Amy Folk has an awful lot on her antique plate. The Cutchogue resident has three official titles: Southold Town Historian, manager of collections for the Oysterponds Historical Society and manager of collections for the Southold Historical Museum. She’s also a member of the North Fork Project, a group formed to research and reveal the history of slavery in the area.
Folk moved to the North Fork from Roslyn in 2002, settling in Cutchogue with her husband, John, and their two children. But her passion for the past has always been a treasure she’s carried with her. “History is a series of stories,” she says. “I like finding out the real story and understanding how things came to happen.”
She’s even written several books on local history. Her latest is “Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island,” which tells of eastern Long Island’s prolific bounty of illegal booze during U.S. Prohibition and is well worth seeking out at Burton’s Books (43 Front St., Greenport, 631-477-1161) or at the Southold Historical Museum (54325 Main Road, Southold, 631-765-5500). Here are a few of Folk’s favorite things.
Favorite little-known local historical fact While we were the first community that was settled [in eastern Long Island], we were not the first town. We paid for our land from the Earl of Sterling with money that the colony of New Haven gave us. We didn’t actually become independent of them until we paid them back nine years later, so it’s in 1649 that we become an independent colony. Southampton technically is the first town, but we are the first community. We were boots on the ground before them.
Favorite farm stand Wesnofske’s (36450 Route 48, Peconic, 631-875-2855) on the North Road. I love their fruit — the peaches and the melons. Reggie knows what I want when I walk in the door… we’re on a first-name basis.
Favorite place to grab a bite Lenny’s Pizza (1451 Main Road, Jamesport, 631-722-8589). My husband has alpha-gal [syndrome], so we don’t eat out very much — the problem is cross-contamination. If we go to a restaurant and someone uses the wrong spoon, it’s off to the emergency room. Some restaurants are great about it — Lenny’s in Jamesport is very good about making sure the food is safe. We love their Sicilian pie.
Favorite historic building I love well-restored buildings, particularly from the Civil War era going back to the 1600s, like the Terry Mulford House (30675 Main Road, Orient). It is one of the oldest houses in Southold Town; it’s actually three houses put together.
Favorite local park Orient Beach State Park (40000 Main Road, Orient, 631-323-2440); both of my kids are seasonal employees there. We love the dog park (Southold Dog Park, 970 Peconic Lane, Peconic); my husband brings our dog there every single morning. There’s a regular group of dogs who all know each other… my Moochie is half-Rottweiler and the other half is husky and malamute… she is 70 pounds of love.
Favorite old-school North Fork business Dari-Land (51 Main Road, Riverhead, 631-727-0220). If I’m getting ice cream, it’s a twist with chocolate sprinkles. And I love The Candy Man (22350 Main Road, Orient, 631-323-2675) — I like anything with chocolate!
Favorite local food item My husband, John, loves Southold Fish Market’s (64755 Main Road, Southold, 631-765-3200) clam pie.
Favorite time of year I do like it colder rather than hotter. That period between January and April when the asparagus comes up — when nobody is out here except the regulars — really is my favorite time of year.
