Chichester's Inn
Why it's listed
Chichester's Inn is a long, narrow, one-and-a-half story building on a wooded 2.3-acre lot on Chichester Road in West Hills, Huntington. It was built around 1680 by the Chichester family on the foundations of an earlier dwelling that had burned. Additions continued into the early nineteenth century. The exterior has an eleven-bay facade, a cross-gable with a pointed-arched window, and varied window types including diamond-paned sash. Inside, the inn keeps a hinged seventeenth-century room divider, the original tap room and a winding, narrow boxed staircase. A small early nineteenth-century stone and clapboard springhouse is also part of the property. The inn served as a local gathering place and town meeting hall until the late nineteenth century, when it became solely a residence. It is the only surviving seventeenth-century inn in Huntington and one of few seventeenth-century buildings left in the town. Its relatively unaltered interior and semi-rural setting recall the early settlement of the area.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as a distinctive example of settlement-period architecture in Huntington and a rare, relatively unaltered seventeenth-century inn. It is the only surviving seventeenth-century inn in the town and retains rare interior features such as the original tap room, a boxed staircase and a swinging wooden room partition. It is also associated with the early settlement of West Hills and the Chichester family.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85002508, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 97 Chichester Rd., West Hills |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002508 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; builder: Chichester Family |
| Architectural style | Settlement period architecture (seventeenth-century) |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a residence; condition described as good. A 1980 fire damaged the attic, which was rebuilt in its original configuration. |
| Acreage | 2.3 |
| Coordinates | 40.81985, -73.42476 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85002508.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5095980
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.