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Guided Tour Exploring Huntington’s Haunted History
Huntington – Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci and Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia opened All Hallow’s Month at the
Hauntington Town Clerk’s Archives, a Guided Tour Exploring Huntington’s Haunted
History, on Tuesday, October 1 in the Town Clerk’s Archives at Huntington Town
Hall.
“During the excitement of the
Hauntington renaming last year, my staff reached out to the Town Clerk to
collaborate on incorporating some of Huntington's haunted history documented in
the Archives for this year,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. “It was
fitting, as Halloween occurs at the end of Archives Month, which takes place
every October. The stories of the records in the Archives may be of interest to
teens, adults, history buffs – even ghost hunters!”
“I am delighted to bring this guided
tour which explores some of the Town’s historical tales. The Town Clerk’s
Archives houses many interesting documents dating back to 1653,” said Town
Clerk Jo-Ann Raia.
Archives Month is an annual,
month-long celebration with the purpose of promoting historical records
repositories and the role archivists play in their management and maintenance.
Archivist Antonia Mattheou, working
under the direction of Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia, has collaborated with Supervisor
Chad A. Lupinacci’s office to cultivate a Hauntington-themed tour of the
archives featuring records related to crimes, controversial and sad stories
haunting Huntington’s history.
Items on display include those
documenting Nathan Hale, General George Washington's first spy, who was
executed by hanging in 1776 by the British; Jacob Conklin, who sailed in 1690
with pirate Captain William Kidd, who later became Town Trustee, Supervisor and
then Suffolk County Sheriff; Mary Este, a woman executed for practicing witchcraft
in Salem; five pages of love letters from Abraham Van Wycke, a man who died of
a broken heart in 1849; the legend of Charles Kelsey, tarred, feathered and
murdered in 1872, whose lower extremities were found in the waters off Oyster
Bay; and many other stories.
To celebrate Archives Month 2019,
and to take the tour of the Haunted Archives, the Huntington Town Clerk’s
Archives will hold an open house for the month of October, on Tuesdays and
Fridays from 1:30 – 4:30pm and an extra date on Halloween, Thursday, October 31
from 1:30pm – 4:30pm. No appointment is necessary during the listed hours of
the tour however calling in advance would be appreciated for groups larger than
10 people. Questions about the tour can be directed to the Town Clerk’s office at
(631) 351-3216.
The Town Board ceremoniously renamed
the Town of Huntington the Town of Hauntington for Halloween on October 31,
2018, at the suggestion of 7-year-old Angelica Dee Cunningham in a letter dated
August 26, 2018, addressed to Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. Supervisor
Lupinacci will introduce a similar resolution at the October 16, 2019 Town
Board meeting, where the Town will honor Angelica for starting the new
Halloween tradition.
Visitors will also have a chance to
review the Town Clerk’s current exhibit that highlights the “History of
Shellfishing in the Town of Huntington” and see the manuscript collection
housed in the repository.
VIDEO: https://huntingtonny.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=1951
In the photos (l-r): Hauntington1:
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci and Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia at entrance to
Archives. Hauntington2: Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia; tour group; Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci. Hauntington3: The Legend of Charles Kelsey in Haunted Archives.
Hauntington4: Unidentified Ghost of Hauntington Past in Archives. Hauntington5:
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci; Deputy Town Clerk Stacy Colamussi; tour group;
Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia with Haunted Archives documents on display.
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