Suffolk County Historical Society

08/27/2026

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER for Saturday's **Summer Concert Series with Tom’s Country**—Tom Cilmi, vocals, guitar. Saturday, August 29, 2026, 11 a.m. Limited Seating! Call Now to Reserve Your Seat! Registration Required: 631.727.2881 x100.

Tom Cilmi is an acoustic country music performer from Bay Shore. With a father who played jazz saxophone in the 50’s and 60’s and a mother who loved to dance, Tom was exposed to all sorts of music from an early age. From playing drums and then guitar in his early teens, to hard rock music in a high school band, to playing popular rock and roll in a band while in his thirties, to his most recent incarnation as a country music performer, Tom is no stranger to the stage. He began performing country music as a soloist several years ago, and as the genre grew in popularity in recent years, so has Tom’s schedule. While his typical repertoire is heavily weighted towards contemporary country, Tom also plays some classics.

Suffolk County Historical Society Museum
300 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901
631-727-2881 x100
www.SuffolkCountyHistoricalSociety.org

08/14/2026

AMERICA 250: Our "Visions of Freedom" exhibit by Women Sharing Art has been extended by popular demand! Now in our Gish Gallery thru December 23, 2026!

In "Visions of Freedom," over 30 talented artists bring together diverse perspectives to explore what freedom means in the American experience. Through deeply personal expressions and varied artistic languages, from richly textured mosaics and luminous glass pieces to evocative photographs and expressive paintings, the exhibit celebrates both historical ideals and contemporary interpretations of liberty, identity, and possibility. Drawing on each artist’s unique background and voice, the works invite viewers to reflect on the many dimensions of freedom in a nation shaped by diverse cultures, struggles, and stories.

"Visions of Freedom" is not only a visual display of craftsmanship across media but also a thoughtful dialogue about the ideals at the core of America’s ongoing journey.




Suffolk County Historical Society Museum
300 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901
www.SuffolkCountyHistoricalSociety.org
Gallery Hours:
Weds. to Sat., 10 am - 4:30 pm, excluding holidays.

08/06/2026

Our History Through Music SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Continues on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 11 a.m., with J. K. Hodge, Classical Piano, and Guest Rachel Hall on Violin!

Limited Seating! Call Now to Reserve Your Seat for Saturday's performance! 631.727.2881 x100. Concerts are free with museum admission ($5 adult, $3 senior, $1 child, members free).

Join us on a musical journey recalling the beauty and resilience of classical music, performed by film composer and pianist J. K. Hodge, accompanied by Rachel Hall on violin. Mixing artful interpretations of classics, paired with the history and biographies of many classical composers, Mr. Hodge will deepen your connection to classical music while broadening the scope of contemporary classical music today.

About the Artist: J. K. Hodge developed his talent and skill as a young performer on the piano before becoming a film composer. He resurrected several Buster Keaton silent films with original scores and has worked with Douglas Maxwell Myer composing the musical scores for short nature films across the eastern seaboard. Mr. Hodge's Chopin-inspired contemporary classical compositions have earned him much acclaim as a New York-based concert pianist and composer. Mr. Hodge’s most recent EP, "Holding Daylight," is available on Spotify.

More information: https://www.viberate.com/artist/jk-hodge/

Our Summer Concert Series is sponsored in part by Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and the Suffolk County Legislature.

08/06/2026

SCHS Photos of the Week: The Rogers Mansion, formerly Whaling Captain Albert Rogers' Homestead, Southampton, and the Rogers Family Coat of Arms. (Images from the Suffolk County Historical Society's Library & Archive.)

The Rogers Mansion in Southampton occupies the lot awarded to William Rogers (ca. 1606–1667), an early European settler. William was born in England around 1606 and immigrated to Connecticut in 1640, relocating to Southampton by 1644. He later moved west to Huntington, leaving his Southampton property to his son Obadiah. The house remained in the Rogers family for several generations. The main Greek Revival-style structure standing today incorporates elements of an earlier redesign in about 1843 by Captain Albert Rogers (1807–1854), a direct descendant of William Rogers. Serving as the headquarters and exhibition space of the Southampton History Museum since 1943, the site features other historic structures in addition to the Rogers Mansion.

