Goose Hill Road Historic District
Why it's listed
Goose Hill Road is a narrow, winding road in the northeast corner of Cold Spring Harbor, on Long Island. Along it sits a small group of farms spread over about 20 wooded acres. Twelve contributing buildings date from roughly 1770 to 1850. Most are modest frame farmhouses with three-bay side-hall or five-bay center-hall plans, shingle or clapboard siding, and only restrained Federal and Greek Revival trim. Barns, pumphouses, carriage houses and other farm outbuildings survive alongside them. The Kehillath Shalom House, built around 1830, is the most decorative of the early dwellings. The Captain Joseph T. Bunce, Jr. House, built around 1850, is a Victorian-period reminder of the village's whaling prosperity. Because the road lies inland and away from the harbor, it escaped the remodeling and expansion that changed much of the village in later decades. The district was listed as one of the few intact rural, agrarian communities in Huntington, with its historic streetscape and wooded setting largely preserved.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as a largely intact group of farmhouses and farm outbuildings recalling Cold Spring Harbor's early agricultural development. Its dwellings are representative examples of Huntington's conservative local building tradition, with restrained Federal and Greek Revival detail. Its isolated inland location and wooded setting have kept it largely free of later development, and it is described as the only undeveloped area in Cold Spring Harbor.
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 85002528, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Goose Hill Rd., Cold Spring Harbor |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002528 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Settlement-period vernacular farmhouses with Federal and Greek Revival details; one Victorian-period house |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The form describes the district as having no intrusions, with settlement-period properties remaining virtually unaltered and the wooded, sparsely populated setting intact. |
| Acreage | 20 |
| Coordinates | 40.87742, -73.45151 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 85002528.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5584060
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.