Chicken Hill

Chicken Hill was an industrialized and residential community in Setauket where residents of the neighborhood held labor-intensive occupations throughout the Three Village area and provided many services to other residents. It was a multi-ethnic neighborhood that included African Americans, Setalcott Native Americans, Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, Romanians, Irish, and Italians. First the Nunns and Clark Piano Factory then the Long Island Rubber Factory employed both residents and immigrants to the United States looking for work and were the economic support for Setauket. The primary religions in Chicken Hill were Roman Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal, and Judaism. As a neighborhood, it existed from 1860 until 1960. The neighborhood was about a mile acreage in Setauket located on Route 25A surrounding the Setauket Methodist Church.  

Because of the abundance of chickens, it was during the 1890’s that the community surrounding the Setauket rubber factory acquired its pejorative common name “Chicken Hill.”  

This online exhibit aims to create a cohesive narrative of the economic, social, and cultural features of Chicken Hill. By sharing this history, we highlight the importance of preserving the stories of marginalized communities—those whose histories are often overlooked or forgotten. Chicken Hill is a prime example of a community that may no longer exist physically, but whose cultural memory and influence continue to resonate in the history of Setauket. Through this exhibit, the Three Village Historical Society ensures that the heritage of Chicken Hill remains a part of our collective understanding and appreciation of local history.

Exhibit Sponsors

The following is a list of sponsors for the original Chicken Hill exhibit:

Bryant Funeral Home

Assemblyman Steven Englebright

Legislator Kara Hahn

Stafford Associates

Arthur Bryant

Mary and Joseph Bova, Jr.

Katherine Downs and Robert Reuter

Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages

Long Island Museum of Natural History at Stony Brook University

Dr. and Mrs. William Konczynin

The Curator of the original Chicken Hill exhibit was Frank Turano, Ph.D. and TVHS archivist, Karen Martin - with the guidance of the TVHS Rhodes Committee.

Chicken Hill had its roots in mid-nineteenth century industrial America with the Nunns and Clark Piano Factory and its primarily German work force. Nine years after the bankruptcy of Nunns and Clark, the Long Island Rubber Company occupied the premises. Irish immigrants and African Americans were the work force for the Rubber Company until the work force was replaced by Eastern European Jewish immigrants in 1888.  

From the 1850s to about 1905, a piano factory and then a rubber factory provided employment for residents and immigrants in our community. Immigrants from both Eastern and Western Europe were fleeing unrest and poverty in their countries. The workers and their families settled here, bringing with them a rich cultural diversity. They lived in the factory worker houses and then in the tenement house called Castle Garden. Castle Garden was named after the place where immigrants came to the United States before Ellis Island.  

Due to incidents involving the Rubber Factory, such as fires and financial stability, the Rubber Factory went through a series of various ownership and names throughout the years.

Today, our community's diversity reflects the industries and institutions that brought people worldwide to work and study here.

William, John, and Robert Nunns arrived in New York from London, England in 1821. They were piano makers and worked for existing firms in New York. In 1823, they struck out on their own and began making pianos in New York. William left the partnership to form his own company. Robert Nunns previously ran a large and, until 1858 successful piano company with his brother–in-law, John Clark. The firm prospered and a large factory complex was built at Lexington Avenue and Third Street in Brooklyn. They made heavy rectangular pianos well suited to American homes, and the firm grew during the early 1850s’ boom. According to the company’s records, the company was not able to pay back their debts, especially during the 1857 depression. Nunns closed the shop in 1860 because of unpaid debts. Rather than fade away, he made his way to a ninety-acre farm he had purchased in Setauket in 1854 after learning about the area from a Setauket native Bryant C. Hawkins who was his longtime employee. On the south side of 25A, the area where Apple Bank is now located, is the site of Robert Nunns and Sons piano factory built 1860-61. Setauket’s first factory, it measured 40 by 100 feet, was constructed of brick and employed a large number of workers. Hawkins extolled the virtues of his hometown. Setauket had access to water that boats can travel to receive materials and deliver pianos to clientele. In the economic confusion following the Civil War the enterprise was ended and the factory stood vacant until it was purchased in 1876 by the Long Island Rubber Company, opening for business in November of that year. 

Concentrating on India rubber goods, especially boots, shoes, hose, belting and packing, the factory promised a new prosperity and altered community life. It created jobs, which attracted both residents and immigrant workers. Many Eastern European immigrants were employed there. In 1885 the volume of shoes produced was about 5,000 pairs a day.

In 1837, Robert Nunns purchased the first parcel of land on which he built his Setauket home. Nunns’ home was built circa 1845 and located about 128 Main Street between Setauket Elementary School and the Emma Clark Memorial Library. He later purchased property in Setauket adjacent to Hawkins’ farm. Nunns and his sons borrowed enough money from family and neighbors by 1861 to build a new, four story, steam-powered factory on their land atop the hill in Setauket astride what is now New York State Route 25a. 