**Y-DNA Project Unlocks Roots of the Rogers Family of Southampton and Huntington**: Are you a descendant of the Rogers family? Breakthrough Y-DNA testing has bridged a centuries’ old gap between Suffolk County history and English heritage. Genetic analysis reveals that descendants of seventeenth-century English emigrant William Rogers of Suffolk County, such as Capt. Albert Rogers (1807-1854), share Haplogroup I-BY157942, a genetic signature that ties the family to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. William’s sons, Obadiah Rogers (1633-1692) of Southampton, Jonathan Rogers (1636-1709) of Huntington, and Noah Rogers (1646-1725) of Branford, Connecticut (and their descendants), all stem from the same paternal lineage.

Learn more about this Rogers lineage by joining the Rogers/Rodgers Y-DNA effort at FamilyTreeDNA:
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/rogers-sc-ga-al-tx-nm-ca/about

07/31/2026

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER for Saturday morning's concert with Cafe Society Jazz Band! Call 631-727-2881 x100 to register.

Our History Through Music SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Continues in August! Saturdays, 11am - 12pm - Free with Museum Admission ($5 adult, $3 senior, $1 child, members free).

August 1 – Café Society Jazz Band
Join us for a morning of JAZZ!!! The Cafe Society Jazz Band takes us back in time from the 1920s to the 1940s, evoking memories of the Gatsby era through a repertoire of classic jazz standards.

Limited Seating! Call Now to Reserve Your Seat! Registration Required: 631.727.2881 x100.
Concerts are free with museum admission, sponsored in part by Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and the Suffolk County Legislature.


Suffolk County Historical Society Museum
300 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901

07/18/2026

Our History Through Music SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Continues in August! Saturdays, 11am - 12pm - Free with Museum Admission ($5 adult, $3 senior, $1 child, members free). Limited Seating! Call Now to Reserve Your Seat! Registration Required: 631.727.2881 x100.
August 1 – Café Society Jazz Band

Join us for a morning of JAZZ!!! The Cafe Society Jazz Band takes us back in time from the 1920s to the 1940s, evoking memories of the Gatsby era through a repertoire of classic jazz standards.

Concerts are free with museum admission, sponsored in part by Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and the Suffolk County Legislature.

Suffolk County Historical Society Museum
300 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901

07/15/2026

Call to register for our free* summer concert series! 631-727-2881 x103. *Free with museum admission.

August 1 – Café Society Jazz Band
August 15 -- J. K. Hodge, Classical Pianist / Composer with Rachael Hall, violin
August 22 – Beatlemania: The Tribute (1964-1965)
August 29 – Tom’s Country –Tom Cilmi, vocals, guitar

Our History Through Music SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Continues in August! Saturdays, 11am - 12pm - Free with Museum Admission ($5 adult, $3 senior, $1 child, members free). Limited Seating! Call Now to Reserve Your Seat! Registration Required: 631.727.2881 x100.

Join us on a musical journey through history this summer as we enjoy jazz standards of the 1920s, classical piano of the 19th and 20th centuries, the great sensation of the Beatles exploding into the U.S. music scene in the 1960s, and the rise of country music of the American heartland. These concerts are free with museum admission, sponsored in part by Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and the Suffolk County Legislature.


Suffolk County Historical Society Museum
300 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY 11901
631-727-2881 x100

07/04/2026

Suffolk County Historical Society Museum celebrated July 4th in Riverhead's America 250 Parade! Hope you spotted us! Enjoy your weekend!

07/02/2026

07/02/2026

Happy 4th from the SCHS!

'Tis Freedom's bright morn! Let her nation arise!
Send up her oblation of praise to the skies!
From the heart's glowing altar, let incense ascend,
And pulses of free men in harmony blend.
'Tis the birthday of Liberty! ...

From "Ode for the Fourth of July, 1851," by Mrs. Mary L. Gardiner of Sag Harbor. She published "The Prose and Poetical Writings of Mary L. Gardiner" in 1843 (New York: J. Wi******er), dedicating the volume to Benjamin P. Thompson, her "early friend and patron."

HOLIDAY CLOSURE: We will be closed on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in observance of the Independence Day holiday.