Huntington City Meeting - June 16, 2026: Liberty Minute on Joseph Lloyd and Jupiter Hammond
Huntington City Meeting - June 16, 2026
The meeting began with a Liberty Minute presentation as part of Huntington's celebration of 250 years of American independence. The segment recounted the story of Joseph Lloyd and Jupiter Hammond during the Revolutionary War.
Historical Presentation
- The Liberty Minute detailed the history of Joseph Lloyd, who inherited Lloyd's Neck in 1763 and built a manor house overlooking Lloyd Harbor. After the Battle of Long Island, British forces occupied the area, and Lloyd escaped to Hartford, Connecticut, accompanied by Jupiter Hammond, an enslaved servant of the Lloyd family who was the first black writer published in America. The British took over Lloyd's farm, quartered officers in the manor house, cut thousands of trees, and damaged the house with graffiti. Lloyd, distraught over the bleak prospect for the Patriot cause, took his own life in 1780. After the war, his nephew John Lloyd II hired Aaron Burr to press a claim for compensation for lumber taken by Loyalist forces under Charles Ewlett. The segment concluded by thanking the sacrifices of generations of Huntington Patriots for enduring liberty.
Key Outcomes
- No decisions, votes, or directives occurred; the presentation was purely informational and commemorative.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to this Liberty Minute, part of Huntington's celebration of 250 years of American independence. A few years after inheriting a quarter of Lloyd's neck from his father in 1763, Joseph Lloyd built an impressive manor house overlooking Lloyd Harbor. Ten years later, as British forces occupied Long Island after the Battle of Long Island, Lloyd escaped to Hartford, Connecticut. The British, meanwhile, took over his farm, quartering officers in the manor house and cutting thousands of trees from his land. Damage to the manor house included graffiti scratched into the walls. Accompanying Lloyd to Connecticut was Jupiter Hammond, who grew up with Lloyd as an enslaved servant of the Lloyd family. Hammond, who was the first black writer to be published in America, composed several poems while in exile in Connecticut. Distraught over the bleak prospect for the Patriot cause, Lloyd took his own life in 1780. After the war, Joseph Lloyd's nephew, John Lloyd II, inherited the farm. He hired Aaron Burr to press a claim for compensation for the lumber taken by Loyalist forces under Charles Ewlett during the war. It would not be the last time Hamilton and Burr faced off against each other. Thanks to the sacrifices of generations of Huntington Patriots, liberty endures.
openpublica.com