Wood, John, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1704 by John Wood, this one-story, four-bay house at 121 McKay Road in Huntington Station is among the oldest surviving properties in the Town of Huntington. It has a salt-box profile and a massive central chimney. A shed-roofed wing on the east (c. 1800) and a flat-roofed wing on the west (c. 1920) enlarged the original dwelling. Aluminum siding covered the original shingles in 1976. Inside, the mortise-and-tenon frame remains visible, including the summer beam, projecting girts and sills, and corner braces on the second floor. The original floor plan, moldings, door and window surrounds, and period hardware survive. The property remained in the Wood family until the early nineteenth century, when it passed to the Sammis family. A stone well with a gabled canopy is the only surviving outbuilding. The house sits close to a curving road amid mid-twentieth-century subdivisions and is one of few historic properties left in South Huntington.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be one of the oldest surviving properties in the town of Huntington and a representative example of local settlement-period architecture. It shows timber framing, a central chimney, a salt-box profile, small-pane windows and no decorative detail, and its heavy timber frame is clearly visible inside. The gable-roofed stone well illustrates later agricultural use of the property.
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 85002554, listed September 26, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 121 McKay Rd., Huntington Station |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | September 26, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002554 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Built by John Wood (architect unknown) |
| Architectural style | Early settlement period; salt-box profile with central chimney |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Inventory form lists condition as excellent and use as residence, same as original; aluminum siding was added in 1976 over the original shingles. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 40.85290, -73.42421 (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 85002554.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6264783
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.