Summer meetings (July and August) are at MMS Community Library or the Forge River Boat Club, Riviera Dr., Mastic. The Mastic Peninsula Historical Society was founded by Rita Rech in 1999. Several of our members were originally part of the William Floyd Community Summit, but as their interest in history grew, the need for a completely separate organization was realized. Our first achievement was ad
vocating for the preservation of the "Petty House" (circa. 1797). Although the restoration was a private undertaking, we observed and documented the project as much as was practical and permissible. Another early project was helping the staff of the Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library with their efforts to identify the people and places in historical photographs of the Mastic area. Our group also participated in Brookhaven Town’s 350th Anniversary Celebration. Members dressed in colonial garb and told the history of General Nathaniel Woodhull, a local resident killed by the British during the American Revolution. Our main project at this time is to clean up, landscape, fence-off and place a marker on the Lane Family cemetery. The members of the Lane family were farmers in the 1800's, and their farm had a private graveyard, which contained at least thirteen burials that we can account for. The headstones were removed in 1930, but the bodies still remain in the ground. The cemetery area is completely overgrown with weeds and filled with debris discarded in the area over many years. The cemetery is still recognized by the Town of Brookhaven, and we have gotten permission to do the project. Our local Eagle Scouts have volunteered to assist with the fund-raising and provide some of the labor. The town has agreed to install a sign to commemorate the family buried there. Another current project is that we have started printing and distributing a quarterly newsletter as of the first quarter of 2009. We also participate annually in the Brookhaven Town Country Fair to disseminate information about the history of our area; this year we distributed samples of our newsletter and displayed photos from our collection. Future goals of the organization include developing our educational programs by hosting an annual scholarship essay contest and by giving presentations at local schools regarding the history of the area, the school district, and most importantly, the lives of the historical figures for whom our local schools are named. We also plan to commission a graphic artist to produce a map to guide students, historians, residents and tourists to the many historic sites within our charter area. Hard copies of the map would be distributed to the public, and would be available over the Internet, as well as through a web site we hope to create as soon as funding for the project can be obtained. Recently we have retained a lease from Brookhaven of the Capt. John Hawkins House on Montauk Hwy in Moriches. The house was purchased by Suffolk County and turned over to the town who then leased it to the Historical Society. Hopefully, with much needed financial help, we can restore the buildings and operate it as a meeting place and a museum.