Nunns brought his skilled workers from New York City to work in the Piano Factory’s Setauket location. He employed eighteen men in 1865, including twelve foreign-born workers. Germans figures prominently among these workers, as they did throughout the American Piano industry. At $46 per month, they were the highest paid artisans in northern Brookhaven. These craftsmen manufactured ninety pianos per year using a limited division of labor. Local demand for pianos on rural Long Island had its limits. In the Connecticut, New York City, Brooklyn and Long Island coastal markets, on the other hand, Nunns tried to compete with nationally known New York and Boston piano makers who produced the vast majority of the nation’s pianofortes in larger, more efficient shops. The firm focused their sales on the southern plantation culture. Nunns was deep in debt by 1865. The secession of the southern states and the Civil War dried up the firm’s primary market. Then the business ended in 1867 when the local mortgage-holders foreclosed on his land and factory. Robert Nunns’ home and the piano factories were sold to pay debts. By 1874, the house was owned by Phebe Ridgeway. The Nunns-Ridgeway House was torn down circa 1954 when the current Setauket Elementary School was being built. 

The Nunns and Clark Piano Factory remained idle until 1876 when Robert Manning, Edwin and Joseph Elbertson bought it. Robert Manning, Edwin and Joseph Elbertson, corporate officers and partners in this enterprise, left Trenton, New Jersey. They came to Setauket to seek additional financing and to form the Long Island Rubber Company. In 1876, with the help of local money, they established the Long Island Rubber Co. only to go bankrupt in 1878. It was the first of more than eight iterations of the Setauket Rubber Factory. The Setauket Rubber Factory made shoes using rubber shipped from South America. Another building called the Lower Rubber Factory was built on top of the current pond at the bottom of the hill on Route 25A near where the Se Port Deli is located. The Lower Rubber Factory was used to store the rubber and used a horse and wagon to bring it up the hill until the railroad came in 1873.  

As the largest employer in Suffolk County in 1880, the company had only 125 employees. The last expansion of the rubber industry in Setauket came in 1894 when the Liberty Rubber Company built the lower rubber factory on Main Street at the current site of East Setauket Pond Park. Employment in Setauket reached its peak in 1895 with over 400 workers. After 1900, production was reduced to a trickle, employment reduced, and production was completely stopped by the early 1920s. 

John Elberson remained a constant through the more than eight incarnations of the rubber companies that occupied Chicken Hill. From the start of production in 1877 until 1886 the factory employed mostly local labor. In 1881, there were enough Irish employees to organize Setauket’s first and possibly only St. Patrick’s Day Parade. These workers provided the nucleus for the founding of St. James Catholic Church in 1888. The Irish and other local workers joined and formed the Knights of Labor Rubber Workers Trade Assembly 7544. In reaction to this attempt at unionization, in 1889, John Elberson began importing large numbers of Eastern European immigrants as a replacement workforce. Trade Assembly 7544 was never heard from again. The largely Jewish workforce swelled to between 300 and 400 workers. Wages ranged from $1.50 per week for children as young as 12 to $7.00 per week for semi-skilled laborers. Most of the wages were paid in factory script and by combining the income of the father, mother, and the children, a rubber factory family might be able to afford the $20 to $30 monthly rent on one of the rubber factory houses. 

In 1904, there was a fire in the factory that led to the further closure of the Rubber Factory.  

The 1904 fire consumed almost all of the upper rubber factory, along with numerous frame houses surrounding it. The only portion of the building to survive was a small section closest to the road. This section was salvaged, and later the Jericho Laboratories operated a small drug and cosmetics factory at this location.

Chicken Hill was home to various different ethnicities. These materialized in various different religious worship places as well as both formal and informal fraternal organizations. The primary worship centers on the Hill were Roman Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal, and Judaism. The formal and informal fraternal organizations, included the Free Masons, Good Templars, United American Mechanics, Odd Fellows and the American Legion.

Setauket Methodist Church c.1878

Agudas Achim Synagogue, The Jewish Synagogue, c.1893

Saint James Roman Catholic Church

Community

International Order of the Odd Fellows 

Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization that was first organized in 1819. The emblem of the Odd Fellows on gravestones is usually shown as three links of a chain, and a number on the stone is the local lodge number. The Eastern Progressive Chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F) was formed in Setauket and was limited to people of color.  

The Odd Fellows Hall was originally the West Setauket School House on the Village Green. It was moved to August Street in 1911 when the School on the Hill opened. Baseball teams played games across the street from the Odd Fellows Hall, by the time this photo was taken the building was used as a movie theater. This building was demolished and replaced by the Setauket School 1st and 2nd grade annex when the School on the Hill closed in 1951.

The Odd Fellows Hall was also the community recreational center for movies, dances and band concerts. It was also the location for “after hours” jam-sessions with musicians visiting Long Island. It also served as the location for community-wide celebrations such as national holidays.

Good Templars Hall

In 1890, the International Organization of Good Templars, Setauket Lodge No. 866 built a hall for their meetings next to the Setauket Methodist Church. The primary goal of the Good Templars was the prohibition of alcohol. In 1917, their hall was sold to the Setauket Council No. 89 of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Although the Jr. OUAM was originally founded as an anti-immigrant organization by the time of its arrival in Setauket it was largely a fraternal order. The organization was founded in 1853 and like many fraternal organizations of the times promoted America and American business, employment, etc. and was against immigration and certain religious groups. It still exists today as a nonsectarian, patriotic fraternal benefit society. The term Mechanics is used to mean builders of character, integrity and citizenship. The original “Mechanics Hall” burned in 1929 and was rebuilt. The Setauket Methodist Church purchased the hall in 1945, made it into a parsonage and then attached it to the church proper. 

