Village of Branch Historic District

Along a nearly straight mile of Middle Country Road in Smithtown, Long Island, this group of buildings preserves the core of the village known as the Branch. It includes fifteen houses, a Presbyterian church and a library dating from about 1700 to 1965. Most houses are two stories with gable roofs parallel to the road, shingle or clapboard siding, and white paint with dark shutters. Four small farmworkers' cottages stand on Judge's Lane. Settlement began around 1700 with Joseph Blydenburgh and his wife Deborah Smith. Epenetus Smith's tavern became a Brooklyn to Sag Harbor stagecoach stop in 1772, and a turnpike company formed in 1817 spurred expansion. Later porches and Colonial Revival details reflect the community's change from farming and travel to a suburban home for New York City commuters. Shipmast locust trees, milestones, hitching posts and fences add to the setting, which contrasts with surrounding modern development.