Footnotes to Long Island History
Early Years in Coram
Told
by
Thomas R. Bayles
The first settlement in Brookhaven Town was made at Setauket in 1655 and
by 1700, some homesteads had been located in Mastic. Between 1730 and
1750, settlements were made in Middle Island and Coram and the records
show that John Smith had a homestead at Coram, or Wincorum, as it was
called by the Indians. In 1734, lands were distributed along both sides
of the middle county road and farms were cleared and homes built through
Middle Island. This mid-island area had been used before that as a
hunting ground by the roving bands of Indians who had their camps on the
north and south sides of the Island near the water.
The first
church was a Baptist Church built in 1747 in Coram, on the site of the
present Methodist Church. That stood for about 100 years, but
apparently was not very active, as little is known about it, except the
old graveyard across the road which contains the graves of many of the
first settlers of Coram.
In 1841, a
Methodist Church was built in Middle Island, adjoining the old
grave-yard across from Tommy Lynn’s store and in 1858 it was moved to
Coram, where it stands today on the site of the old Baptist Church.
About this time, another Methodist Church was built on the Yaphank Road
in Middle Island, which has been used for several years by the
Lutherans.
In 1766 the
Presbyterian Church was built in Middle Island and the pastor was the
Rev. David Rose, who was also pastor of the South Haven Church until his
death in 1799. In 1837, the present Presbyterian Church was built just
to the rear of the old one.
The
cemetery across from the church was opened about 1766 and incorporated
in 1869 and was reincorporated in February 1960 as the Union Cemetery
Association of Middle Island. This cemetery has no connection with the
church across the road and is governed by its own officers.
Coram was
the headquarters for the town government for many years, as it was a
more central place than Setauket after settlements were made on the
south side and the present home of Lester H. Davis was used for this
purpose from about 1790 until 1885. It was here the annual town
meetings were held in April and the voters came from all over Brookhaven
Town, most of them in horse-drawn wagons.
Town
meeting day was an important event in the lives of the people and here
horses were swapped, news of the day discussed, conditions of the crops
talked over and a social good time enjoyed by all.
The
Riverhead peanut man was always there with his “here you go, your three
legged, hump backed, double-jointed peanuts, five cents a pint.
“Dinner was
served in the town house for 50 cents, but most of the farmers brought
their lunch.
The west
front room of the house was used for voting and the justices of the
peace acted as inspectors. Voting lasted until sundown, when one of the
justices stepped out on the front porch and called out, “Hear ye, Hear
ye; these polls are now closed.”
Counting
the votes often lasted until midnight or later and the shaded oil lamps
threw a dim light over the table and the interested candidates stood
looking over the shoulders of the election workers.
In 1884, it
was voted to divide the town into election districts and this was the
end of the “town meeting days in Coram.”
An incident
during the Revolution took place at the home of Goldsmith Davis in
Coram, now the home of Lester H. Davis. A company of British soldiers
came to his home and demanded some information from Mr. Davis, which he
refused to give them, so they took him and tied his feet to the windlass
of the well and left him hanging there with his head down. After the
soldiers left, one of the women members of his family, who had been
watching from a hiding place, ran for a neighbor, who helped release him
from certain death.