Springing Back in Time at Hallockville Museum Farm

After a long winter, people are eager to get back outside. To capitalize on this enthusiasm, the Hallockville Museum Farm is once again offering its popular spring walking tours. The four Saturday tours — one each in April and May and two in June — will focus on various aspects of the 28-acre property, which features 19 historic buildings, on Sound Avenue in Riverhead Town’s Northville hamlet.

Adjoining 225-acre Hallock State Park Preserve, Hallockville Museum Farm was created to preserve and interpret the history of farming on the North Fork. The museum was launched with the preservation of the property’s Hallock Homestead, the original portion of which dates to 1765. Zachariah Hallock purchased the farm and buildings in 1801 from his brother, Ezra Hallock, for his newly married son, Zachariah Hallock II. Hallock descendants lived in the homestead until 1979, when Zachariah Hallock II’s great-granddaughter, Ella Hallock, moved out to a Riverhead nursing home at age 95. By the late 1800s, many of the houses along Sound Avenue belonged to Hallock family members, causing locals to refer to the area as “Hallockville.”

“The Hallockville Museum Farm is a great place to visit in all seasons, but in the spring, people are excited to get outside again, and we are excited to share our enthusiasm for this special place,” said Executive Director Heather Johnson.

New this year, a similarly themed kids’ walking tour will take place at the same time as each of the four walking tours. This way, parents can enjoy their tour while their kids, ages 5 and up, participate in a kid-friendly version, which also includes hands-on play and crafting, with certified teacher and local farmer Jessica de Vera Wells.

Barn Architecture of the North Fork, April 13, 10–11:30 a.m.: This tour of two barns — the pre-Revolutionary War Era Homestead Barn and the 1937 Naugles Barn — provides insights into the architectural styles, construction techniques and functionality of the barns’ different elements. Historians Zach Studenroth and Richard Wines will discuss how the structures evolved over time to meet the changing needs of Long Island farmers, from the earlier barn built by descendants of the North Fork’s original Puritan settlers to the latter one constructed by Polish-Lithuanian immigrants. Studenroth, a former preservation director for what is now Preservation Long Island, has devoted his career to the study and analysis of historic buildings, including important dwellings, churches, mills and barns. Wines is a past president of the Hallockville Museum Farm, where he was responsible for numerous restoration projects. Since 2001, he has chaired the Riverhead Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Native Trees of the East End, May 11, 10–11:30 a.m.: Discover the many varieties of trees on the Hallockville campus. Led by naturalist Mary Laura Lamont, participants will examine tree buds, fruits, barks and leaves, and learn to identify traits of different trees. Lamont will also explain how specific woods have been used by people throughout the ages. A retired federal ranger who worked at the William Floyd Estate and Fire Island National Seashore, Lamont is now a naturalist for the Hallock State Park Preserve.

Historical Farm Equipment,June 1, 10–11:30 a.m.: The Hallockville grounds and barns are home to a diverse collection of original farm equipment. Wines and fellow historian Dale Moyer will contrast yesteryear’s equipment with present-day tools and share stories of how the various pieces were acquired by the Hallockville Museum Farm over the years. Moyer, who serves as copresident of the museum’s board of directors, is an agricultural consultant who retired from a career with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

Plants Are Good Medicine, June 22, 10–11:30 a.m.: This unique tour of what’s growing on the Hallockville campus will not be limited to the gardens. Certified nutritional counselor Toni Kaste will discuss the medicinal benefits of not only the gardens’ diverse plants, but the various weeds sprouting up on pathways and in nooks and crannies. An East End homesteader and hobby farmer, Kaste has focused on herbs and alternative practices in her nutritional studies, and she is passionate about gardening, weeds and all.

Walking tours are $10 for adults or free for Hallockville Museum Farm members. Kids’ tours cost more, since they include crafts: $25 for the first child, $20 for the second, and further discounts if there are more than two children from the same family. The rates apply to children of both members and nonmembers.

The Hallockville Museum Farm is located at 6038 Sound Avenue in Riverhead Town. For more info, visit hallockville.org/walkingtours or call 631-298-5292.