HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/20/1988 FEB 11988
LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION, JAnuary 20, 1988Golk
Present : John Stack, chairman, William Peters, Ralph Williams and
Joy Bear.
The meeting started with a lengthy discussion on the puzzles raised
during an examination of Gary Williams house on Main Road, Southold . The
Landmark Preservation men spent several long and very cold and windy
days examining the construction of the house . The construction is
visible because the walls and flooring have been removed, making the
frame and the soil below the floor available for close study. Harriet
Gomper, an archeologist, sifted and studied a section of the dirt floor
in the northwest corner, and found leather scraps in the dirt fl6or.
The commissioners have come to no definite conclusions, and are not ready
to write a report on the house . The house seems to be too delapidated
to restore, but would make an informative exhibit about ancient
construction methods if set up as-is, inside a house, with text to
explain the construction the visitor is looking at.
Groundwork is being done on our projected book, "How Old Is Your
House?" The commissiomers met with Nicholas Langhart, our text consultant,
early in January. The meeting was held at John Stack' s house . John has
indicated on a D.O.T. map houses eligible for inclusion in the book.
Ralph Williams will go out with Peter Stevens to photograph these houses .
The commissioners will then finalize their selection. This will be a
time consuming job /
Frank Turano, a Stonybrook Univiserty professor, is using work done on
Ralph Williams ' house in Orient as the basis f6r his doctoral thesis.
He and his students have examined nearly 9,000 shards found in the
basement of the house . Also he and his students have studied census
reports from the late 1600' s through 1800, and old maps, and have been
able to document continuous ownership of the house over this period .
William Peters brought in stats of an interesting 1848 map from
Thompson's History of Long Island.
Next meeting: February 17.