Greater Patchogue Historical Society
The Greater Patchogue Historical Society works to preserve the history of Patchoque and make all historic materials available to interested groups and individuals. The Society’s museum and archive is located in one of two remaining Carnegie libraries in use on Long Island (the other is used by the Northport Historical Society). Tycoon Andrew Carnegie funded the $10,000 building as a gift to Patchogue Village which opened in 1908 and, today, the society utilizes space for meetings, a permanent museum display, and archival storage. The Society’s work includes advocacy for the preservation of historic building such as the Swan River Schoolhouse (1858), The Blue Point Station House (now the Summer Club Clubhouse) (1913), and the Avery Homestead.
Archival collection include photographs, documents, audio visual materials, memorabilia, ephemera, and artifacts that chart the development of the incorporated village from a rural to marine community and later from a manufacturing to retail economy. Significant holdings include an ephemeral collection of postcards with local scenes and a business cards collection of Main Street businesses from 1930 to 1980. The larger photograph collection includes 5x7 glass plate negatives (1895-1915), and images by local photographers and photography studio owners Alfred Nobel Chapman (b.1884- d.1965) and E.E Brown whose works include images of churches, homes and businesses in Patchogue and the surrounding villages, as well as individual and group portraits. Another strength of the Society’s historic collection is its documentation of persons who served in the military. Records from the American Civil War, WWI, and WWII of those born in Patchogue, Patchogue residents at the time of service, those who eventually settled in Patchogue, those on record as enlisting in Patchogue, and those who died in service, are preserved alongside other archival documents on local persons and events. While the bulk of the collection can be found onsite, digitized portions are accessible online at https://liu.access.preservica.com/archive.
Archive hours: by appointment
Museum hours: Fri-Sat 12:00-3:00 pm
Address: Patchogue-Medford Library's Carnegie Library, 160 West Main Street, lower level, Patchogue, New York 11772
Website: https://greaterpatchoguehistoricalsociety.com
Contact: gphsociety@yahoo.com
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