April 6, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY –Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley and Councilman Kevin T. McCarrick announced the acquisition of the historic Woodhull House in Wading River at a press conference Thursday, April 6 at 2 p.m. the 1720 Josiah Woodhull House, 170 Route 25A, Wading River.

Keyspan transferred ownership of the historic house and grounds to the Town of Brookhaven at the ceremony. The purchase effort was spearheaded by the Wading River Historical Society and the Wading River Civic Association.  Both of these groups have spent countless hours playing an important stewardship role in preserving this historic property.  The transfer of the historic house and three-acre grounds was the culmination of those efforts.

Councilman McCarrick spearheaded the town retaining the services of an archaeological historian assessing the property and the Town Parks Department will be involved in the rehabilitation of the building and grounds.

Supervisor Foley has been interested in getting the parks department more involved in the rehabilitation and stewardship of historic properties in the township and he said that  the Woodhull house offers a perfect opportunity to begin that process.

Stephanie and Sid Bail have been key players in pushing the purchase forward. Mrs. Bail is president of the Wading River Historical Society and has been involved in the effort to save the Woodhull house since the spring of 2000.

She said the home was built in 1720 and was owned by Josiah Woodhull, grandson of Richard Woodhull, one of the founders of Brookhaven Town. It eventually ended up under the ownership of Keyspan, which offered to donate the historic building to the historical society. However, Mrs. Bail did not feel the historical society had the financial resources to rehabilitate and then maintain the building, so she contacted Brookhaven Town, which eventually agreed to take possession of the property.

Supervisor Foley said he looks forward to his parks department finishing the rehabilitation work that needs to be done on this important historical landmark. He feels restoring and maintaining historical structures is an important responsibility of the parks department that has been virtually ignored in the past.

Mrs. Bail said it was very satisfying to see the efforts of so many citizens finally come to fruition. “It’s been a long saga,” she said. She added that members of community groups from Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts to civic associations all banded together to back the purchase, which was finally accomplished through the willingness of Brookhaven Town to pledge its support for restoring and maintaining the historic property.

Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631)451-6677
www.brookhaven.org