Southold Historical Museum Maple Lane Complex

Southold Historical Museum was founded in 1960 to "promote interest in and education about the history of Southold and to bring together those persons who desire to discover, acquire, preserve, maintain, and exhibit historic sites, buildings, and relics.”

Since our inception, our mission is still focused and clear. Southold Historical Museum preserves and interprets collections that engage, educate and connect the public to Southold’s history and culture. We support initiatives that promote the sustainability of our historic past.

Southold Historical Museum is one of the leading cultural institutions located on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. Founded in 1960, the Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the rich history of our region. To do this, the Museum maintains a headquarters and archive, as well as a number of historically significant buildings which exhibit some of the Museum's vast collections. Southold Historical Museum maintains over a dozen buildings in Southold. The buildings range in date from 1750 to 1900 and include a lighthouse, several houses, barns, outbuildings, and commercial structures. The museum opens many of these buildings to the public at various times throughout the year.

The museum is located on the land of the Corchaug Nation. There is no Southold History without the Corchaug History. Our work connects to the Corchaug people as it has for thousands of years before us. We pay homage to the Indigenous People of the past, of the present, and of the future.

Exhibits

Beginning July 2, “Summer Colonies of Southold”, Southold Historical Museum’s 2022 summer exhibition, will be on display at the Museum’s Maple Lane Complex. Each summer, the Museum opens the historic home of its founder, Ann Hallock Currie-Bell, within which a seasonal exhibition is curated. This year’s exhibition brings to life the lively history of the emergence of summer colonies in Southold.

Since the 1800s, people have been coming to the North Fork by ferries, trains, and roads to enjoy the bucolic setting. The Roaring Twenties began the start of the Summer Colonies defined as a group of buildings of a permanent type of construction, containing separate living accommodations primarily for non-transient vacation or recreational purposes for families or adults on a seasonal basis for hire (https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/summer-colony.) These colonies suffered economic losses during the 1930s Depression, and cottages were sold.

The farms, picturesque towns, and proximity to the water has drawn people to the North Fork continually over the centuries. Visitors will explore several colonies throughout the exhibit – Beixedon Estates, Laughing Waters, Goose Bay Estates, Paradise Shores to name just a few. Memories of those who summered in the colonies are included in the exhibit as well as photographs, paintings, and ephemera.

“Summer Colonies of Southold” will be on exhibit at the Mayne Gallery inside the Ann Currie-Bell House on the Museum’s Maple Lane Complex at 55200 Main Rd., Southold, NY 11971. In addition to this historic 1900 house, the complex features the Thomas Moore House, the Reichert Family Barn, the Bayview Schoolhouse, as well as number of other buildings. The hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4pm from July 2 to September 18. Suggested admission is $5 per adult and $10 per family which includes a passport for admission to the Nautical Museum at Horton Point Lighthouse.

For more information on this event or any other museum programs, please call (631) 765-5500 or email [email protected].

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