Coram

Coram began as a hamlet in the center of the town of Brookhaven. Native Americans were the first to live here, as early as the 1600's. They lived in groups along rivers and ponds of the area. The early name was "Wincoram", later shortened to Coram, which is a Native American word meaning "a passage between hills or a valley", probably because it was between Bald Hill and Coram Hills. Before houses were built, the land was used to pasture cattle. Trees were cut down for cordwood, which was sent to New York City to fuel the city's fireplaces.

1. INTERSECTION OF ROUTES 112 AND 25 Coram was an important hamlet due to two historic events that took place there: the "town meeting" at the Davis House and Coram's contribution to the Revolutionary War. In November 1780, General George Washington asked Benjamin Tallmadge, an officer in his army and resident of Brookhaven Town, to lead a party of soldiers across Long Island Sound from Connecticut. He gave Tallmadge two orders: first, to burn a 300 ton stack of hay collected at Coram by the British soldiers to feed their horses during the winter; second, to lead a raid on the Manor of St. George at Mastic. Tallmadge succeeded with both commands; later, Washington and Congress congratulated him on job well done. There is a boulder and plaque commemorating this historic event at the corner of Middle Country Road and Route 112 (although the actual hay burning took place in a field further south). The Tallmadge Trail runs through Coram and shows the route the major and his soldiers took from Mount Sinai to Mastic. After Washington became the first president of the United States, he made a tour of Long Island and stopped in Coram on his way from Patchogue to Setauket. Tradition has it he was served lunch at the Coram Tavern by Lucy Wallace Smith, who live to be 96 years old and loved to tell the story.

1. CORAM SCHOOL Richard Bayles, the imminent historian from Middle Island, called Coram "Brookhaven's second town" (Setauket being the first). The district was divided at Coram 190 years ago on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1813 when New York State began the common school movement. The original school at Coram is gone now although the second school (1900-1953) still stands. The present Coram School on Mount Sinai-Coram Road, was dedicated Oct.31, 1953 as a modern building with four classrooms designed by Frank Webber of Patchogue. The 10 acres of land was donated by Anna Davis and Oscar Summers. Major renovations took place in 1960, 1973, 1975, and 1980. Later in the tour you will pass by the former Coram School on Middle Country Road. The Coram Annex opened in 1975. On June 30, 1977 a fire gutted one of six classrooms in the Coram Annex. Smoke and fire damage were significant. But the classrooms were completely restored in time for opening day in September.

1. DAVIS HOUSE At the corner of Middle Country Road and Mt. Sinai-Coram Road stands one of the most important buildings in Brookhaven Town. The oldest part of the Davis House dates from 1750 and was a tavern during the Revolution. The house has 15 rooms, eight fireplaces, and a distinctive "Dutch door" at the front. From about 1790 until 1884, Coram was the seat of Brookhaven Town government. All town meetings and meetings of the various boards of the town were held there. Coram exists in a unique location at the crossroads of the two most important roads in Brookhaven Town. Since it was conveniently located between the north and south shores, the Davis House was the site of the annual town meeting in April for nearly 100 years. People came from all over Brookhaven Town in horse-drawn wagons to vote in the annual election. Farmers brought lunch and spent the day swapping horses, discussing the news, and waiting to hear how the voting turned out. During the Civil War, special town meetings were held in Coram to decide how many men would be sent to fight and how much they would be paid. When the town population grew too large, it was decided to divide the town into election districts, and the annual "town meeting" was no longer held. From 1812 to 1840, the building served as headquarters for the state militia. The Davis House still stands as witness to that history. The parade ground on Mt. Sinai Road is now part of The Daniel R. Davis Sanctuary, maintained by The Nature Conservancy.

Across the street from the Davis House is the site of the Suffolk County Almshouse, established in 1817 and operated until 1872 when the residents were moved to the new county facility in Yaphank. There is also a former airstrip, operated by Tom Murphy from 1958 to the 1970's where he rented a dozen Piper Cubs and a couple of Waco biplanes for flight instruction and sightseeing. This is now Suffolk County parkland.

1.5 SITE OF OLD ORCHARD TEA ROOM; MINNIE AND GRACE DAVIS HOUSE. In Coram, you will see many distinctive white historic markers erected by the Coram Fire Department. Unfortunately, many of the sites have been arson targets since the signs were put up. The Orchard Tea Room, originally a private home built in 1789, was a popular stopping place on Middle Country Road. Julia Muirhead was the hostess and people came from as far as Garden City to dine there. It was razed in the 1980s. On the north side of Middle Country Road is the former residence of Minnie and Grace Davis. This was once an elegant brick house in the Georgian style. Fire damaged it in 1992. It was demolished in ?

Also at this intersection is a marker commemorating the famous town pump, which was dug in 1833 in front of the Richard Smith Tavern. The pump served its purpose well (no pun intended) at this main crossroads until the 1920's when the road was straightened.

4. TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH AND OLD BAPTIST CEMETERY; CORAM SCHOOL. The oldest church still standing in Coram is the Trinity Methodist Church which was built in Middle Island in 1841 and moved to the present spot in 1858. There had been a Baptist Church there first, and the old cemetery is still there. Coram had the first post office for this area, which started on September 25, 1794 with Goldsmith Davis as the first postmaster. The first school opened in Coram in 1811, which was used until 1900 when a new school was built. The Coram School served the community until 1953 when the present school was built on Mt. Sinai Road. The building was then occupied by the first public library for this area, started in 1953 by Evelyn Holschuh Brown. When the library moved to its next location in Yaphank, the school was purchased by the Coram Fire Department. Their present firehouse was built in 1959. The famous author Clarence Mulford, who wrote the popular "Hopalong Cassidy" books, spent his summers in Coram from 1908 until 1912. From a quiet country community, Coram has grown to become a busy suburban center for many people.

4.5 Just outside the entrance to La Bonne Vie is a milestone marker said to have been placed by Benjamin Franklin in 1755 when, as Postmaster General, he marked the postal routes on Long Island. The markers indicate the distance between Smithtown and Riverhead on the "Post Road".

23. GORDON HEIGHTS An early black community on Long Island was Gordon Heights, southeast of Coram. The community was named for "Pop" Gordon who originally owned much of the land and ran a hotel there. In 1927, a land developer named Louis Fife bought "Pop" Gordon's hotel and property and began selling plots of land to African Americans living in New York City. The community grew as people bought houses from Fife and kept small farms called homesteads in the quiet, rural setting. There were several churches and a community center for concerts, dancing, and club meetings. Many famous black leaders and entertainers visited Gordon Heights on their vacations. Adam Clayton Powell and Hazel Scott had their honeymoon in Gordon Heights. In order to have better fire protection, a volunteer fire department was formed in 1947 after a church and a house burned down. Today, the churches, fire department and community center still promote the sense of working together that existed when this unique community began.

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