Woodhull, Josiah, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1720 on the north side of North Country Road in Shoreham, the Josiah Woodhull House is a two-story, five-bay farmhouse set into a hillside for protection from storms off Long Island Sound. It was home to seven generations of the Woodhull family, descendants of Richard Woodhull, who secured land rights for the Town of Brookhaven. After James Woodhull inherited it in 1834, the house was enlarged with a new brick ground level and Greek Revival window, door and mantel details. In 1936 a New York City couple, Raymond and Aimee Gilleaudeau, bought it as a country retreat and remodeled it in the Colonial Revival style, adding a pedimented entrance, a new staircase and paneled rooms. Eighteenth-century framing still survives inside. The house is recognized as one of the oldest in Brookhaven and as an example of vernacular Long Island farmhouse building. It has been vacant and badly deteriorated, and the Town of Brookhaven has owned it since 2002.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criteria A and C as an example of early settlement patterns and a vernacular Long Island farmhouse that grew in stages. It retains fabric from the Colonial, Greek Revival and Colonial Revival periods, and it is one of the oldest surviving residences in the Town of Brookhaven. Its raised brick basement, built into a hillside, is an unusual response to the terrain.
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 11000602, listed August 24, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 170 North Country Rd., Shoreham |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | August 24, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000602 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | Ca. 1720-1936 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Exploration/Settlement |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant for several years and severely deteriorated; windows boarded. The Town of Brookhaven acquired it in 2002 and has been developing preservation and reuse strategies. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.96051, -72.86969 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 11000602.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15229768
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.