Townsend, Henry, House
Why it's listed
Set on a one-and-one-half acre lot along West Neck Road in Huntington, this house was built around 1830 by Henry Townsend. It is a five-bay, center-hall dwelling with clapboard and shingle sheathing, small-pane sash windows and interior end chimneys. In the 1850s the exterior was remodelled with broad overhanging eaves, exposed carved rafter ends, scrollsawn corner braces, kingpost trusses in the gable ends, and gable dormers with scalloped vergeboards. These Swiss-inspired details probably followed designs published by A.J. Downing and his followers. The property also keeps mid-nineteenth century farm outbuildings, including a well house, privy, smokehouse and shed, plus a late nineteenth century carriage house later converted to a garage. The house is valued as an example of how older local dwellings were updated to reflect national tastes, and for showing the area's shift from agriculture to a suburban setting on the edge of Huntington's business district.
Significance in brief: It is a distinctive example of mid-nineteenth century residential architecture in Huntington, where an early house was updated with Swiss-inspired decorative details likely drawn from A.J. Downing's published designs. It also reflects the change of the West Neck Road area from a rural farming community to a residential suburb. Its farm outbuildings are rare surviving examples of their type and period in densely developed Huntington.
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 85002543, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 231 W. Neck Rd., Huntington |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002543 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; builder Henry Townsend |
| Architectural style | Settlement period house with mid-nineteenth century Swiss-inspired decorative alterations |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Inventory form lists condition as good, with no known threats; the house remains in residential use and the interior is open by appointment only. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.92603, -73.43637 (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 85002543.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5729263
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.