Yaphank Historical Society

Music In the Park
2024-08-21 17:00 - 20:00, 2024-06-19 17:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | The Gazebo, 530 Yaphank Middle Island Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Join Don & Susan at the Gazebo in the Swezey Park
5PM – 8PM
Please bring a Lawn Chair – all are welcome

Guided House Tours
2024-08-18 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-08-04 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-28 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-21 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-14 13:00 - 16:00
Guided House Tours
Come and Visit our Beautiful Historic Homes
Robert & Isabella Hawkins House
Homan-Gerard House
Booth House Museum
Swezey-Avey House
Docents will be on hand for tours
and to answer questions.

50th Anniversary Celebration
2024-08-10 13:00 - 17:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Please join us as we celebrate the Yaphank Historical Society’s 50th Anniversary. There will be refreshments, live music, special exhibits, memorial dedication, time capsule placement, and more!

July General Meeting
2024-07-18 19:30 - 21:30 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Robert Kessler, Yaphank Historical Society President
Topic: The restoration of the Swezey-Avey House and the Swezey-Avey Family History.
Refreshments will follow the meeting.

Music In the Park
2024-07-17 17:00 - 20:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Join Don & Susan at the Gazebo in the Swezey-Avey House
5PM – 8PM
Due to weather – tonights event has moved inside the Swezey-Avey House
All are welcome

50th Anniversary Special Event Historical Scavenger Hunt
2024-07-06 12:00 - 16:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Bring your family to our fun historical scavenger hunt. Learn about our town’s history and discover many interesting facts about the people and places that made Yaphank special. Earn chances on a wide selection of prizes!

June General Meeting
2024-06-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: MaryLaura Lamont, Historian, Naturalist, and Yaphank Historical Society Board Member
Topic: “Homan-Gerard House and Mill”
MaryLaura will talk about the history of the Homan-Gerard house, the mill complex, the families who owned it and how the Yaphank Historical Society, along with Suffolk County, saved this important piece of history.
Refreshments will follow the meeting.

50th Anniversary Special Celebration Event - Benjamin Tallmadge and the Tallmadge Trail
2024-06-15 13:00 - 15:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Robert Von Bernewitz, Yaphank Historical Society Board Member and Local Historian
Topic: “Benjamin Tallmadge and the Tallmadge Trail”
In honor of Independence Day, Yaphank Historical Society board member Robert von Bernewitz will give a presentation on Long Island born, Revolutionary hero, Benjamin Tallmadge and the Tallmadge Trail. After the British won the battle of Brooklyn and occupied Long Island, Major Tallmadge led a series of successful raids to harass the British troops. General George Washington also tapped Tallmadge to lead an espionage ring of Long Island Spies. Come hear about how the Long Island Culper Spy Ring played a major role in winning the Revolutionary War and take a photographic journey down the Tallmadge Trail.

Nature Trail Walk
2024-06-02 10:00 - 11:30 | Homan-Gerard House, 5 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and Yaphank Historical Society Board Member
Meet at the Homan-Gerard House parking lot, 5 Yaphank Avenue
Sunday, June 2nd, 2024 (Rain cancels the program)
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Enjoy a guided walk along easy trails to explore the natural and human history of the area. The walk will take you along the Carmans River and into the upland area, with a few historic and cultural sites viewed as well.
Click here to download the walking tour map.

Spring Community Yard Sale
2024-05-25 09:00 - 15:00 | The Hawkins House, 4 Yaphank Ave, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
Set up on the Hawkins House Lawns
No Reservation Required
Donation: $10 per vendor, payable onsite
Call 631-924-4803 with questions
(Rain Date Sunday, May 26, 2024)

Nature Trail Walk
2024-05-19 10:00 - 11:30 | Homan-Gerard House, 5 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and Yaphank Historical Society Board Member
Meet at the Homan-Gerard House parking lot, 5 Yaphank Avenue
Sunday, May 19th, 2024 (Rain cancels the program)
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Enjoy a guided walk along easy trails to explore the natural and human history of the area. The walk will take you along the Carmans River and into the upland area, with a few historic and cultural sites viewed as well.
Click here to download the walking tour map.

50th Anniversary Special Celebration Event
2024-05-18 13:00 - 16:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Diane Schwindt, Historic Cook, Stirring up History
Topic: “Carmans River and the Mills of Yaphank”
Please join us and step back in time…close your eyes and imagine the sounds of the water wheels turning or the dull sound of thumping fulling paddles. Learn how the Carmans River inland waterway supported the food and wool industry and brought life to the town that we now know as Yaphank. Diane will talk about the mills in Yaphank and provide hands-on examples of wool, grains and timber.
To register by mail, click here to download a registration form
OR
Register for this event online using one of the methods below.

