A fun family event that celebrates a forgotten part of the Three Villages’ history
Tickets are now on sale for the Three Village Community Trust’s 9th Annual Chicken Hill BBQ, a true old-fashioned country picnic to be held on the lawn of the Bruce House and Rubber Factory Worker Houses, 148 Main St., Setauket, on Saturday, August 17 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Title Celebrating a special time and place in our pastThe event will feature delicious food, live music by the Rum Dogs, house tours, raffle baskets, auction items and more with special guests Hub and Nellie Edwards.
This year’s barbecue features an expanded menu with pulled pork, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages and peppers, watermelon and more!
At one time, the area surrounding the Three Village Community Trust headquarters and mills at 148 Main Street was known as Chicken Hill. Stretching a half-mile in each direction, Chicken Hill was a diverse, multicultural neighborhood that became an important foundation of the Three Village community today! Many of the people living in Chicken Hill in the 1800s and early 1900s were Southern and Eastern European immigrants, Irish immigrants, Native Americans, and African Americans, all working at the local Setauket rubber mill. The “Immigrant Factory Houses” at 148 Main Street are a visible reminder of a bygone era.
Tickets are $30 for adults in advance ($40 at the door); children ages 5-12 are $10; children under 5 are free. Rain date is Aug. 18. Proceeds benefit the Trust’s ongoing restoration projects. To order tickets, visit threevillagecommunitytrust.org. 631-689-0225
All proceeds from the event will go toward the ongoing restoration of the mill workers’ homes and other historic Trust properties, as well as maintenance of the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway.
Date: Saturday August 17, 2024
Site: 148 Main Street, Setauket
Time: Grounds open at 4pm with live music from Rum Dogs
Tickets: $30 per person, $40 at the door, children 5-12 $10, under 5 free
Online sales at: threevillagecommunitytrust.org or mail your check to TVCT, PO Box 2596, Setauket, NY 11733
Advantage: Trust Restoration Projects.
Bring: Bring your own drinks
Need more information? Call H. Mones at 631-942-4558 or write to (protected email)Or (protected email)
Background:
The three factory workers’ houses at 148 Main Street in Setauket were built in the late 1800s and represent an important part of the American immigrant experience.
Nearby, the Setauket Rubber Factory was Long Island’s largest producer of household goods. Hundreds of workers contributed to the manufacture of items such as shoes, boots, belts, tires, and rainwear.
Immigrants arriving in New York from Eastern Europe and Russia were promised steady work and cheap housing. These new Americans came to the region in hopes of a better life, even if the work was hard, the working conditions poor, and the wages low.
The mill owners provided housing in the form of small “mill houses” that were spread throughout the community. Each “mill house” essentially has two rooms: one room on the first floor and one on the second floor. Several families crowded into the houses to pay the monthly rent. The area surrounding the three mill houses at 148 Main Street (a half-mile in each direction) was known as “Chicken Hill.” The mill houses at this site retain their original interiors and exteriors, allowing visitors to step back in time.
Despite poor working and living conditions, immigrants helped build a vibrant community. By 1881, there were enough Irish Catholics in Setauket to hold a St. Patrick’s Day parade and build the community’s first Catholic church on Main Street. The Jewish population, recruited from Ellis Island, was large enough to maintain a synagogue—the first on Long Island outside Brooklyn and Queens—called Agudas Achim, or “Good Community.”
Saved from demolition through the efforts of former New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright, the Three Village Community Trust and dedicated community volunteers, the Immigrant Worker Factory Houses have been moved to the Trust’s headquarters for preservation, restoration and education.
Today, these rustic cottages are a visual reminder of the hopes, dreams and struggles of so many of our country’s immigrants. And each year, the Chicken Hill Country Picnic keeps alive the memory of a “community lost in time”!
