The Grange property is located in the southeast portion of the Town of Islip at the east end of Sayville, New York. The property is bordered by Broadway Ave. and Montauk Highway. The 12 acre parcel of land contains a stretch of the original roadbed that George Washington passed during his tour of Long Island.
Since colonial times this property has been used for agriculture. It has a history that encompasses not only Sayville but West Sayville as well as the era we know most about was when the Daane family occupied the land. The Daanes were from the Netherlands and were part of the migration of people from predominantly the province of Zeeland to West Sayville that started during the Civil War and continued until the early Twentieth Century. These people worked the shellfish beds of the Great South Bay and their history is preserved at the Suffolk Maritime Museum in West Sayville.
Jacobus Cobus Daane emigrated from Holland to West Sayville, New York in 1908. His salary of $2.50 for a 10 hour day as an oysterman was hardly enough to feed his family of 11 children. He searched for 10 acres of good soil on which to farm and add to the family income ended here in the southwest portion of the Islip Town Grange site. There was an old farmhouse on the land and the building was patched up to accommodate the large family. In addition to the home, there was a barn, chicken coop, pig pen and corn crib. There was also according to Adrian Daane, the fourth child of the family a summer kitchen on the property, a common feature of Long Island homes of the time.
Adrian Dane, 4th child of Jacobus and Adriana, recalled that the “farmhouse was old but with a bit of patching it was quite comfortable. We had a chicken coop, a decent barn with a pigpen and corn crib. My mother loved her summer kitchen.” He further recalled that, “We bought an old horse and wagon, a few chickens and plenty of seed. In time we had food enough to feed us all, supply the root cellar and sell our vegetables and berries from the roadside stand on Montauk Highway.” This is a precedence for the weekly Farmer’s Market at the Grange today. The Daanes family lost the farm when Mr. Daanes died of Pneumonia after an illness of one week. Adrian and his brothers were not able to finish school and went to work doing odd jobs to support the family after the death of their father.
After Mr. Danne’s death the land then transferred ownership and became part of Archie Brown’s adjoining 40 acre dairy farm. Adrian, went to work for Mr. Brown as a runner, carrying large cans of milk from the milk wagon to the local homes and hotels on the delivery route in this time before super markets and large dairy conglomerates. There were a number of local dairies at the time throughout Islip Town as in that era fresh milk was only starting to be shipped in bulk to large processing plants and that had not become popular in rural Islip. Archie Brown sold this track of land to another dairyman, John Budenos (namesake for Budenos Drive just north of Broadway Avenue Park) around 1920 allowing Mr. Budenos to increase his herd to 60 head of cattle.