Rich in Black history, Center Moriches home may become officially historic

A two-story frame house built by an African American family in 1872, an example of Blacks' deep history on Long Island, has been recommended for addition to the state and national registers of historic places.

The Mary E. Bell House in Center Moriches is among 18 properties that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended for inclusion on the state and national registers, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday.

"By placing these landmarks on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, we are helping to ensure these places and their caretakers have the funding needed to preserve, improve and promote the best of this great state," Cuomo said in a statement.

Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine was pleased.

"I believe it will be approved by the state, and we're hoping it will make the National Register of Historic Places."

Romaine, a 42-year resident of Center Moriches, added, "I live right down the street from the Mary Bell House. I pass this house every single day."

The Mary E. Bell House, located on Railroad Avenue, gained landmark status from Brookhaven in 2015. "The Bell name is well known" in the town, he added.

Romaine said the town acquired the house in 2009 after it was "threatened with demolition." He said his late son, Keith Romaine, then a town councilman, and later Dan Panico, who had succeeded him as a councilman, had advocated for the town to acquire the home. The supervisor said Brookhaven entered into a contract with the Ketcham Inn Foundation, which is dedicated to historic preservation, to maintain the house.

The history of the house is described this way on the Ketcham Inn Foundation website: "In the early 1840s, Mr. Abraham Perdue, a freed slave, saw the need for spiritual growth for his people. He sought to fulfill this need by calling his neighbors and friends together in prayer and worship at his home in Center Moriches, NY.

"He was soon able to purchase land on Railroad Avenue and build a church. Through the years, his congregation continued to grow, and some years after his death they became affiliated with The African Methodist Episcopal [A.M.E.] Zion Conference, through the Varick Society of Christian Endeavor, with Mrs. Mary E. Bell as leader of this local society. In 1920 Pastor Bell passed away. The congregation honored her by naming the church the Bell A.M.E. Zion. The house at 66 Railroad Avenue was her home."

Bertram Seides, president of the Ketcham Inn Foundation, said: "The recommendation [for inclusion on the state and national registers] is warranted. The house embodies history that dates back to slavery — freed slaves, manumitted slaves and people of color."

He added the house was "consecutively lived in by people of color, primarily women," that resulted in developing the community of the church.

Romaine said the Bell house is about "two doors away" from the Bell A.M.E. Zion church.

The house is important to the town, he said "because it speaks to our history, particularly of African Americans who lived here on Long Island and made up a substantial part of our population."

Romaine added, "We’re very interested in promoting the histories of everyone — all groups. This is part of our efforts to do that."

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie