Barbara Ferris Van Liew

Barbara Ferris Van Liew (1910-2005) was a living legend in preservation circles. She played a pivotal role in advocating for legislative measures to protect historic houses on Long Island, including Head of the Harbor. Her contributions, including an inventory of Long Island historic properties, underscored the importance of legal frameworks in safeguarding historic properties and laid the groundwork for subsequent preservation efforts on Long Island, including the establishment of the (Smithtown) Branch Historic District.

Van Liew edited and was the primary author of SPLIAs Preservation Notes (1965-2001). She wrote the still useful Long Island Domestic Architecture of the Colonial and Federal Periods (1974), as well as 50 Years: Head-of-the-Harbor (she was the village historian and lived in St. James). A founding member and chair of the Suffolk County Historic Trust committee, she wrote its manual outlining standards for acquiring and maintaining historic properties. She also served on the Suffolk County Council and Environmental Quality.

Today, a massive physical repository of her lifetime research, notes, and records is also maintained nearby in the Barbara Ferris Van Liew Collection within the Special Collections and University Archives at Stony Brook University.

Sources

• Naylor, Natalie A. Women in Long Island’s Past: A History of Eminent Ladies and Everyday Lives. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012. p 154.
• Cubie, Tara, Preservation Director, Preservation Long Island. “Early Advocacy and Preservation on Long Island.” April 22, 2024. https://preservationlongisland.org/womenpreservation/