Recognized as a local small-town attraction, the town of Stony Brook on Long Island's North Shore is peppered with historical places and quaint, farm-style architecture. Several surrounding bodies of water add to Stony Brook's rustic appeal, while research institution Stony Brook University brings modernity and a younger generation to the area.
Local families, in fair weather, are drawn to the large duck pond off Main Street and Harbor Road, where a historical grist mill marks the spot, its function lending the town its name. Since it was built in 1699 (the original; Adam Smith rebuilt the mill in 1751 after a flood leveled the first one), boaters would take their grain via The Stony Brook from Stony Brook Harbor to be ground into flour.
Added in 1990 to The National Register of Historic Places as one of the most completely equipped grist mills on Long Island, the Stony Brook Grist Mill has changed hands over two dozen times. Currently, it belongs to the Stony Brook Community Fund, which was renamed the Ward Melville Heritage Fund, courtesy of Ward Melville, a notable citizen of Long Island.
The mill is currently open to the public for a nominal fee of $2 for adults and $1 for children, May through October on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
For more information on visiting, call (631) 751-2244.
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