William Sydney Mount House

American painter William Sidney Mount created some of his most memorable scenes from inside an attic studio at this large, rambling 18th century homestead. Located at the intersection of North Country Road in Stony Brook, Mount’s ancestral family home, the Hawkins-Mount House, was built around 1725, and substantially enlarged over the centuries. 

Mount, his mother, and his four siblings moved to the house in 1814. The barn and outbuildings at the back of the property also featured prominently in his genre work. Living year-round in the house by 1847, Mount had a skylight installed in the ceiling of his garret studio to improve the lighting. 

It is a 2 1/2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and shingled exterior. The main entrance is sheltered by a shed-roof porch and has a four-light transom window. The interior of the house has more than twenty rooms. The most notable of these is its original kitchen, which has been restored. The oldest part of the house is the left side of the main building. It was built in 1725 by Eleazer Hawkins. He was William Sidney Mount's grandfather. Mr. Hawkins built it as an "ordinary," which was like a tavern or inn. Travelers could stop there for food and a place to stay. The kitchen from this old tavern is still preserved today.

The house remained in family hands until just after World War I and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The house is now owned by the Long Island Museum and is occasionally opened for tours.

Sources:

“William Sidney Mount House Facts for Kids.” Kiddle, 17 Oct. 2025, kids.kiddle.co/William_Sidney_Mount_House

“William Sidney Mount House.” Historic Artists’ Sites of Long Island, www.lihistoricartistssites.org/detail/william-sidney-mount-house. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025

“William Sidney Mount House.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 July 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sidney_Mount_House

Fort Franklin

 The British presence in Suffolk County during the Revolutionary War was anchored by Fort Franklin, located in Lloyd’s Neck. Named for Benjamin Franklin’s son, William Franklin, the fort controlled access from Long Island Sound into the waters of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor. Additionally, the fort’s garrison and guns, along with satellite encampments, provided protection for Tory raiders.

When it was established in 1778, the post was garrisoned by the third battalion of General Oliver DeLancey’s Tory regiment who remained there until 1780. In 1781, the Associated Loyalists, made it their base of operations.

The stronghold became an important element in General William Tryon’s raids on Connecticut coastal town in July 1779. On the evening of September 5, 1779, Major Benjamin Tallmadge embarked with a force of 130 dragoons, boatmen, and rebel refugees across the Sound to Lloyd’s Neck. The raiders quickly captured two of the houses being used as quarters by the Loyalists, and then turned their attention to a number of huts which sheltered other enemy whaleboat men. Although some of the Loyalists resisted, Tallmadge’s men soon secured the entire encampment, scooping up prisoners, documents, and supplies. But whatever hopes Tallmadge held for capturing the fort were dashed by a shooting which destroyed all hopes of surprise.

In April 1781, Tallmadge pushed Washington for permission to launch another raid against Fort Franklin. On April 19, Tallmadge sailed across the Sound and met with his agents who provided him with fresh maps of Fort Franklin. Once again, Tallmadge found himself thwarted by the stronghold on Lloyd’s Neck.

On the morning of July 10, a small French fleet of eight ships entered Huntington Harbor carrying a 450 man expeditionary force. The attack was quickly called off.

Fort Franklin was abandoned by the end of 1782 due to the end of the war.  The grounds became the site of a large and opulent home known as Fort Hill House and there is no trace of the fort.

 

Source:

Welch, Richard F. “Fort Franklin: Tory Bastion on Long Island Sound.” Journal of the American Revolution, 24 Feb. 2015, allthingsliberty.com/2015/03/fort-franklin-tory-bastion-on-long-island-sound