Since 1720 the little house on Summit Street has been expanded, renovated and even moved to suit its masters. And now it's time for a major new addition.

Home to Reverends Earle and Wightman.
Originally built on South Street as a small, one-room dwelling, the Earle-Wightman house grew over the next 150 years to its current size. During that time the house had several owners. As the 19th century began, two successive Baptist ministers, the Reverend Marmaduke Earle and the Reverend Charles S. Wightman, made their home there, each for 55 years.

Oyster Bay Historical Society Headquarters.
In 1966 the house was donated to the Town of Oyster Bay by Hempstead Bank President, Bruce Wood Hall. It was renovated and moved to Summit Street under the direction of John Collins, an authority on architectural history and historic preservation. Mr. Collins' drawing of the house is seen above. Today the little house with charmingly irregular windows, hand-wrought nails and riven-oak furring, serves as the headquarters and museum of the Oyster Bay Historical Society.

The Society uses the house for historic exhibitions, educational programs, research, and office space for staff. It is also used to house the Society's collection of historic letters, documents, photographs and artifacts.

The Need for a Safe Repository.
Of course the house was not built with any of these purposes in mind. The dangers of housing an irreplaceable historic collection in a 300 year old wood frame structure were made all too vivid by the October 2003 fire which destroyed the historic Masonic Lodge just a few blocks away. Many artifacts, historical records, and Masonic memorabilia were lost forever in the fire.

Spurred both by growing pains -- since its founding in 1960, the Society has become a vital part of community life -- and by the need for a safe archival site for its historic collection, the Society has begun raising funds to construct a non-combustible, masonry building which will be located behind the Colonial Garden at the rear of the Earle-Wightman House.

New Building Named for Angela Koenig.
The new building, which will have the heating, ventilation and air conditioning needed for archival storage, will be made to look like a period barn, as shown in the artist's rendering at right. It will be called the Angela P. Koenig Research & Collections Center to identify its purpose and honor longtime Oyster Bay Historical Society Trustee and widely-respected civic leader, Angela P. Koenig, who passed away in 2005. The estimated cost of the 3,500 sq ft facility, which has been approved in concept by the Oyster Bay Landmarks Commission, is between $1.35 million to $1.4 million.

Fund-Raising Underway.
The Society has been raising money from membership grants and matching grants; from Nassau County and New York State grants. According to OBHS Director Thomas Kuehhas, "We are getting some big donors signing on. The Dolan Foundation gave us a very generous matching grant to reach for and we are seeking other donors to match it. Roger Bahnik has helped that along with a donation of $50,000. More donors are needed." First Vice President Brad Warner explained, "We have identified sources for about $964,000 or 71 percent of the cost -- which sounds great -- but we have $385,000 to raise, and $300,000 of that will make the Dolan challenge grant kick in."

Additional information, including a floor plan and major categories of giving are available in the Angela P. Koenig Research & Collections Center Brochure.

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