Fire Place Manse or Parsonage Lands

[The Hawkins Farm off Montauk Highway at Brookhaven Hamlet seems to have first come into the Hawkins family in the middle to late 18th century, possibly by Nathaniel Hawkins (1752-1823). His sons, the Rev. Nathaniel and David Hawkins are both known to have been farmers in the general vicinity,and both were named executors of Nathaniel's will. David seems to have farmed the Little Neck parcel. The last Hawkins to own the farm was David's son Augustus Andrew Hawkins (1826-1914, "Little Gus"). This house, at the south end of the farm tract, was occupied by Gus and his sister Prudence (1828-1915) after the death of her husband.

There are two Hawkins family cemeteries on the old farm. At the north end, near to Montauk Highway is a small, much deterioated cemetery known as the Nathaniel Hawkins cemetery Historic Site ID Br02). Not far from the site of the Augustus Hawkins homestead is a larger cemetery known as the the David Hawkins Cemetery (Historic Site ID SH01A.1-S.)

Additional research is required to trace the title of this farm.

The tract is now within the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge.]

As was the early custom, a large tracts of land (called a manse, or parsonage lands) were set aside by the Town of Brookhaven for the benefit of the ministers of the Town church, in general as a farm to provide for their sustenance. Such a tract was provided in Fire Place for the Church at the South (the South Haven Presbyterian Church).  This tract included the section north of the northern boundary of the Corwin farm (the present LIRR right-of-way), between Old Town Road/South Country road on the west, the southern boundary of the Great Division of Lots (Montauk Highway), and east to Little Neck Run. (See map).