76 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • OCTOBER 2021
OPEN HOUSE
GHOSTLY HOME AND 17TH-CENTURY
BY SUSAN DE VRIES
With a ghostly presence, a Revolutionary
War rebel as a resident, and
presidential visits, this 17th-century
house in West Hills has more than its
share of stories, whether they be true
accounts or just tall tales.
Known variously as the Chichester’s Inn
and the Peace and Plenty Inn, the earliest
portion of the clapboard house that recently
changed hands at 107 Chichester
Road is believed to date to circa 1680. A
Chichester arrived in the area and built
a small dwelling before adding a taproom,
possibly by the end of the decade.
The Chichester family owned the property,
listed in the National Register of
Historic Places, until 1916 and gradually
expanded it over the centuries. This
led to a mix of 18th- and 19th-century
details on the interior, which includes
the taproom along with wide-planked
floorboards, beamed ceilings, and
mantels.
Who exactly lived in the house during
those Chichester years is a bit of genealogical
tangle that would take some time
to fully unravel. One of the 18th-century
names mentioned in connection with
the house is that of Eliphalet Chichester.
While it might seem like a name that
would stand out, a dig through historic
records shows there were multiple
Eliphalet Chichesters fl oating around
New York at the time.
The Eliphalet apparently associated
with this house signed an oath to
“defend by arms these United Colonies”
in 1775, served in the Suffolk
County Militia and was labeled one
of the miscreants of Huntington for
raiding loyalists and supplying goods
to rebels. Huntington town records
show Eliphalet was licensed as a tavern
keeper at least by 1795. The 1810
federal census, the last before his
death in 1811, lists Eliphalet Chichester
living in Huntington with a household
of nine people including one enslaved
person, identified neither by name nor
gender.
No 18th-century mentions of an inn
by either the Chichester or Peace and
Plenty name turned up in historic
newspapers. During the 19th-century
ownership by Asa, son of Eliphalet
and Mary Polly Chichester, there are
accounts of public sales and meetings
held at the property, although still no
use of the Peace and Plenty name. Asa
does appear as a licensed tavern keeper
The house is believed to date to circa 1680.
continued on page 77
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