The Friends of the East Rockaway Grist Mill -- Home Page

East Rockaway Gristmill in 1898

In 1688, Joseph Haviland was given permission at a town meeting in Hempstead to build a mill for grinding corn on a stream in East Rockaway. The tidewater mill was located near the corner of what is now Ocean and Atlantic Avenues. In East Rockaway's early days, the mill became the center of village life and for two hundred years was the milling and shipping center of the Rockaway peninsula.

When Alexander Davison purchased the mill in 1818 the area flourished as a free seaport, port of entry on the South Shore along with Raynortown (Freeport). During the 19th century, the Haviland-Davison Grist Mill grew in size to accommodate expanded ventures such as saw milling. In the 1890's a group of dedicated citizens met in the Mill to form East Rockaway's first Volunteer Fire Department. Today, in the Museum Fire Room, visitors can see Tootsie, the original 1893 pumper purchased by the department to assist in fighting village fires.

By the 1920's, the Mill had ceased operating, and while still in the Davison Family, was moved just north of the Long Island Railroad tracks and west of Ocean Avenue, to become a storage shed for the Davison Lumber Company.

In 1962, Mayor Krull, Buddy and Gene Torborg, Douglas Wilkie, Village Attorney W. Wesley Hill and other interested residents, recognizing the Haviland-Davison Grist Mill as an exceptional architectural and historical resource, moved to have the Village of East Rockaway acquire the Mill for $l.00 and relocate it in Memorial Park behind Village Hall.  This was done in February 1963. The Grist Mill was restored as a museum and opened to the public on June 3, 1965. Since that time a Village Committee of volunteers has managed the Museum.

On August 12, 1990, the Grist Mill Museum was set ablaze by an arsonist. Without the fast and efficient response of the Volunteer Fire Department, the Mill would have been a total loss to the community and history. Though badly damaged and much memorabilia lost, (Tootsie had to be rebuilt), the Village Board, under the leadership of Mayor Irving Shaw, encouraged the Volunteer Committee and other interested residents to help restore the Grist Mill Museum. Once again it opened its doors to a grateful public on June 4, 1993.

Since then plans were developed to prepare the Mill for the 21st Century. It now has a new walkway and entrance that is handicap accessible, and a landscape plan has been drawn.

The Haviland-Davison Grist Mill derives its architectural significance from its importance as a rare, intact example of a late seventeenth century mill, that retains the characteristic framing technology associated with its First Period construction date c.1688-89. It derives its historical significance from an association with the early settlement pattern and economic success of its south shore community. The Mill has stimulated new and continued interest in the historical roots of the community, and as a museum of local history, it provides an authentic setting for the exhibition of artifacts and information pertaining to the growth of East Rockaway.

While the Mill has long enjoyed Landmark status from the Town of Hempstead, in 1998 it was included in the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places, validating the high esteem in which the Haviland-Davison Grist Mill is held locally.

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Events

--  The Friends' Scholar Project, under Director John Caffrey, awards two scholarships each year, one for East Rockaway High School and one for Lynbrook High School. Each will be worth $500. The Project would recognize the educational and historical significance of the Grist Mill to East Rockaway, Lynbrook and the surrounding communities.  The Friends' Scholars for 1999 are:

Mark Ginnoccio, ERHS Senior

Brian McLaughlin, LHS Senior

Corporation

PRESIDENT -- Mary Gipson

FIRST VP -- Gloria Christiano

SECOND VP -- Alene Krivoshey

TREASURER -- Diane Christiano

SECRETARY -- Patricia Sympson

DIRECTORS:

  Nola Bacci
  Santo Barbarino
  John Caffrey
  Marie Calder
  Nancy Golden
  Sr. Ruthanne Gypalo
  Elaine Kiernan
  Ruby Knight
  Veronica Krendel
  Arthur Mattson
  Claire McGurrin
  Madeline Pierson
  Irving Shaw
  Robert Sympson
  Barbara White
  Phyllis Wright
  Lisa Ligori Zindman    

Organizations

In order to enhance their goals and mission, the FRIENDS have joined SPOOM, the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills. This organization publishes Old Mill News and provides information about mills, memorabilia and publications which further enhance the knowledge of all who are interested in history and milling.

FRIENDS are also members of The Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau (LICVB). They strive to promote Long Island as a world-class destination for individuals, tours, meetings and conventions, trade shows and sporting events. They are a department of the State of New York. They can be reached at www.licvb.com

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