Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld congratulates Jack Smith, President of the Cumsewogue Historical Society during the re-dedication ceremony of the Terryville Union Hall.

Farmingville, NY – On October 12, Brookhaven Town Councilman Steve Fiore Rosenfeld and the Cumsewogue Historical Society re-dedicated the Town-owned historic Terryville Union Hall (c. 1887) located at 354 Terryville Road. The Town's landmark building re-opened recently to school children and the general public by appointment as a museum and meeting place under the stewardship of the Cumsewogue Historical Society. Coordinating the ceremony with Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld was the Cumsewogue Historical Society Board of Directors, led by their President Jack Smith.

"I'm so proud to have helped save this historic building which has such deep roots into the origins of Terryville and significance for the greater Port Jefferson Station community. Working to restore this structure, and negotiating a license agreement to give our - no longer fledgling - Cumsewogue Historical Society a home base which school children will be able to learn the agrarian history and effects of the industrial revolution upon Terryville is to some great degree the story of all of Long Island and how we - as Long Islander's - arrived at the present day. To provide a place where our future generations can more fully understand the driving desires, the sacrifices, the labors of the men and woman of our past will, I hope, bestow upon them a greater sense of place and their connections to our town."

President of the Cumsewogue Historical Society Jack Smith, said "The Terryville Union Hall was an integral part of the community in our past and it will now serve the community as a museum and as a base for local meetings of our Historical Society. The main original benefactor, Thomas Terry would be proud. On behalf of the Cumsewogue Historical Society I'd like to thank our Town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld for all his critical efforts to save, restore and help us to put our Terryville Union Hall back into productive use - giving our Historical Society a home base. I'd also like to thank our Supervisor Mark Lesko for supporting his efforts at town hall, as well as our Town Historian Barbara Russell, and the Town Parks Department Commissioner Ed Morris and his staff for executing the renovations so well."

The Terryville Union Hall was built almost 125 years ago for use as a local community meeting hall, and later used as a non-denominational chapel and a Sunday school. Until this August 17, 2011 the first meeting of the Cumsewogue Historical Society held therein, The Terryville Union Hall had not hosted a community meeting for nearly 70 years - according to local recollection. Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld was the driving force behind the Town’s 2008 acquisition of the property for just $1,500 (the total of back taxes owed to the County). He also led the effort to have the building restored by our township and he negotiated a license-stewardship agreement between Town of Brookhaven and the Cumsewogue Historical Society. The newly renovated hall will house the Historical Society's growing collection of historical artifacts, documents, and photographs depicting 19th century life in Terryville and Port Jefferson Station.

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