Smith, Henry, Farmstead
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Why it's listed
Surrounded by twentieth-century tract housing at the corner of Park Avenue and Little Plains Road, this three-acre farmstead in Huntington Station is still cultivated. The farmhouse dates from about 1750, when Henry Smith established the farm, and it was remodelled in the 1860s by Alexander Gardiner for his mother. The two-story clapboard house has a shallow gable roof, bracketed eaves with drop pendants, paired windows and a long front porch with slender Doric columns. Inside, the original eighteenth-century floor plan, woodwork and hardware remain largely unaltered. Behind the house stand a barn, a privy and three sheds from the mid-nineteenth century, along with a non-contributing modern garage. The farm once covered 600 acres. It was listed because it keeps the look of a working farm and illustrates Huntington's shift from subsistence settlement to prosperous nineteenth-century agriculture, which is rare in a heavily developed town.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the farmstead is a largely intact property recalling Huntington's eighteenth and nineteenth century agricultural development. Locally it is considered the property in town that most clearly keeps its historic agrarian appearance. The house also shows the typical mid-nineteenth century remodelling of earlier dwellings with Victorian details.
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 85002539, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 900 Park Ave., Huntington Station |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002539 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Builder: Henry Smith; architect unknown |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a residence, with the three-acre plot under active cultivation; condition described as fair, with deterioration listed as a threat. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 40.85094, -73.37965 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 85002539.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706346
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.