Stoddard House

Stoddard House is a late-Victorian house was built in the 1890s for G.B. Stoddard in Oyster Bay, New York. In 1980 the house was purchased by the Townsend Society of America through a bequest from one of their members. The TSA was founded in 1962 to preserve the genealogical and historical materials of the Townsend family, especially John, Henry, and Richard Townsend, three brothers who were 17th century settlers of Oyster Bay. Their collection includes deeds and documents from the mid-1600s. The Townsend Society of America later moved their archives and collections to a new building at 225 Townsend Square, Oyster Bay, and the Stoddart House is again a private residence. This house is featured on the Oyster Bay History Walk.
History
This late-Victorian house was built in the 1890s for G.B. Stoddard. Like many other stately houses along this section of East Main Street, it served as a private home for almost a century. Then in 1980 the house was purchased by the Townsend Society of America through a bequest from one of their members, Miss Helen Hart Townsend.
The Townsend Society of America was founded in 1962 to preserve the genealogists and historical materials of the Townsend Family, especially John Townsend, Henry Townsend and Richard Townsend, three brothers who were seventeenth-century settlers of Oyster Bay. This bequest gave them not only a beautiful permanent home for their vast archives, but also included many possessions of Miss Townsend’s great grandparents, Samuel and Rebecca Purdy Townsend of Nyack, New York.
One is truly transported back in time when viewing their collection of Oyster Bay deeds and documents from the mid-1600s. Almost every signature is recognizable as a current street name in Oyster Bay! Some even include the signature marks made by Native American tribal leaders.
The Stoddart House also served as headquarters for the Underhill Society of America, a genealogical organization founded in 1892, devoted to the history of Captain John Underhill and his descendants. Captain Underhill was a professional soldier brought to Massachusetts in 1630 to train the colony’s militia and hired by colonists in the mid 1600s to fight Indians. He later lived near Oyster Bay on a large parcel of land named "Killingworth". At the Underhill Burying Ground in nearby Lattingtown, his grave is marked by an imposing obelisk erected by the Underhill Society.
After occupying the house for several years, the house was sold and the Townsend Society and Underhill Society both found new quarters in Oyster Bay. The letters, documents and artifacts that these two organizations continue to hold are a treasure trove of primary source material for scholars and lovers of history. Both the Townsend and Underhill families played major roles in the early history of Oyster Bay, and through the efforts of these organizations, generations for many years to come will be able to learn abut our place in the history of America.

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