The Lindenhurst Historical Society is proud to announce that it was the recipient of its third William G. Pomeroy Foundation NYS Roadside Marker grant. The grant funds were utilized to procure a Pomeroy Marker bearing an inscription that celebrates the accomplishments of one of our earliest settlers, Jesse Ketcham.
The NYS Roadside Marker will be unveiled in a joint ceremony held by the Lindenhurst Historical Society and the Inc. Village of Lindenhurst on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Grace United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall located at 515 South Wellwood Avenue beginning at 10 AM. Included among the speakers joining Lindenhurst Historical Society President Marian Conway-Santoli to help unveil the marker are Lindenhurst Village Mayor Mike Lavorata, Lindenhurst Village Deputy Mayor Maryann Weckerle, Lindenhurst Museum Director Marianne Guglieri, Lindenhurst Village Historian Anna Jaeger, and Town of Babylon Historian Mary Cascone. Light refreshments will be served.
“As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, we seek to commemorate one of our area’s earliest settlers, one committed to service, to country and to community, American Revolutionary War Patriot Jesse Ketcham.”, said Museum Director Marianne Guglieri. Village Historian Anna Jaeger added, “Jesse and his wife, Temperance (nee) Brush, married on August 3, 1761, and built their homestead here on land Jesse purchased in the 1780’s. Then, the area, part of South Huntington, was known by its Native American name- Neguntatogue, which translates to ‘forsaken land’.” Ms. Jaeger noted the Neguntatogue homestead remained in the family for generations.
A veteran of the French and Indian War, Jesse Ketcham, answered the call to duty as a Huntington minuteman serving as a Sergeant in Captain John Wickes’ company during the American Revolution. Continuing his commitment to community service, Jesse signed a church covenant on January 7, 1798, as one of the original members of the 1st Presbyterian Church of Islip & Huntington South, also known as the 1st Church of Babylon. He was elected as the congregation’s first deacon on Jan. 20, 1798, and was ordained on February 4, 1798. He died September 6, 1826. An exhibit displaying artifacts from the Ketcham Family Homestead is on display in the Old Village Hall Museum, located at Irmisch Historic Park on South Broadway in Lindenhurst.
“We are proud to be recognized once again by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for our commitment to historical accuracy and to our ongoing endeavors to celebrate our community’s rich history,” said Village Museum Director Marianne Guglieri. “We are looking forward to the unveiling and to the community joining us to help celebrate this special event.”
Lindenhurst is now home to five William G. Pomeroy historic markers. The Jesse Ketcham marker joins two other Roadside Markers; one located at the Lindenhurst Historic House Museum at 272 South Wellwood Avenue celebrates our founding as the City of Breslau, and the third is located at the intersection of South Wellwood Avenue and East Hoffman Avenue commemorating the establishment of the South Side Railroad. In addition, there are two William J. Pomeroy Historic Transportation Markers: one located at 181 School Street acknowledging the community’s first railroad depot, and the other is located in Irmisch Historic Park, South Broadway, alongside the 1901 Restored LIRR Depot and Freight House, celebrating the significance of the Depot as the community’s third depot and ongoing contribution to the community as Long Island’s first railroad museum.
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