Huntington 250th Anniversary Liberty Minute – June 16, 2026

The provided material for this session is not a formal meeting agenda or minutes; it is the text of a "Liberty Minute" commemorating Huntington's 250 years of American independence. The segment recounts local Revolutionary War history centered on Platt's Tavern.

Historical Narrative

• The celebration of the Declaration of Independence across the village green culminated at Platt's Tavern, where 13 toasts were made.
• A contemporary commenter noted that "the people were in high spirits and some high spirits were in them."
• During the British occupation, Hessian soldiers attacked the tavern one night; the attack was repulsed by John Stewart, who kept a store there, Gilbert Platt, and Elijah, an enslaved man.
• Elijah was shot in the head but survived for many years afterward and became a renowned fiddler.
• After the war, President George Washington stopped at Platt's Tavern for lunch during his 1790 tour of Long Island.
• In the mid-19th century, the tavern building was moved to Hellsite, where it survived until about 1915.
• The narrative concludes that liberty endures thanks to the sacrifices of generations of Huntington Patriots.