Irving Hart Legion Post

After World War II, Native American and African American veterans in Setauket sought to join the local American Legion. However, they faced racial discrimination that prevented their inclusion. In response, Rachel Hart Midgett, sister of veteran Irving Hart, generously donated land on Christian Avenue, enabling the community to establish their own post building. The Legion Hall quickly became a cornerstone of the community—a space dedicated to unity, self-empowerment, and the recognition of local achievements.

Fowler's Tea Room

George "Pumpkin" Fowler operated The Tea Room, another gathering place for a variety of refreshments. During World War II, The Tea Room was a favorite gathering place for African-American soldiers from Camp Upton. Richard “Longtree” Sells (b. 1951) remembers living in the back of Richard “Pumpkin” Fowler’s Tea Room in his  oral history 

Setauket Fire Department

The community of Chicken Hill was shaped not only by its industrious workers but also by the merchants who catered to their daily needs. With many residents maintaining kosher homes, families like the Pinnes and Eikovs opened butcher shops and markets to meet the demand. Isaac Golden established Golden’s Bar and Grill, a local gathering place that his son Sam later took over after his passing. Meanwhile, Herman (Hymie) Golden ran a general store and gas station, ensuring the town’s essentials were always within reach. Even after the rubber factory closed in 1920 and many workers moved on, these businesses endured, serving the evolving population. Among the next generation of entrepreneurs was Jack P. Michaels, Sam Golden’s brother-in-law, who contributed to the neighborhood’s legacy by running The Country Corner, a beloved bar and restaurant, for 25 years. Dionne Michaels Levine (b. 1933) explains the role of the Jewish families and merchants in the Chicken Hill community in her oral history.

Golden’s Bar and Grill, located on Old Town Road, was at the center of Chicken Hill and as such it attracted most of the working men of the community. Jack P. Michaels operated “The Country Corner” at the bottom of the hill and catered to a more traditional community clientele.

For the better part of the 1930s, Jake the Crow was a fixture at Hymie Golden’s general store and gas station. The gas pumps along Old Town Road were Jake the Crow’s domain. He sat on the gas pumps outside and when a customer arrived, flew into the store, making a racket to alert Hymie. At one point, he was kidnapped but returned to Setauket. At his demise, O. C. Lempfert, the founder of the Stony Brook Museum, had him stuffed. When this museum became the Stony Brook Carriage Museum (now the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages), Jake went along. Jake’s residence again changed with the transfer of Lempfert’s taxidermy collection to the Long Island Natural History at Stony Brook University. Then Jake came to the Three Village Historical Society and Museum where he remains to this day.  

Sheppard’s Bar and Grill

This store has taken many forms over the years. Previously it was Charlie Jayne's Confectionary, selling candy, tobacco, and cigars. Bar owner Sidney Sheppard sponsored the local baseball team and provided it with a home base. After a game everyone headed over to Shepp’s whether it was to celebrate a victory or to cry in ones’ beer after a tough loss. There was the rare fight that broke out and spilled into the street. But usually it was a time to talk over the day’s game. Sometimes players could be found still sitting at Shep’s at midnight still in their uniform from earlier that day (Susan B. Jayne, Three Village Historical Society Rhodes Committee).

Before the Country Corner there was McDowell's Saloon established c.1904. James McDowell owned and operated his saloon (now the Country Corner) and the Atlantic Hotel on Shore Road (now a private residence) as connected businesses during the same period.

McDowell's Saloon soon transformed into The Country Corner. Jack P. Michaels operated The Country Corner at the bottom of the hill and catered to a traditional community clientele. Jack P. Michaels is the father of Dionne Michaels Levine who mentions her father in her  oral history .

Thomas Roulston's Store

Walter Jones Jr. Store

Walter Jones Sr. owned and operated this store. In later years, ladies of dubious reputation are alleged to have frequented the back rooms of this building. 

This photograph of the Walter Jones Store at 300 Main Street shows Walter Jones driving the famed local horse “Sporting Bill”. At his right is Andrew Woodhull who, as a baby, is reputed to have been rescued from an ice flow in Long Island Sound.

Located along Route 25A, the Danowski Farm stand once stood across from the steps leading up to the School on the Hill, in front of what is now the Setauket Gourmet. Positioned between Jones Street and Brewster Lane, this stand was a familiar sight in the community.

Betty Voss discusses her experience with the Danowski farm stand as a young girl in her  oral history 

Sam "Mookie" Eikov's Store was on the corner of Main Street and Bruce Place. Similarly Pinnes Store was located adjacent to this business. In the 1960's it was Geno's Deli. It is now a dental office. Eugene “Sticky” Cockshutt (b. 1938) recounts “recycling” soda bottles from the back to the front of “Mookie” Eikov’s Store to obtain movie money in his  oral history .

Pinnes Store

Visit our New York Heritage page , to watch a  film reel of the 1955 Fourth of July Parade on Main Street! ( start at 33:45 )  

The most prominent School in Chicken Hill was the Union Free School, also known as the School on the Hill, built in 1911. The school was on top of the hill behind where Mario’s Restaurant once was. At its opening, it housed grades 1 through 12. To accommodate an increasing population, in the 1940s, an annex was added to the schoolhouse for the first and second grades. The original building had no gymnasium and no assembly hall. The inadequacy of this building and the opening of Setauket Elementary School lead to its closing in 1951. The consolidation of Setauket and Stony Brook Schools lead to the formation of the Three Village School District and Elementary Schools were constructed. Until the opening of Ward Melville High School, secondary school students attended Earl Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson. 

