Comment: According to the 1888 Atlas of the Towns of Babylon, Islip and the South Part of Brookhaven, the east side of Old Stump Road was developing faster than the west (traveling north from the road’s junction with Beaver Dam Road). At this time, Beaver Dam Road was known as Brookhaven Avenue and Old Stump Road as Railroad Avenue. The building presently at 179 Beaver Dam Road was owned by W.H. Swezey.

Wallace Halsey Swezey was born January 9, 1860 in New York. He appeared as “Wallase” on the 1880 census in Brookhaven Hamlet, Suffolk County, New York. He resided in the household of his parents, Hannah and William Egbert Swezey, and was a farmer. In 1900, Wallace Halsey appeared on the census as a bayman. By 1910, he was a dealer in ice and resided on Railroad Avenue. Wallace Halsey Swezey operated his own ice business in 1920, but was back to farming in 1930. Attending the Presbyterian Church (currently the South Haven Presbyterian Church) in South Haven, he became the most senior member of the congregation in 1940. William Halsey Swezey died in 1951 in Yaphank.
From: Jayme Breschard, 'South Shore Estuary Survey,' Summer 2004