Crippen House begins new chapter in Halesite
The building’s legacy stretches back to 1864 when Peter Crippen, a free-born African American from Virginia purchased the property.
More Stories
A centuries-old home in Suffolk County is getting a second life - not through demolition, but through careful preservation. The Crippen House in Halesite, originally built as a grist mill in 1657, is being deconstructed piece by piece so it can be rebuilt as a part of the Huntington African American Museum.
“This is not the end. This is a new beginning for this house,” said Barry Lites, the chairperson of the museum's board of directors.
The building’s legacy stretches back to 1864 when Peter Crippen, a free-born African American from Virginia purchased the property. He moved to Huntington to work as a brick-laborer and fisherman. Historians say his story, and that of the house, is deeply woven into the broader narrative of African American migration and settlement on Long Island.
“This is a part of the migration of African Americans to Long Island and to other parts of the country,” Lites added. “So, it's an integral part of American history.”
The Crippen House remained in the family until 2019, when the Town of Huntington acquired it with plans to demolish the deteriorating structure. But the community rallied in a grassroots campaign to save the home, recognizing its historical and cultural importance.
“We're carefully deconstructing, piece by piece, to preserve these timbers and to rebuild the house in the Huntington African American Museum, so this is just giving the home another life,” explained Tiarra Brown, the museum's curator. “I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. It's such a beautiful event.”
Among those most personally touched is Kip Carmen, a descendant of Peter Crippen. Carmen lived in the house for the first 19 years of his life and shared memories of playing guitar in the living room, taking care of the family's pigs, and sleeping in a second-floor bedroom.
“I'm very proud of the fact that eventually they got around to doing something to preserve a part of this house," Carmen said. "I feel my ancestors’ spirits - that they're very happy and we're ready to move on.”
Once the deconstruction is complete, an archaeological dig will take place on the property, with hopes of uncovering artifacts dating back to the 1800s and earlier.
