Succeeding his father as president of the Melville Shoe Corporation, Ward joined in his parents, Jenny and Frank Melville's passion for conservation and economic development in Stony Brook. Ward Melville’s dream was to create a “living Williamsburg”. He envisioned a colonial-style village that would breathe new life into the area. Residents would live with history. The vision entailed not only a crescent-shaped Village Center of connected shops grouped around a federalist-style post office, but the historic Grist Mill. To learn more about this feat; visit the stop titled “Post Office” in this Audio Experience.
In 1947, Melville purchased the Stony Brook Grist Mill from Alida Emmett. By 1952, the structure was deeded to the Stony Brook Community Fund (which was renamed the Ward Melville Heritage Organization in 1996). In the 1960’s, the mill was leased to the Long Island Museum, another of the Melville properties.
In 1987, the Long Island Museum returned the mill to the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO). During the inspection of the property, significant structural damage was found. The mill was closed to the public while fundraising and restoration took place. In those six years, the WMHO raised over $375,000 to restore the grist mill. During this time, the grist mill opened its Country Store - selling old fashioned jams, jellies, colonial toys and the like. In 1990, the mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1993, the mill was reopened to the public. Education programs were developed to provide hands-on learning about the technology and engineering of mills and to showcase the history of the Stony Brook Grist Mill.
The Stony Brook Grist Mill joined historic Long Island landmarks as a designated site along the New York Revolutionary War Heritage Trail as well.
