I am thrilled that The Mary E. Bell House in Center Moriches has been rightfully awarded a New York State Historic Preservation Award. Created in 1980, the State Historic Preservation Awards are awarded by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation each year to honor excellence in the protection and revitalization of historic and cultural resources.[1] Recently the Mary E. Bell House was listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The historic Mary E. Bell House, located at 66 Railroad Avenue, was built in 1872 by Selah Smith. Mr. Smith, from Huntington, built the two-story house where he lived with his wife and daughters. Mary E. Bell (née Smith) inherited the house after her father’s death and played a central role in her church and community. The property sat just two-doors down from the Moriches AME Church. Founded in the early 1840s by Mr. Abraham Perdue, a freed slave, the Moriches AME church played a pivotal role in the African American community and as the congregation continued to grow, so did the community’s number of black landowners. Following the death of Mr. Perdue, the church became an affiliated African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Conference, through the Varick Society of Christian Endeavor, with Mrs. Mary E. Bell as leader of this local society. Pastor Bell passed away in 1920.[2]

Currently, The Mary E. Bell House is under the stewardship of the Ketcham Inn Foundation, and I congratulate the Foundation on this momentous recognition. Providing the Mary E. Bell House with a Historic Preservation Award supports a rich and important part of history within the Center Moriches community and beyond.

[1] https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-2020-new-york-state-historic-preservation-awards

[2] https://www.facebook.com/HistoricBellHouse/about/?ref=page_internal