Whitman, Joseph, House
Why it's listed
Set on a two-acre wooded plot along West Hills Road, this shingled house was built about 1692 by Joseph Whitman, the first member of the Whitman family to settle in West Hills. Whitman emigrated from England and was established in the area by 1668. The main block is one and one-half stories with four bays, a steeply pitched gable roof, a central chimney and twelve-over-eight sash windows. The house was moved from the Whitman-Carll House site to its present location about 1913, and a south wing, dormers and other additions followed in the 1920s. It remains one of only four seventeenth-century buildings surviving in Huntington. The property also holds an early nineteenth-century barn and shed that reflect continued agricultural use, along with the site of a late seventeenth-century stone fort built by settlers hunting in the forested hills. That site has not been investigated archeologically. The house remains a private residence.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be a representative, intact example of early settlement period architecture in Huntington and one of only four surviving seventeenth-century buildings in the town. It was the home of Joseph Whitman, the first Whitman to settle in West Hills. The property also includes the site of a late seventeenth-century stone fort with unexplored archeological potential.
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 85002548, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 365 W. Hills Rd., West Hills |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002548 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; builder Joseph Whitman |
| Architectural style | Early settlement period (late seventeenth century) architecture |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Private residence still in use as a residence; condition rated good; no threats known. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 40.81991, -73.42203 (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 85002548.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706724
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.