Comment: From South Country Rd., looking south. Beaver Dam Creek is to the right. To my eye, the unpleasant second floor addition at the right, over the old 1-story flat-roofed post office (see early photos), destroys much of the character and charm of the original store.

Comment: Looking southeast.

Comment: Notice of Auction Sale by Elizabeth Hulse Ellison of the property, including the store and tavern, dwelling house, and farm, as it appeared in the Corrector, Sag Harbor, NY.

Comment: From the collection of postcards at the Post-Morrow Foundation.

This picture is before the store was move to the present location. Other post cards of the same era show the fence to the left as being in front of the Valentine house (Br30B)

Comment:

There are several versions of this picture in the Post-Morrow archives, including post cards and other photographic prints. This image appears to be a print from the original Frederick W. Kost photograph.

This picture is of the store before it was move to the present location -- not only is the date, ascribed to the picture on one copy, before the store was moved, but the fence to the left is known to have fronted the Valentine House (Br30B). An earlier photograph (based on the size of the trees), published in Principe's "Bellport Village and Brookhaven Hamlet," at the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, showing the Valentine house and store before it's move, has a very similar fence.

One copy identifies individuals as follows:
Mr. Alfred Nelson Sr. in foreground
Mr. Desmond Nelson & 4 Nelson children about 1905?
.. Emily Nelson (Maxwell)
.. Beatrice Nelson (Rosenquest
..... daughters of Mr. and Mrs H. Ogden Nelson
.. Norman Nelson
.. Alfred Nelson
..... sons of Mr. and Mrs. Norman F. Nelson

Comment: This image appears to have been taken at about the same time as Photo ID 257 above. It clearly shows the Valentine House (Br30B) to the left. Image contributed by Richard Beyer, formerly of Brookhaven Hamlet, now of Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Comment: The sign on the far right wing reads "Agency of Patchogue Laundry"

Post Card is post marked 24 Jul 1909.

Comment: This picture clearly shows the siting of the Valentine House (Br30B) and the Brook Store before they were moved in 1915. This site is now the location of the Brook House (Br06)

Comment: The Post Office was actually the small 1-story addition to the right. A copy of this postcard auctioned on eBay had the date Dec. 25, 1948 written on it. Richard Beyer, formerly of Brookhaven Hamlet, now of Tuscumbia, Alabama, comments on this image: "Our Post Office was the little room on the front right. You had to come here to collect your mail... there was no delivery of any kind. Bea Stern's Grandfather, Thad Moses, owned the store. She was my classmate and he gave me a job there after I flunked out of Syracuse. It was a better education than I got in upstate NY. He was a retired seaman and held a Masters license as I recall."

Comment: This Post Office desk, and items on the shelves are from the Brook Store. Big Tom Ellison and his mother ran the original store and tavern during the early 1800's. In 1860 the store was purchased by Hallack Bishop and rebuilt. The store and adjacent house were later purchased by Charles Valentine who ran it with Forrest Reeves. At this time the store included a post office. The property became known as "Valentines Corner" and "Valentine's Brook." When Mr. Noble purchased the property in 1916, he moved the house to 3 Fire Place Neck Road (Historic Structure ID Br30B), and the store, by then called the "Brook Store," to its present location at 378 South Country Road. Adapted from "Bellport Village and Brookhaven Hamlet" by Victor Principe. Photograph is of an exhibit at the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society.

Comment: See Image ID 169 for key to individuals. From "Early Photographs of the Hamlet of Brookhaven collected by George Perley Morse 1945-1959."

Comment: This is the key to Image 168. From "Early Photographs of the Hamlet of Brookhaven collected by George Perley Morse 1945-1959."

Comment: From "Early Photographs of the Hamlet of Brookhaven collected by George Perley Morse 1945-1959." Morse comments: Jacob Valintine (sic) in 1916 sold the land of the Store and residence to a Doctor Noble. The home was moved to opposite the "Triangle" on the old Ketcham property [Br30B] and the store was moved across the road and a little south where it stands today as the Brook Store. The land was later sold to C. Oliver Wellington. [He built the Brook House, Br06]. Forrest P. Reeves (sic) married Lillian Breckenridge and lived on the north side of South Country Road. They had two children -- Charles Valintine (sic) and Mary. Mary married Kellogg J. Dominy father of Charles Dominy, County Sheriff.

Comment: In front of the Brook Store.
From "Early Photographs of the Hamlet of Brookhaven collected by George Perley Morse 1945-1959."
See next image (#250) for key. Based on known birth and death dates, the date for the image is estimated to be about 1890.

Comment: From "Early Photographs of the Hamlet of Brookhaven collected by George Perley Morse 1945-1959."

• Daniel Hawkins was known as "Deacon" Daniel and lived on Beaver Dam Road.
• Forrest Reeve was the clerk at the Brook Store.
• Thomas Preston has not been identified.
• Jonathan Smith has not been identified.
• Edward B. Raynor was a bayman.
• Hugh Burnett has not been positively identified, but is probably George Hubert Burnett, Jr.
• Ferdinand Benjamin was a bayman from East Moriches, NY