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A Walk Through History with Farmer & Revolutionary War Spy Chief Abraham Woodhull
A living history - interdisciplinary program
 

In this program you will meet farmer and Revolutionary War Spy Chief Abraham Woodhull, portrayed by historian Beverly Tyler, who leads students, parents and teachers on a walk around the village green and through the nature sanctuary that was once Woodhull’s farm.

Students are introduced to the woods, fields, ponds and bays that tell the story of Long Island’s colonization and settlement preceding the Revolution and creation of the new nation.
 

After visiting sites that include the Woodhull homestead on Little Bay, Frank Melville Memorial Park & Sanctuary, Little Bay, the high and low marsh at Conscience Bay, Setauket Grist Mill, Patriot’s Rock, Setauket Village Green, Setauket Presbyterian Church graveyard and Caroline Church of Brookhaven, students will learn how Benjamin Tallmadge, head of General Washington’s Secret Service, set up an undercover message system. Students will compare, contrast and decode maps and spy letters, learn secret codes and compose their own spy messages.

The length of this program, designed for fourth to eighth grade students can be tailored to fit the needs of your class. 

Field trips for students, parents and teachers are arranges by calling the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Road, Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730. E-mail: info@tvhs.org.  You may contact historian Beverly Tyler directly at Tel: 631-928-9534. E-mail: BevTyler@aol.com. 

Field trips beging at the Caroline Church parking lot at the Carriage Shed along Dyke Road at the Setauket Village Green.

The cost of the program is set by the Three Village Historical Society. 

NOTES: Long Island was under British control during the Revolutionary War. Patriots, operating under spy chief Abraham Woodhull, spied on British troops and carried vital information to General Washington. Based on the use of the student workbook, Discover Setauket, Brookhaven's Original Settlement, this program includes the spies' own words from letters written during the war. 

Abraham Woodhull (left) and Caleb Brewster (right) at Devil's Rock at the entrance to Conscience Bay, Setauket. Here is pictured one of the possible locations where Brewster hid his whaleboat and crew while waiting for the spy messages from Woodhull. Photograph of one of the murals by artist Vance locke in the Setauket School Auditorium. Used by permission of the Three Village Central School District. 


Below are some of the locations you will visit on your walk through history. Here you will learn about the various trees that were used to construct everything from houses and barns to ships and tools. You will visit the bays which native American and colonial farmers used to feed themselves and to supply their villages and farms with the necessities of daily life. You will visit the site of Woodhull's home and see how Abraham Woodhull, Benjamin Tallmadge, Austin Roe, Caleb Brewster and Anna Smith Strong communicated in secret.