In 1665, Reverend Nathaniel Brewster, his wife, and their four children moved into this house just as Long Island was undergoing a major transition. That same year, the Dutch surrendered control of the colony to the British, and Long Island officially became part of the newly formed New York colony.
Reverend Brewster, born in 1622, was a member of the first graduating class of Harvard College and became the first ordained minister of the newly formed English settlement in Setauket. In recognition of his role in the community, the Town of Brookhaven granted him the house, constructed circa 1665. The original structure was a single room—what is now known as the tavern room—where Brewster, his first wife Sarah Ludlow Brewster, and their children lived.
As the Brewster family grew, so did the house. In the early 1700s, Nathaniel’s son Timothy Brewster (1661-unknown), expanded the structure to accommodate a larger household, which included family members as well as indentured and enslaved individuals who lived and worked on the property. An entire second house was rolled to this site on logs and joined to the original structure. Around this time, family sleeping quarters were moved upstairs.
By 1737, the Brewster House took on a new role in village life.
Joseph Brewster I (1709-1760), Timothy’s youngest son, was granted a license to operate a tavern here. The tavern was later passed to his son, Joseph Brewster II, who, along with his wife Rebecca Mills Brewster, raised nine children in the house.