Long before the days of the Three Village School District, the communities of Setauket, East Setauket, South Setauket, and Stony Brook each had their own schools. The earliest of these buildings were your typical “one room schoolhouse”. Even though several of these buildings are gone, others have been converted into homes or office spaces.

Senior classes at the School on the Hill planned their trips to Washington D.C. In an interview for the Chicken Hill exhibit, Betty Voss shared her memories of the senior class trip. According to Betty Voss, the students raised money to help fund their trip through bake sales. They found out not all students can participate when the students were almost ready to go. The hotel they were staying in was segregated and did not allow the African American students to stay. Helen Strelecki Bubka (b. 1939) describes the school relationships among white students and those of color in her oral history.

The former East Setauket School building has stood at the intersection of Route 25A and Coach Road since 1866. It served all grades starting at age 5. The school had a grade 1 to 12 enrollment of 44, with a staff of 1 teacher and the principal. As with many schools of this time several grades would be mixed in each classroom.

Charles Ellsworth “Ellie” Buckingham, born May 19, 1885, a Coach Road School attendee, stated “I went to school in the schoolhouse on Main Street and Coach Road, East Setauket. When ten years old I secured a job of coming early and starting the woodstove and staying late to clean the classroom. I hoped with the money earned to buy a bicycle, but Mr. Pierce the principal, refused to pay me. I finally had to get the school board to force him and then he fired me.”

After the East Setauket School closed in 1911 the building became an automobile repair shop and gas station. Cars would be driven into the first floor of the building for repairs. Today this former school has a new life as an office building.

Recreation

Recreation for the residents of Chicken Hill was seasonal. Sledding and ice-skating in winter and baseball and harness racing in warm weather.

“Very few localities about the country present advantages for skating ahead of Setauket mill ponds. The youthful population of the village are all interested in the fun, and scores of them can be seen skimming hither and yon over the frozen surface. The oldest citizens can look back and recall the winter season of delight they at one time experienced in this exercise.” (Port Jefferson Times, February 2nd, 1884).

Baseball

Of all the seasonal diversions available to the residents of Chicken Hill, none came close to occupying the position of baseball. Residents of all ages would turn out to see the teams play and root for the local heroes from the community. Baseball games were generally on Sunday afternoon because Saturday was still a workday for many people. Also, the Blue Laws that restricted some activities such as shopping on Sundays were put into place in the mid-20th century. With the Blue Laws in place and no work on Sundays, people looked for entertainment to fill their day.

Everyone came out to see the Setauket Athletic Club baseball team. The crowd usually numbered approximately two hundred people per game. Setauket had a strong team and won the league in 1947. Men came from all around wanting to play for the Setauket A. C. team and the team lookedfor talent all over Long Island.

Another local team was the Suffolk Giants Juniors which was an all-black team who played against various teams from Huntington to Lindenhurst to West Babylon. The original Suffolk Giants was a local semi-professional baseball team playing town teams throughout Suffolk County until the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the Suffolk Giants Juniors was formed. The team consisted of returning veterans and some younger players that played until 1949. Some of the players went on to play for the Setauket A.C. team, formerly an all-white team.  The Suffolk Giants field was located along Ridgeway Ave. at what is now Tallmadge Gate. Suffolk Giant Juniors home field was located on Chicken Hill on the south side of 25A opposite August Street.

Carlton "Hub" Edwards pitched a no hitter as a high school junior with the Suffolk Giants. The final score of the game was 5-0. This is the baseball from that game. Gift of Three Village Schools. Collections of the Three Village Historical Society and Museum.

Carriage Races

Hymie Golden owned, trained, and raced trotters at Roosevelt and at local tracks such as the Hulse Road course. The local track on Hulse Road was at the railroad tracks. Along with Route 25A, it served as a training area for Hymie Golden’s horses.  

Craps is a dice game where players bet on the outcome of a set of dice rolls. The game became widely popularized among American men during the 1930's primarily due to the effects of the Great Depression, which led to the widespread search of cheap entertainment.

Chicken Hill was home to a diverse population, comprising individuals from various ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. However, this diversity did not equate to a unified, multi-ethnic community. Accounts of violence, discrimination, and poor living conditions were prevalent throughout Chicken Hill’s history, with the impacts of these experiences echoing through generations. It is essential to acknowledge and engage with these complexities in order to present an honest and nuanced representation of the community. While there was a shared cultural history, largely shaped by the establishment of Nunn's Piano, the Rubber Factory, and local establishments, tensions between native and diasporic identities were a persistent reality. This section of the exhibition draws upon news articles, oral histories, and the works of Chicken Hill resident Norma White and Mark J. Stern, a history professor at Stony Brook University, to further explore these dynamics.

