Events
Summer 2026 Lecture Series
Preservation Head of the Harbor cordially invites you to our 2026 Summer Lecture Series, hosted in conjunction with our seasonal historical exhibit, “Three Sisters: Landscapes of Head of the Harbor.” Embracing the timeless spirit of our history, this three-part educational series will take place at the Head of the Harbor Village Hall, and it will offer a deep dive into the region’s rich heritage.
Opening Reception with Speaker Vivian Nicholson-Mueller
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 (6:30-8:30PM)
Opening Reception featuring guest speaker Vivian Nicholson-Mueller, co-author of The Art of William Sidney Mount: Long Island People of Color on Canvas. Her expertise centers on the lives of Black, Mixed-Race, Native, and White people in pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial Long Island.
- A book-signing will accompany this lecture.
Vivian Nicholson-Mueller is a Montessori teacher, genealogist, and historian who has, for the past twenty years, done extensive research on the lives of Black, Mixed-Race, Native and White people of pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial Long Island. She has a particular interest in Dr. Samuel Thompson of Colonial and post-Colonial Setauket, Long Island. She has spent more than fifteen years reading, studying, and transcribing his original journals archived in the New York City 42nd Street Public Library and the Ward Melville Historical Organization archives.
Born in Brooklyn and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in an area once known as “The Swamp” – an area in which her paternal fourth great grandfather owned land. Vivian now lives in the same Harlem neighborhood her maternal West Indian ancestors immigrated to in the late 1800’s. Her paternal ancestry can be traced back to the Black and White colonists, and Native Americans of Pre-Colonial and Colonial New York and Eastern Long Island, specifically Setauket, Old Field, Smithtown, Mt. Sinai and Millers Place.
Through her research and advocacy, Vivian, along with her cousin Simira Tobias, spearheaded a successful campaign to assign Stony Brook’s Old Bethel Cemetery, which was established in the mid-nineteenth century by free people of color, to the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Vivian is the co-author of The Art of William Sidney Mount: Long Island People of Color on Canvas (The History Press, 2022). Also: “Color on Canvas -Racial Diversity in the Art of William Sidney Mount (1807-1868)” (American History Magazine, Summer 2023).
Helen Sells
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 (6:30–8:30 PM)
A presentation by guest speaker Helen Sells focusing on both the history of her own family and the Setalcott Nation.
Helen “Hart of the Morning Star” Sells is an Indigenous leader who serves as the Chairwoman and Chief of the Setalcott Nation, a tribe native to the Setauket and northern Brookhaven regions of Long Island, New York. Born and raised in Setauket, Sells belongs to one of the community’s foundational families and has spent years guiding her people. Her work focuses primarily on sharing tribal history, preserving cultural traditions, and advocating for the legal and cultural recognition of the Setalcott people, who have maintained an unbroken presence on Long Island for thousands of years. As a prominent cultural bearer, Sells coordinates the Setalcott Nation’s annual Corn Festival and Powwow. This gathering serves as an educational tool for the wider public and a sacred space where members of various Native nations connect, give thanks, and ensure that ancestral traditions are passed down to younger generations.
Donald G. Fisher
Thursday, September 10, 2026, 6:30
Thursday, September 10, 2026 (6:30–8:30 PM): Guest speaker Don Fisher from the Railroad Museum of Long Island will discuss the history, creation, and impact of the Port Jefferson Railroad Branch.
Don Fisher is the President of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. In 1995, with twenty-three years of audio-visual and technical theater experience, Mr. Fisher joined the all-volunteer Railroad Museum of Long Island to serve as an electrician and exhibit designer. By 1998, Mr. Fisher had been appointed Assistant Site Manager for the Museum’s Greenport, Long Island property and a major rehabilitation of the exhibit hall was underway. In 2001, an opening occurred on the museum’s Board of Trustees and Don was asked to fill that position, serving on the buildings and grounds committee and the events committee. In 2007 he was appointed to the position of Vice President and became Co-chair of the Steam Locomotive #39 Restoration Committee. Since October 2008, Don Fisher has served as President of the Railroad Museum of Long Island and continues to lead the restoration process on Locomotive #39.
Mr. Fisher is an exceptionally knowledgeable historian celebrated for his profound expertise in the legacy of the Long Island Rail Road. Characterized by his boundless energy and approachable demeanor, Mr. Fisher possesses an engaging personality that seamlessly complements his mastery of oral history. As a superlative storyteller, he has the rare faculty to animate the past, transforming standard chronological records into vivid, compelling narratives that capture the imagination. His lecture “The History of the Port Jefferson Branch” promises to showcase this unique synthesis of rigorous historical erudition and captivating communication, offering an intellectually stimulating exploration of the region’s vital transit heritage.
Preservation Head of the Harbor Participates in Harbor Day September 6, 2025
Text: The Village of Nissequogue, The Friends of Stony Brook Harbor, Preservation Head of the Harbor, and a coalition of neighbors from Head of the Harbor, Nissequogue and Stony Brook, hosted Happy Harbor Day to raise awareness of the beautiful, yet fragile Stony Brook Harbor. This is an annual outreach event to educate the public about the harbor and ways to protect and conserve this resilient ecosystem. It took place near the boat launch area at Long Beach in St James.
