander, August 29, 1919, Page 5

[7] The Long-Islander, December 9, 1921, page 9

[8] The Long-Islander, January 26, 1961.

Read Full Post »

A house with one of the most spectacular settings in the Town of Huntington has been resurrected at least twice in its 130-year history. But now, it has run out of second chances.

Known as East Point, the rambling home sits on a three-acre peninsula jutting out into Huntington Harbor commanding sweeping views of the harbor in three directions.

In 1888, Dr. Daniel E. Kissam, a direct descendant of Dr. Daniel W. Kissam (whose 1795 house on Park Avenue is now a museum preserved by the Huntington Historical Society), purchased the peninsula and 10 acres of uplands from the Scudder family, which had extensive land holdings along the east shore of Huntington Harbor since the colonial period. Dr. Kissam, who lived in Brooklyn, was an active member of the Huntington community, serving on the Huntington School Board and hosting fund raising events for St. John’s church at his home.

Dr. Kissam died in December 1903. Five months later, John Green, a 24-year old millionaire owner of a Colorado mine (in the 1910 census, his occupation was given as “Corporation Office, Investment Securities”), purchased the property. At the same time, his fiancé, the well-known actress Deronda Mayo, announced her retirement from the stage—an announcement that made news in papers across the country.   Deronda was the daughter of Frank Mayo, who was also a famous actor, best known for playing the Mark Twain character Pudd’n-head Wilson on Broadway. Deronda’s sister Eleanor had also been an actress before her marriage to James Elverson, the owner and publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Point Siesta in 1909

After spending a summer at what was called Locust Point or Kissam’s Point, Green had the house remodeled and modernized. Green, who had spent part of his childhood in Huntington, christened the house Point Siesta. Unfortunately, Deronda Green died just seven years after the couple had married. Shortly after her death in 1911, he sold the property to his brother-in-law (by marriage) James Elverson.

Elverson used Point Siesta as a summer home. He died in January 1929; his wife died less than three months later. At the time, the property was valued at more than $100,000 (the equivalent of $1.5 million today). In order to pay Elverson’s debts, the contents of the house were sold at auction in August 1931. The items to be auctioned included:

Several complete bedroom suites, carved post bed with canopy, antique chests of drawers, colonial mahogany dining room suite, Steinway grand piano, radio, a large variety of wicker and willow furniture, English china, glassware, clocks, 40 semi-antique Persian rugs, sterling silver tea set and flatware, Sheffield trays and platters, fine fur coats, electric refrigerator and kitchen equipment, a Packard Town Car and Dodge station wagon, a power lawnmower, and the furnishings of the 11 servants’ rooms over the garage.

The auction did not go smoothly. John Green had been living at Point Siesta, but was evicted by order of the Surrogate shortly before the auction. He was also the residual legatee of the Elverson estate. Green objected that some of the items in the house were his and should not be auctioned off. He had also unsuccessfully sought to remove the executor and administrator because, Green claimed, they had taken actions that resulted in large losses to the estate. After Green was evicted from the house, an inventory was taken. It was discovered that 250 cases of wines and liquors bottled between 1840 and 1850 and valued at $50,000 had disappeared. Green and his representative were arrested. To make matters worse, a portion of the dining room ceiling fell during the auction, injuring two prospective purchasers.

In 1935, the Elverson estate filed a motion to show cause why the house and property should not be sold. A year later the administrator of the estate died and Green and a Philadelphia lawyer were appointed to take his place. In 1937 and 1939, the property was listed by the village of Huntington Bay as having not paid real estate taxes.

It is unclear what happened to the house over the next two decades. In 1962, Arthur and Ruth Knutson purchased the run down house. They restored it and added the swimming pool and raised their children in the house, which they called East Point. Twelve years later, the Knutsons moved to Cold Spring Harbor.

It took several years to sell the house, which again fell into a state of disrepair with burst pipes and an infiltration of raccoons. Gloria Smith, who owned the Yankee Peddler antiques shop, and her husband purchased the house and it was once again restored. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Smith made the house and property available for photo shoots.

Following Mrs. Smith’s death in 2013, the house was again put up for sale.

The house in March 2018

While the house was in need of work, it had not descended to the sorry state it had been previously. Nonetheless, it is now just a memory.

The house in April 2018

Erratum:  After the original posting of this entry, the size of the property has been corrected from five acres to three acres.

Read Full Post »