Conflict from the Rubber Factory

Marc J. Stern Ph.D., a history professor at Stony Brook University in the 1980's, wrote "Light Manufacturing in the Three Village Area 1850-1911". This research paper details the Three Village Community in relation to its evolving economic industries over a course of 60 years. He details, the shift from industries of land and sea to factory based industries, that of pianos and rubber, and the respective social shifts. The collapse of the piano industry by 1866 removed the non marine and non agricultural industry from the Three Village Area, resulting in a static economic decade to follow for residents. However by 1876, the establishment of the rubber factory brought about many job opportunities for Setauket residents as well non local residents. After the fall of the ship building industry in mid 1879, by the fall of 1879 the L.B. Rubber Smith Company employed forty hands in Setauket. By 1880, over 12% of the work force was foreign, as well as people of color, and 19 women composed over 29% of the workforce. By 1880, the rubber factory was impacting the community significantly. The influx of in and out of state migrate workers to the rubber factory constituted over 70% of the work force as only a little above 29% of the work force were Setauket residents. This transformation in the community's social composition resulted in tensions among different ethnic groups.

The earliest account of conflict between members of Chicken Hill took place in 1882 between Irish people and people of color. The newspapers states "A feud that it is feared will lead to serious results has broken out at Setauket, L. I., between the colored and the Irish people, who have recently come into the place in great numbers to work in the rubber factory. A few nights since a white man named John Muller was terribly beaten by several negroes and his jawbone broken. The injured man's friends sought satisfaction by attacking every colored man found upon the street. Stones and clubs were freely used, and several persons were badly injured. The negro dwellings were attacked and the windows and doors broken. The negroes finally appeared armed with shotguns, when their assailants fled, but further trouble is feared. — Herald"

There were also questionable health conditions in the rubber factory and tenement housing expressed in the Port Jefferson echo in regard to the spread of Cholera, a bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water.

Additionally, between 1886 and 1887, this time period witnessed the introduction of 'new workforce' compromised of Russian and Hungarian Jews and by 1889; over 100 jewish families were being recruited to work in the rubber factory. By 1892, they constituted such a majority of the work force that Jewish High Holidays were a cause for shutdown. This wave of Jewish immigration contributed to the emergence of antisemitic sentiments within the community.

Because of the relative isolation of Setauket, the early English traditions prevailed throughout the community. The farmers of Setauket were not quite prepared to come face to face with Eastern European Jewish traditions and therefore looked upon them with suspicion. The initial source of conflict came with the Old Testament concept of gleanings. “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.” Lev 19:9-10. 

In the Bible, gleaning is the practice of collecting leftover grain, fruits, and vegetables that have been either missed or avoided by farmers, to provide food for those in need of it. The Jews living on Chicken Hill exercised this tradition, much to the consternation of the local farmers.One farmer in Setauket that was often affected by Jewish residents gleaning saw it as stealing. The farmer became fed up with people "stealing" his crops and began shooting at anyone trespassing on his property, unfortunately hitting a young Jewish boy. It is unknown whether the boy lived or died, but him becoming a target of the farmer is evident.

"The Chicken Hill Problem"

Norma White, a Chicken Hill resident, was a graduate of Hunter College and Columbia University. She worked in the Lenox Hospital in Manhattan for thirty years and grew up at 397 Main Street, built by Captain Vincent Hallock, known as the Hallock-White House c. 1860. The White family resided there since 1928, moving from Strong's Neck in 1926, building the infamous farm stand at the edge of the road to the west of the house. She details  in her account of Chicken Hill,  the hostility, manipulation, and discrimination riddled in the community in the 1930's-1950's. In specific, she recalls prominent wealthy residents discontent for Chicken Hill and its residents regarding it as "The Chicken Hill Problem". Two Ministers, Mr. Francis and Mr. Riddle, aimed to awaken the community to the religious inconsistency of allowing this community to exist in the residence of regular church goers. The main targets were the Board of Education, the Fire Department, the Veteran organizations, and several of Setauket's eminent Old Field philanthropists as they owned much of the land of Chicken Hill. The ministers were looking to "cleanup" Chicken Hill by allocating resources, education programs, however, the latter seemed to be more "realistic"; buying out the owners or resettling its inhabitants elsewhere. This eventually lead to the economic dispersal that overtook Chicken Hill in the 1960's having many residents forced to leave.

Tuberculosis in Setauket 

In the 1940s Tuberculosis (TB) claimed many victims from the Chicken Hill area. Those diagnosed and their immediate families were quarantined at the Suffolk TB Sanitarium, now Suffolk County Community College in Selden. 

Chief curator of the Chicken Hill Exhibit c.2012, Ph.D Frank Turano, claims a dairy farm end of old town from route 25a was responsible for the spread of tuberculosis in the area. The cows were cause for the spread and the town subsequently killed all the cows.

In 1916, a tuberculosis sanatorium was established by two doctors, William H. Ross and Frank Overton of Long Island, on what is now Suffolk Community College’s Ammerman campus. The Albert M. Ammerman building was one of the original structures of the tuberculosis sanatorium that pre-dated the establishment of Suffolk County Community College in Selden. The Albert M. Ammerman Building, Kreiling Hall, The Cottage and the Norman F. Lechtrecker Building are the only remaining original structures of the sanitarium.

William “Billy” Sells (1932-2014) recounts in his  oral history  the effects of Tuberculosis on his family. In 1941, both his sisters Violet and Grace, came down with Tuberculosis. The County Health Department stepped in and sent the whole family to the TB sanitarium over in Holtsville. Violet and Gracie, who was only nine, both died.

