1800s Miller Place house to undergo renovation

The 1810 Daniel Hawkins House in Miller Place has seen a lot of history in its 210 years.

Once the homestead of one of the hamlet's earliest white settlers, the three-story house on North Country Road is long overdue for a fixup. Volunteers from the Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society are planning a $75,000 renovation, including a new roof, windows and modern touches such as Wi-Fi.

They envision the house someday becoming a repository of local history, as well as a space where community groups can host meetings and events.

“We’re trying to connect all the dots. We’re trying to educate the community about all the important people who lived in this area,” said Antoinette Donato, the society's vice president, mentioning the late photojournalist Eve Arnold, who documented Miller Place during visits to Long Island. Donato said an exhibit is planned about past pandemics.

“There’s a lot to learn about this area," Donato said, "a lot of things that would get lost if we didn’t document it.”

In addition to repairing the house, the society is seeking descendants of families who have lived there since Daniel Hawkins and his wife, Anna, built the abode in 1810.

Several generations of Hawkins lived in the house before other families moved in. The society acquired the structure in 1998 when it was donated by Arthur and Linda Calace, who had purchased the then-rundown property several years earlier, said society trustee Margaret Cibulka.

The north end of the house collapsed shortly after the donation, Cibulka said. The house also needs extensive repairs to its basement and back porch, but the society plans to slowly begin opening it for public use.

“We would like to bring them to the house and let them see the work we are doing to restore it,” she said.

Virtual tours are being developed for local schools that may not be able to take students on field trips in the coming year.

The society has raised $20,000 toward repairs, and some labor is being donated. An oversized "thermometer" was erected outside the house to track fundraising efforts, which stalled with the coronavirus outbreak.

“We were on a roll, and then the pandemic hit and stopped us in our tracks,” Donato said. “We’re hoping to get back on track so we don’t lose sight of this dream.”

The society has some experience in this endeavor: It also renovated the William Miller House, a 300-year-old dwelling a short walk from Hawkins House. The Miller house showcases a collection of centuries-old period furnishings and tools.

“The Miller house is our living museum,” Donato said.

The Hawkins house is envisioned as a community house available for backyard concerts, outdoor movies, parties, showers, art exhibits and the like. With that in mind, the renovation includes restoration of original banisters and walls — with Plexiglas to reveal old construction material — as well as contemporary touches, such as modern plumbing in the bathrooms.

“We don’t want to hide history," Donato said. "We want to make the house 21st-century respectable but with the old integrity in place.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.