First Field Trip at TVHS

The Education Department officially kicked off field trip season for 2024! Three Village Historical Society welcomed 40 fourth grade students from Sayville into our Museum last week.

Lead by our Education Coordinator, Lindsey Steward-Goldberg, the students participated in our combination walking and exhibit tour program to learn about the Culper Spy Ring. The two classes switched off locations with one class began on the walking tour and the second class started in the exhibit.

Students participated in the walking tour portion of the program with our volunteer docent & history enthusiast, Rob von Bernewitz. Rob led students around part of the original settlement of the Town of Brookhaven to share real locations of history.

One of the sites they visited was the final resting place of Abraham Woodhull, leader of the Culper Spy Ring. He is buried at Setauket Presbyterian Church and his grave is one of the most popular tourist attractions for anyone celebrating our Revolutionary past.

Students also visited the Village Green and Patriot’s Rock where the Battle of Setauket took place. The final stop on the tour was Brookhaven's oldest continuously operating church circa 1723: Caroline Episcopal Church. There, they entered the carriage shed to learn about the one-room schoolhouse where members of the Culper Spy Ring attended school.

Meanwhile at Three Village Historical Society, students were inside our exhibit Spies! How a Group of Long Island Patriots Helped George Washington Win the Revolution.

Docent Clementine Kolodzinski engaged students in our hands-on learning experiences, such as learning how to write in invisible ink using quill pens.

They got to decode a secret letter that was written in Benjamin Tallmadge’s Code. There was also time to learn how to decode a sentence written in a different method of code, Austin Roe’s Reverse Code.

After the students finished these learning experiences, they had an opportunity to see the exhibit and learn more about the Culper Spy Ring.

Within the exhibit, students and teachers saw the latest addition to our exhibit: books that once belonged to Abraham Woodhull (alias Samuel Culper) and his family.

Teachers and students enjoyed their visit at Three Village Historical Society. One of the teachers said, “We had a great day! My students enjoyed the invisible ink.” They also added that the area for the walking tour was beautiful.

To book your field trip, walking tour, or in school program with Three Village Historical Society, contact Lindsey Steward-Goldberg at 631-751-3730 or email lindsey@tvhs.org