Smithtown, A History: The Phillips-Purick House

The Head of the River, now a private neighborhood, was once the center of Smithtown.

In Charlotte Adams Ganz’s 1966 brochure, “This Was Smithtown”, she wrote of conflicting information as to who originally built and owned the mills. that they were built by George Phillips, other records show different owners during the early years.

It is known that four generations of the Phillips family managed the mills and owned the house that still stands today a short distance from the grist mill. The home is known as the Phillips-Purick House.

According to Ganz’s writings, the split-level house was built before 1726. Phillips, the son of the first settled minister in Brookhaven, and his wife raised their family here.

George’s son Samuel owned the home and the mills after his father’s death in 1771. Ganz’s research showed that during the Revolutionary War, British officers occupied the house. Samuel’s son Mills Phillips was the next in line to inherit the home and the mills.

George S. Phillips, Esq. was the last of the family to live there and run the mills. He also held political offices including serving as town supervisor for 23 years.

According to Noel Gish’s “Smithtown New York 1660 – 1929: Looking Through the Lens”, in 1819 George S. Phillips became postmaster of Smithtown. A general store existed at his home and the post office was set up there.

Ganz wrote that Phillips was in charge of the mail for about 20 years, and the home also served as a stagecoach stop before the Long Island Railroad was extended to Port Jefferson in 1872.

After George died in 1882, a Theron L. Smith, who ran a coal and lumber yard, owned the Phillips home. Smith was married to Anna of the Blydenburgh family and served one term as town supervisor.

According to current owners Mike and Joanne D’Agostino, in the 1920s a Mr. and Mrs. Attmore Robinson bought the house. A few years later Mrs. Robinson remarried and her husband was an architect named Prentice Sanger.

The D’Agostinos said it was during this time that the house was remodeled by Sanger. While the original footprint of the house remained the same, a terrace and greenhouse were added and a peak was placed on the roof. The ground level in the front was also raised at this time.

When Mrs. Sanger died in 1952 the home was purchased by Joanne’s aunt and uncle, Harold and Gertrude Purick. Gertrude, who initiated the special education program in the Hauppauge schools, loved the house and was determined to buy it when she found it was up for sale.

In 1983 the D’Agostinos bought the house and have held a deep respect of its historical significance. While they have made minor repairs, the home remains basically the same including the Colonial hand-split shingles and hand-hewn beams.

While talking about the great family times the home has provided, Mike said, “We also feel we’re borrowing it from history.”

The Phillips-Purick House, representing 300 years of local history and family memories, exists today thanks to its current and past owners.