Chickens

The chickens were a source of irritation in Setauket, as well as a great source of value. Chickens are the perfect animal for rural communities such as Setauket, as they weren't too expensive to own and maintain and they require relatively little care. During the day they can run at large and fend for themselves. At night they return to their roost and provide eggs and in the end, meat for the table. Because of the abundance of chickens, it was during the 1890’s that the community surrounding the Setauket rubber factory acquired its pejorative common name “Chicken Hill.”

On April 14, 1655, the Setalcott people, led by their Sachem Warawakmy, met with representatives of the English settlers to negotiate the terms of land acquisition. In accordance with their customary practices, the Setalcotts shared a meal, smoked a peace pipe, and signed a deed. However, it is likely that the Setalcotts did not fully understand the European concept of land ownership, and their agreement may have been based on the idea of permitting settlers to use the land rather than transferring permanent ownership. Their freedom to their land was stripped away and their lives irrevocably changed. The agreement resulted in the sale of approximately 30 square miles of land, extending from the Nessaquogue territory in the west to the Mount Misery cliffs in the east, along the Long Island Sound. In exchange, the Setalcotts received a variety of goods, including coats, hoes, hatchets, wampum, and other trade items, reflecting the Indigenous practice of bartering rather than monetary exchange. In the years following this transaction, the settlers held town meetings on the Setauket Village Green, which was considered common land, belonging to the community as a whole. The names of several Setalcott families—such as Green, Phillips, Sells, Hart, Edwards, Bunn, Cuffee, Tobias, and Scott—continue to appear throughout Long Island, highlighting the enduring presence of Setalcott descendants in the region despite the hardships imposed by the colonizers. From 1930 to 1960, Chicken Hill served as a focal point for many Setalcott families. Although suburbanization in the 1960s led to the dispersion of many Setalcott families, their cultural and historical legacy remains embedded in Setauket. Their ongoing commitment to preserving, rediscovering, and revitalizing cultural practices serves as a model for the broader community and emphasizes the importance of cultural heritage.

In addition, many Eastern European families names Pinnes, Eikov, Golden, and Strelecki are prominent in the community. Many Eastern European families who settled in the Chicken Hill neighborhood of Setauket came from rural villages in their home countries, sharing common experiences rooted in agricultural livelihoods and tight-knit community structures. These families often found themselves drawn to the area not only by the availability of affordable housing but also by the familiarity of a rural landscape that closely mirrored the environment they had left behind. The attraction to Chicken Hill lays in its promise of a better quality of life—an escape from the harsh realities of inner-city living, offering a more tranquil setting that allowed families to continue their agricultural practices and maintain a sense of rural community in a new context. These immigrants were often able to settle in Chicken Hill homes where cultural traditions, language, and customs could be preserved and passed down through generations.

Resident histories seeks to examine the multi-cultural and faceted aspects of families in chicken hill and insights into the rich lives of these remarkable people and their ancestry.

Sells Family

Sarah Ann Sells (1869 - 1964)

Sarah Ann Sells, part Setalcott, lived to be almost 100. She made her living as a midwife, "mother's helper" and later took in laundry. She was known in the community as "Aunt Sara" and "Sarry Ann." 

According to her grandson, William “Bill” Sells, she lived in a house on Gnarled Hollow Road behind the Rolston's grocery store. She taught him how to chop wood with an axe, and he would help her cut kindling. She also made him goodies like tea with milk and molasses cake. Aunt Sarah Ann gave all kinds of advice to the kids who came to visit her and sit on her deck and is a legacy in Setauket.

William Smith Sells (1879 – 1961)

William Smith Sells was a self-taught A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Minister, born in Old Field, who began preaching at age 12 in Setauket and Port Jefferson. He was employed by Eversley Childs as a groom and gardener and by the Jergensen Family. Sells was married to Hannah Hart (1879-1947) and the father of Jacob William Sells, Florence, Violet, Adelaide, and Louise Sells, and Caroline S. (Sells) Moore. William was also a Master Mason of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, Nelson S. Coombs Worshipful Master of the Alpha Lodge No. 57, Setauket, NY. Smith was a member of the Eastern Progressive Chapter of the International Order of the Odd Fellows, (I.O.O.F.) at Chicken Hill, Setauket. These lodges were limited to people of color. He wore a purple Masonic Robe and cap for official activities in his capacity as Master Mason in Alpha Lodge #57 at Setauket. His death at 80 was the result of a broken hip incurred when his ladder collapsed while trimming a tree. The branch he wanted to trim was an obstacle to one of William Smith Sells favorite horses. Helen Sells, granddaughter of William Sells, recalls him saying “Treat people the way that we wanted to be treated and to love people not for the color of their skin but for the contents of their heart”, in her  oral history. 

Adelaide Sells (1920 - 1998)  

Adelaide Sells was born on Mud Road in Setauket in 1920. She was the daughter of Hannah Hart and William Smith Sells. Adelaide was the ninth born of thirteen children. During her childhood, Adelaide participated in the same activities as the boys in her neighborhood, excelling in games like baseball, where she demonstrated exceptional skills in hitting and catching. Her athleticism extended to school, where she became a standout female athlete, excelling in both basketball and softball. In addition to her athletic achievements, Adelaide was a talented singer and actively involved in the AME Church on Christian Avenue. She completed her education at the Setauket School, graduating in 1938. As an adult, she entered a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in New York. She won the talent contest twice and was hired as backup singer for Rhythm and Blues artist Johnny Ace.

