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    Southold Historical Museum

    5.0 (2 reviews)
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    Updated 2 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    Southold Indian Museum - Clovis Point

    Southold Indian Museum

    4.5(2 reviews)
    1.2 mi

    This is a small museum but packed with many artifacts. Two floors consist of mostly pottery and…read morearrowheads. There are other informational displays such as maps, tools, and clothing. The entire place comes alive with the guided tour given by museum president Lucinda Hemmick. A former educator, her explanation of the exhibits in correlation to how the Indigenous peoples of Long Island lived, is fascinating! We learned about how some artifacts not native to Long Island were found here. How the museum was founded. And about important local historians whose contributions and collections are invaluable. The museum is a rich source of information for archaeologists interested in Long Island American Indians. We used a Groupon but, would have gladly paid the nominal fee of $10 to enter. We also purchased some souvenirs from the gift area. Please consider supporting them as they continue this important work. There was a new exhibit that was being worked on. We plan on returning once it's completed.

    The Southold Indian museum is well worth a visit if you live in or are visiting the east end of the…read moreNorth Fork. My grandparents lived in Southold, and I spent a lot of time there every summer as a child. But I had never visited the Indian Museum before, and I suspect lots of other locals and regular summer visitors are in the same position. The museum is only open on Sundays from 1:30 - 4:30 PM (with some Saturday hours during the summer.) They're obviously very low on funds; entry is free with a $5 suggested donation, so please give if (and what) you can. Inside is one large room with lots of artifacts, mostly pottery and arrowheads, with some interesting informational displays about how the local tribes lived. (Did you know that lacrosse was originally a Native American game?) Most of the artifacts are from the Long Island area, but there are some from other areas, too (Plains Indians, and Mexico, for example.) The oldest arrowheads are in the back left corner, and are 10,000 years old! The displays are not overly slick, but that's not a bad thing -- it lets the objects speak for themselves. You won't need to spend a lot of time here, as it's a very small museum. But it's just the sort of under-visited and under-appreciated local gem that makes for a memorable visit. Why not stop by between wine tastings sometime? Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the best (or at least, most ironic) part: the Indian Museum is located directly across the street from the Custer Institute!

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    Southold Indian Museum - Stone Multitool

    Stone Multitool

    Southold Indian Museum
    Southold Indian Museum - Projectile Point Collection

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    Projectile Point Collection

    Horton Point Lighthouse

    Horton Point Lighthouse

    3.8(11 reviews)
    1.8 mi

    Temporarily closed because of COVID, the grounds are still open. You can walk around the exterior…read moreand get some great pictures and really, that's as much as I got for other lighthouses this year in Maine so I'm happy. Horton Point Light is a lighthouse on the north side of Eastern Long Island, New York in the hamlet of Southold. The current lighthouse was built and the tower was first lit in 1857. The site is on a bluff 60 feet above Long Island Sound. The tower was automated in 1933 and is now operational. The tower is 58 feet high with the focal plane of the light being 103 feet above sea level. The tower is white with a black lantern and a copper dome. The light has a slow green flash every ten seconds. The lighthouse was a commissioned by George Washington himself in 1790 though the land was not acquired until 1855. It is still an active aid to navigation and when it's open to the public, visitors can climb the tower. [Review 15313 overall, 815 of 2021, round number 200 in New York.]

    Horton Point Lighthouse, operated by the Southold Historical Society, is an interesting diversion…read morefor an hour or so if you're in the area. The lighthouse is an operating lighthouse. There's a small local naval history museum on the ground floor open on weekends between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, staffed by volunteers who are knowledgeable, friendly, and warm. Visitors to the lighthouse may climb to the top of the lighthouse when the museum is open. Some dexterity is required to do this, including the ability to climb narrow, winding stairs, and a short ladder. Temperatures in the lantern room can exceed outside temperatures by more than several degrees. I surmise that visiting the lantern room may not be possible when the weather is extremely hot. There's a lovely pebble beach here, assessed by wooden stairs near the parking lot. Both the stairs and the beach, with large boulders strewn about, are very photo worthy. On a clear day, one may see across Long Island Sound to the shores of Connecticut. There's a set of picnic tables on the lighthouse grounds, too. Other Comments: - Waze gave us wrong directions for the last turn. A turn onto Lighthouse Road, which is the correct way to reach the lighthouse's parking lot, should have been the last instruction. Instead of doing this, Waze directed us westward past Lighthouse Road to turn onto a private road. - Parking is $5. Admission to the lighthouse is an additional $5 per individual, or $10 per family. The admission fee comes with a Southold Historical Society "Visitor's Passport," which gives the bearer one free visit to Society's Maple Lane Museum Complex. - Verizon Wireless signal here is wonky -- OK in some places, but non-existent in others. Be sure to coordinate with your group members in-person before you wander the grounds. - There are reasonably maintained men's and women's bathrooms.

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    Horton Point Lighthouse - Nature trail

    Nature trail

    Horton Point Lighthouse
    Horton Point Lighthouse

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    Raynham Hall Museum - The house centuries ago

    Raynham Hall Museum

    4.1(15 reviews)
    59.4 mi

    We got a Groupon for this place, which makes the price a lot more reasonable. They don't open until…read more1 pm on the weekends, and on Saturdays they don't even give guided tours. Instead, they give an "augmented reality" audio tour which is kind of hit or miss. The house was preserved for the historical significance of the Townsend family, one of which was a spy for George Washington. I didn't feel there was a ton of information on the family though. Pointing their phone at the different objects in a room turned on audio about them, but only a couple of rooms in the actual house were interactive. The rest didn't have signs, and one loan employee was around to answer questions at the end. The exhibit in the visitor center was nice though. I just don't think the AR experience was really up to replacing a person, both in amount of information and the uncanny valley, unnerving portraits. There is street parking and a nearby lot that are free on weekends. The gift shop is minimal. It was an okay spot to visit, but I would recommend coming on Sunday or whenever they offer actual tours to get a more thorough understanding of the house and the history of the people who lived here.

    We went here on a winter weekend, and were fortunate to have the builsings to ourselves. The…read morehelpful staff took out modest admission fee and explained that they don't do tours on Saturdays but they do have tour devices using augmented reality. That means that when you walk through the buildings, you scan the cell phone device on important paintings and artifacts and they talk to you with further information about who or what they are. The small building that contains the entrance is packed with paintings, dioramas, documents and artifacts. Next you walk to the main house, built in the 1730's, and housing the Townsend family. At the time of the Revolutionary War, Samuel had to make room for a British colonel. In spite of the fact that he sympathised with the patriots, he maintained good relations with his "Guest." At the time of the war, the house had eight rooms. One of his sons was one of the leaders of the Culpepper Spy Ring, Placing the home on the National Registry of Historic Places. Each room was elegantly decorated, with the exception of the space for the enslaved housekeeper. In spite of the fact that we didn't get a formal tour, the staff member tagged along with us and kept up a spirited conversation - even giving us a bonus look at the Victorian wing which doubled the size of the structure. The house is said to be haunted, of course. Very highly recommended. The full set of photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72177720323110655

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    Raynham Hall Museum - Welcoming and helpful staff

    Welcoming and helpful staff

    Raynham Hall Museum
    Raynham Hall Museum - Spice cabinet

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    Spice cabinet

    Southold Historical Museum - museums - Updated August 2026

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