You can also register at the Swezey-Avey House on the day of the event for $25.
Phone: 631-924-4803 for additional information

May General Meeting
2024-05-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Kathy Schmidt, Yaphank Historical Society Honorary Lifetime Board Member and Founding Society Member
Topic: “The Early Years: Preservation to Restoration of the Robert H. and Isabella Hawkins House”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.

Nature Trail Walk
2024-05-05 10:00 - 11:30 | Homan-Gerard House, 5 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and Yaphank Historical Society Board Member
Meet at the Homan-Gerard House parking lot, 5 Yaphank Avenue
Sunday, May 5, 2024 (Rain cancels the program)
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Enjoy a guided walk along easy trails to explore the natural and human history of the area. The walk will take you along the Carmans River and into the upland area, with a few historic and cultural sites viewed as well.

Nature Trail Walk
2024-04-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Homan-Gerard House, 5 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
MaryLaura Lamont, Naturalist and Yaphank Historical Society Board Member
Meet at the Homan-Gerard House parking lot, 5 Yaphank Avenue
Sunday, April 21, 2024 (Rain cancels the program)
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Enjoy a guided walk along easy trails to explore the natural and human history of the area. The walk will take you along the Carmans River and into the upland area, with a few historic and cultural sites viewed as well.

April General Meeting
2024-04-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Helen Kalbach, Yaphank Historical Society Curator and Past President
Topic: “Henry Kavorik, Yaphank’s Poet Laureate”
April is National Poetry Month and Helen Kalbach will tell us about the life and legacy of Yaphank’s Poet Laureate, Henry Kavorik.
Refreshments will follow the meeting.

March General Meeting
2024-03-21 19:30 - 21:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Guest Speaker: Tricia Foley, Author, Historian
Topic: “Mary Louise Booth”
Tricia Foley will present the extraordinary life of Mary Louise Booth, who was a founding editor of Harper’s Bazaar, wrote the first history of New York City, and was a leader in the abolition and suffrage movements. A signed copy of the book, Mary L. Booth: The Story of an Extraordinary 19th Century Woman, by Tricia Foley, will be raffled off.
Refreshments will follow
the meeting.

Indoor Tag Sale
2024-03-03 10:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-02 10:00 - 15:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States

Meet Frosty the Snowman
2023-12-16 13:00 - 16:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Kids, Come meet Frosty the Snowman and his Reindeer Pal!
Saturday, December 16, 2023
1 pm – 4 pm @ Swezey-Avey House
Enjoy Treats and Music
Take a Picture
$1 Donation/Child

Yaphank Historic Christmas House Tours
2023-12-10 13:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-09 13:00 - 16:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Enjoy Holiday Music by Don and Susan Cerce
and Holiday Refreshments

Saturday and Sunday,
December 9th and 10th, 2023
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Donation: $10 Adults; Children under 12 Free
Purchase tickets at the Swezey-Avey House on the day of the tour or
here to purchase online.

The House tours will begin at the Swezey-Avey House where you can pick your tickets and instructions.
The tour includes:
The Swezey-Avey House
The Robert and Isabella Hawkins House
The Booth House Museum
The Homan-Gerard House
St. Andrews Church
The Pol House
Docents will be available
Exhibit Rooms will be open at the Swezey-Avey House
Bank of the River Gift Shop will be open
at the Hawkins House

November General Meeting
2023-11-16 19:30 - 21:00 | Swezey-Avey House, 19 Mill Rd, Yaphank, 11980, United States
Board of Directors Election
No Guest Speaker
Thursday, November 16, 2023
7:30pm @ Swezey-Avey House.
Refreshments will follow
the meeting.

October General Meeting
2023-10-19 19:30 - 21:00
Guest Speaker:
J. K. Hodge,
Film Composer, Historian
“Long Island’s Famous Musicians, With Piano Accompaniment”
Thursday, October 19, 2023
7:30pm @ Swezey-Avey House
Refreshments will follow
the meeting.

Fall Community Yard Sale
2023-09-30 09:00 - 16:00 | The Hawkins House, 4 Yaphank Ave, Yaphank, NY, 11980, United States
The Yard Sale has been rescheduled for
Saturday, September 30, 2023
9:00 am—4:00 pm
Rain Date: Sunday October 1st
Donation: $10 per vendor.
Set up on the Hawkins House lawns.
No reservations required.
Call 631-924-4803 with questions.
