Audiovisual Media Collection
Lucy Agnes Hart Keyes (1900-1994) being interviewed by Fai Walker for the Eel Catching in Setauket Oral History Project, May 9, 1987
Eel Catching in Setauket - An Oral History Collection
This collection of recorded oral histories was created in the late 1980s by Glenda Dickerson, a former theater professor at Stony Brook University. Professor Dickerson and her students conducted a series of interviews with Native and African American elders from the community now recognized as the Bethel-Christian Ave-Laurel Hill (BCALH) Historic District. Notably, BCALH is one of the few historic districts in New York State recognized for its surviving cultural, rather than its architectural, significance. These interviews preserve the voices of descendants from one of Long Island’s earliest historic communities of color, shedding light on a vital yet underrepresented aspect of New York State history.
Now available on NY Heritage, this collection enriches the historical narrative of the Three Village area while contributing to the broader diversity and collective memory of New York State’s past.
Scope of Collection (31 Recordings)
Audio recordings and assorted material of Native and African American community members including Setalcott Tribal elders. These items were uploaded to NYHDC through the Three Village Historical Society’s partnership with LILRC’s Accessing Archives Program in 2025.
In 1978 Charles L. Sachs, an independent consultant, was hired to inventory the collection while still in the possession of the family. Mr. Sachs produced handwritten inventories of the papers. The historical society received the collection in 1990 from the family.
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The collection was processed in 1997 and 1998 and a finding aid was created. That finding aid has been updated and can be found at https://www.empireadc.org/
The Melville Family Christmas Card for 1956 titled: All the Melvilles at Wide Water, Christmas Day 1955
Scope of Collection (9 Recordings)
The collection consists of the papers of Ward Melville and other family members influential in the development of the Three Villages whose visions built the Three Villages of today. Their interests were not only in the economic and business development of the area, but also in the areas of education, historic preservation and environmental issues. A history of the Three Villages would not be complete without these individuals. They supported numerous community organizations and projects.
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The items and recordings found here were digitized through The Three Village Historical Society’s partnership with LILRC’s Accessing Archives Project.
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This collection of film reels captures life in Setauket, Stony Brook, and Old Field from 1927 through the 1990s. Featuring primarily the home movies of the Melville family, the collection also includes rare footage of Brookhaven Tercentenary celebrations, 1950s primary school experiences, community parades, and school reunions. These films offer a unique window into the region’s past, preserving local traditions, milestones, and everyday moments across the decades.
The Melville Family Christmas Card for 1956 titled: All the Melvilles at Wide Water, Christmas Day 1955
Scope of Collection (19 Recordings)
This collection consists of films primarily created by the Melville family. The dates range from 1927-1955.
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These films were uploaded to New York Heritage through the Three Village Historical Society partnership with LILRC’s Accessing Archives Program in 2022.
An assortment of tapes from the collection.
Three Village Oral History Collection
Audio cassette tapes hit the American consumer market around 1969. This collection began to form shortly after that in the early 1970s when Kate Wheeler Strong (1879-1977) sat down to record an oral history for the Three Village Historical Society. Oral histories of local and long time residents continued throughout the remainder of the twentieth until 2002.
This collection provides a broad range of experiences representative of the many different communities of the Three Village area including; Dyer’s Neck, Old Field, Poquott, Setauket (East, Old, and South), and Stony Brook.
Scope of Collection (25 Recordings)
Audio recordings of residents of the Three Village area that date from 1970-2002
These items were uploaded to NYHDC through the Three Village Historical Society’s partnership with LILRC’s Accessing Archives Program in 2025.