Liberty Minute: Historical Segment on Huntington's 250th Anniversary

This meeting on June 16, 2026 featured a Liberty Minute as part of Huntington's celebration of 250 years of American independence. The segment recounted events from November 1782, when British commander Benjamin Thompson abandoned Fort Franklin on Lloyd's Neck and established a new fort on the old burying ground in Huntington Village. To build the fort, 100 gravestones were damaged; the Presbyterian Church (previously used as a stable) was dismantled, along with nearby fences and orchards. Gravestones were used to construct bake ovens, and bread baked on these ovens bore the inscriptions of the gravestones baked into the crust. Colonel Thompson positioned his tent to step on the grave of Reverend Ebenezer Prime, who had served as pastor of Old First Church for 56 years before his death in 1779. The segment noted that before his death, British forces had turned Prime out of his house, destroyed his furniture, and ruined his collection of books, which constituted Huntington's first library. The narrative concluded by acknowledging the sacrifices of generations of Huntington Patriots.