John Marshall Alexander, Jr., better known by his stage name, Johnny Ace, was a rhythm-and-blues singer who traveled on tour across the United States with Adelaide Sells. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950's. In 1954, while in Houston, Texas, Johnny Ace, along with Adelaine Sells and a few others, decided to play Russian Roulette in their hotel room. In that hotel room on December 25th, 1954, Johnny Ace died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25. His music has been included in multiple motions picture including his song "Pledging my Love" in "Christine" (1983) by John Carpenter and in "Back to the Future" (1985) by Robert Zemeckis.

William Leroy Sells (1922 - 1937)

William Leroy Sells was born on April 22, 1922, to William Smith Sells and Hannah Hart. Harry Cleveland Lyons, Jr. was born on March 16, 1926, in Setauket to Harry Cleveland Lyons and Myra Davis Lyons. Harry had four brothers, and one sister named Lawrence, Irving, Orlando, Roger, and Dorothy (Lyons) Musson. Sells and Lyons Jr were best friends who attended the Setauket School on the Hill.  

On December 11, 1937, Leroy and Harry joined a group of boys on the ice on the lake in what is now Frank Melville Memorial Park. They were skating on the thinnest ice on that lake when Harry fell through the ice. William jumped in to try to pull Harry out but was not able to do so. He came back out but tried again the second time and lost his life. The firefighters pulled out both boys; Harry was already dead when he was pulled out, and they tried to revive William, but they were not able to. A memorial plaque dedicated to both boys was placed in the School on the Hill in 1938. Pearl Lewis Hart (b. 1924) describes witnessing the drowning of Leroy Sells and Harry Lyons in her  oral history  referred to as "The Setauket Tragedy".

Hart Family

Theodore "Blue Medicine" Green

Chief Theodore "Blue Medicine" Green (1927-2007) was a council member of the Long Island Native American Task Force as well as a historian of the Hart and Sells families and trustee of the Three Village Historical Society. He was member of 40/8 Voiture and Past Commander of Irving Hart American Legion Post # 1766. He was also apart of  Glenda Dickerson's Eel Spearing in Setauket Oral History project.  

Castro Family

The Castro Family occupied 8 August Street in 1949 which was originally used as the rubber factory tenement houses. The father, Guy Castro, was born in California and along with his wife Diane they had a son and daughter, Guy Jr., and Melonie. Guy worked in construction and was a prominent member on the Setauket baseball team. The family owned and operated “Guy We Likit” stand at August Avenue and Route 25A. 

Strelecki Family

Polish immigrants, Samuel and Sophie Strelecki married in Connecticut and then migrated to Setauket. The newly-weds rented the old Ridgway House and eventually purchased a Farm on South Jersey Ave. Helen, the 8 ^th  of 9 children of Samuel and Sophie Strelecki was born and raised in Setauket on the family farm on South Jersey Ave. Helen Strelecki details her and her families experience in Chicken Hill in her  oral history  interview.

Pinnes and Eikov Family

Jacob Moshe Pinnes married Sarah Rivka Rubinstein in Kopyl, White Russia in 1862. Together they had eleven children. Two of their children, as adults immigrated to the U.S. First Herman (1866-1954) and later, Dora (1870-1910). Herman arrived on Ellis Island during the Blizzard of 1888, to escape conscription into the Tsar’s family.

Upon arriving in the U.S., Herman found out the Ruble (Russian currency) had been devalued and his savings worthless and eventually, he found work in the rubber factory in East Setauket. It was there he found his future wife Sarah Seligson (1874-1959). They were married in 1891 at the Good Fellows synagogue, which is still standing on Main Street in East Setauket. They eventually built their future butcher shop and upstairs apartment right next door to the synagogue. Sarah and Herman had nine children, two died young of scarlet fever and diphtheria. Surviving were Evelyn (1892-1975), Samuel (1894-1962), Joseph (1899-1931), Lucy (1906-1961) and Helen (1910-1991).

The only other person to immigrate from Kopyl, White Russia in Herman’s family was his sister Dora Pinnes (1873-1910). She came for a visit in 1896 and met and married Samuel Eikoff (Eikov) (1874-1938). Samuel came from Warsaw, Poland. They both worked at the rubber factory. Together they had eight children. Ester (1898-1984), Samuel “Mookie” (1900-1989), Jane (1902-1996), Joseph “Jess” (1903-1986), Lester “Mek” (1905-1968), Morris “Mo” (1906-1988), Robert “Robby” (1907-1996) and Helen (1910-2000). Dora died in childbirth with her last child Helen. As was the custom in large families, with the death of a parent, families were split up amongst relatives. Herman and Sarah Pinnes took all eight, including day old Helen into their upstairs apartment over their butcher shop. With their own five children and eight of Sam and Dora’s, totaling thirteen, ages one day through 18 years old. The grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren of Dora and Herman still live near East Setauket. 

