Crowdfunding Match Extended For Huntington Peter Crippen House

HALESITE, NY — The anonymous donor who pledged to match all donations up to $10,000 to fund an expanded archaeological dig at the Peter Crippen House has renewed and extended the pledge through March 31, according to the Town of Huntington.

The donor has pledged to extend the dollar-for-dollar match for up to $10,000 in donations for the project in honor of Black History Month and the important work being done by the Town of Huntington's African American Historic Designation Council to preserve an overlooked aspect of history. The Peter Crippen House project is a site significant to Huntington’s African American history.

"We Huntingtonians are proud of our rich history, but in the past, we have failed to recognize the role played by people of color in building our community," the donor stated via the news release. "I'm heartened to see this changing through the efforts of the African American Historic Designation Council and local historical societies with the support of the Town Board."

Roughly $1,600 has been donated since the crowdfunding was announced in October. All donations are being matched dollar-for-dollar from the original pledge, which expired on Oct. 31, 2021. A renewed pledge in 2022 of up to $10,000 has been made by the anonymous donor for donations made by March 31.

Donations may be made here.

“We have a chance to do something special with this historic home and help rectify the past neglect of Huntington's African American history,” Supervisor Ed Smyth stated. “Our residents and businesses have the unique opportunity right now to help save a unique piece of Huntington’s Black history before it’s too late.”

Donations will be used to fund the completion of the archaeology study begun in 2021, and additional funds would assist in relocating the house to a nearby site better suited to its long-term preservation and restoring the house to its 19th-century appearance.

"We have been fortunate that the house has survived this long," the donor stated. "We must act now before our luck runs out."

Barry Lites of the 1653 Foundation stated he is happy to play a role in discovering Huntington's past, namely the Peter Crippen House.

"The monies we raise go directly to uncovering and revealing what was once thought to be gone, allowing us to preserve it for generations to come," Lites said.

The current exhibit at the Huntington History and Decorative Arts Museum at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building includes a display on the Peter Crippen House and plans for its future preservation.

The north wing of the Peter Crippen House is believed to be the town's first mill building built in 1658; the mill was taken out of service in 1672, moved from Mill Lane to Creek Road in 1674 and converted into a house.

In 1864, the home was purchased by Peter Crippen, an African American who was born a free person in 1809 on a plantation in Virginia and came to Huntington in the 1830s, arriving to work at the Crossman brickyards in Lloyd Neck in 1836. Crippen was a prominent member of Huntington's African American community: In 1843, he was a founding member of the African Methodist Ebenezer Church in Huntington — currently the Bethel AME Church.

"While the property was not prime real estate, as the building was old even then and on marginal, marshy land, this purchase reflected an important achievement for Crippen, as African American land ownership was rare during this period," the town stated.

After Crippen's death in 1875, the house was expanded to the south. The house stayed in the Crippen family until the town began a $75,000 purchase of it in 2017 and closed on the property in June 2019. In early 2017, the town board removed the structure's historic designation because of its deteriorated condition. A public hearing was scheduled for June 2017 to consider the acquisition of the property for use as extra parking for the Huntington Wastewater Treatment Plant, which sits next door to the site.

In December 2019, the Crippen House and accessory garage were declared to be structurally unsound and in danger of imminent collapse by the town's deputy director of engineering, who is a professional engineer. Perimeter fencing with locked gates provides protection to the public. The town prepared a resolution for the demolition of the structures in May 2020. No one can enter the house.

The town has planned to have any demolition or dismantling of the house overseen by its engineering department to ensure any salvageable pieces of the structure will be properly preserved. The contract with the demolition company requires a pre-construction meeting to discuss options to salvage the timber frame of the structure's oldest section. The resolution was not considered by the Town Board until June 2020, when it passed unanimously.