Joseph "Jess" Eikov (1903-1986) lived with his uncle Herman Pinnes and worked in his butcher shop in 1920. He owned and operated a school bus company between 1929-1968. He lived in East Setauket, LI, NY until his death in 1986.

In an oral history interview with Joseph Eikov he talked about life in East Setauket in the early 20th century.

“They all migrated here,” he said. “My mother [Dora Pinnes] from [Kopyl] Russia … All the Jews migrated here … They were called greenhorns. They came here with badges on. They came here to work in the [East Setauket] rubber factory and after the factory burned down [1905], then they started to leave. That’s when Pinnes [Dora Pinnes’ brother Herman, who opened a kosher butcher shop in East Setauket] went from kosher. They moved away gradually until there were very few left.” ( TBR News, Beverly C. Tyler, Three Village Historical Society Historian)

Carlton "Hub" Edwards

Born in Stony Brook, Carlton "Hub" Edwards moved with his family to Chicken Hill in Setauket when he was four years old. Edwards was a prolific ball player from an early age and grew up playing with his maternal uncles, who were also skilled ball players. He played for the Suffolk Giant Juniors, the Suffolk Athletic Club, the Town of Brookhaven, and the varsity baseball team. In 1950, when Edwards was around 21 years old, he received two draft notices: one was from the Brooklyn Dodgers and the other was from the U.S. government for the Korean War. After his service in the Korean War, Edwards returned home to Setauket. He met and married Nellie Sands, who hailed from Huntington, and in 1958, they bought a house in Setauket. Although Edwards did not play professional baseball, his talent, like the man himself, is known and respected in the area. In addition to his inclusion in the online exhibit, he was added to the Suffolk County Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Golden Family

The Golden family came to Setauket at the beginning of Jewish migration to the area in the 1880's. Samuel Golden, who was born in Setauket in 1898 to Isaac and Esther Golden. Sam Golden's father, Isaac, a young man peddling dry-goods from a sack, learned of a need for workers and brought this family to Setauket. Sam Golden had four brothers, Harry, David,Benjamin, and Isaac and two sisters Lena and Mamie. Samuel Golden recalled in a 1980 interview that his grandfather Elias, father Isaac, mother, and sisters all worked in the rubber factory, on and off, from the late 1880s, before his father established a saloon for rubber workers, Golden's Bar and Grill.

Bruce Family

The Bruce family were long-standing residents of Chicken Hill. George Bruce (1883–1967), originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, was a dedicated employee of the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department. His wife, Rosina Huber Bruce (1880–1962), immigrated to the United States from Däniken, Switzerland, in 1907. Together, they raised three children—Catherine (born 1918), Robert (1920–1989), and Freya (born 1923)—in their family home at 148 Main Street, known locally as "The Bruce House." The land on which their home stood was originally owned by the Rubber Factory before being acquired by local resident Melville Bryant. In 1922, Rosina purchased the property and commissioned Setauket carpenter George Heinz to construct the house the following year. The Bruce family remained stewards of the home for 78 years, until 2002. Rosina was known for cultivating vibrant gardens behind their home, a testament to her Swiss heritage.

The Bruce House was part of Main Street, a focal street in Chicken Hill. Surrounding the house were the Pinnes and Eikov butcher shop, Hymie Golden general store, bars, Good Fellows synagogue, Setauket Methodist church, and two worker meeting halls. Although some of these buildings survive, few – excepting the Bruce House – have not been significantly altered. The Bruce House appears to be the best preserved survivor on Main Street of “Chicken Hill’s” working class buildings.

In August 2001, the Brookhaven Town Historic District Advisory Committee decided to recommend rejection of an application to demolish the Bruce House so that a much larger residential building could be constructed. This decision validated the historical significance of the Bruce House and has provided the opportunity to preserve this important property. Today this place is the headquarters of the Three Village Community Trust.

Oral histories play a crucial role in preserving the legacy of neighborhoods like Chicken Hill, a small working-class enclave that reflects a broader pattern of similar communities throughout the United States. These neighborhoods emerged, thrived, and ultimately disappeared for a range of localized reasons, yet their enduring influence is deeply embedded in the social fabric of the communities that followed. Due to the economic dispersal that overtook Chicken Hill in the 1960s many residents had no choice to leave. However, some former residents remained in the Three Village Community, where they continued to raise their families.

The children who grew up in Chicken Hill forged lifelong relationships that would later become the cornerstone of the area's new identity. These individuals went on to shape the local community, working as government employees, volunteering in fire departments, and assuming leadership roles in fraternal organizations and religious societies. To truly understand the subtle dynamics that shaped these communities, it is essential to engage with the personal histories of the people who lived them. Oral histories offer unparalleled insight into these lived experiences, shedding light on how and why our contemporary communities function the way they do. As such, they are an indispensable tool for preserving the past and enriching our understanding of the present. In 2014, the Three Village Historical Society had the opportunity to interview members of the Chicken Hill community and preserve their histories. Interviews were led by exhibit curator Frank Turano and cameraman Mario Congreve.

Photos from the Original Chicken Hill Exhibit Opening

We are deeply grateful to the original curator, Dr. Frank Turano, and the Rhodes Committee for their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in bringing the original exhibit to life. Their incredible work and steadfast commitment to preserving our shared heritage have made this online exhibit possible, and we sincerely appreciate their invaluable contributions.