Caleb Newton Farm
Barn from the Newton Homestead was located near where the Meat Farms store on Portion Road at Lake Ronkonkoma is now - H Sauter.
More info…
There is limited but very interesting historical information about the Caleb Newton farm in Lake Ronkonkoma (Suffolk County, Long Island). Most of what survives comes from historical markers, church history, and genealogy records, but together they give a clear picture of the site’s early role in the community.
Caleb Newton Farm — Ronkonkoma, New York
📍 Location
The site of the farm is marked near the intersection of Lake Shore Road and Portion Road in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.
A historical marker placed there in 2021 commemorates the farm and its significance.
Marker inscription (summary):
“Caleb Newton Farm.”
First church in Ronkonkoma formed in his home (1796–1834).
Later became the roots of the Methodist church at Five Corners.
What the farm was
Early Long Island farmstead
The Newton property was one of the early European-American farmsteads around Lake Ronkonkoma in the late 1700s.
Like most farms in central Suffolk County at that time, it likely included:
farmhouse
fields for grain and vegetables
livestock areas
woodlots and pasture
The area around the lake was mostly rural farmland until the late 1800s.
Religious importance
The farm is historically important because early Methodist meetings were held there.
Around 1796, religious gatherings were held in Caleb Newton’s home.
These meetings helped establish the first organized Christian congregation in the Ronkonkoma area.
Traveling Methodist preachers often stayed with local families and held services in houses or barns.
Later developments:
The group met in other locations.
Eventually a Methodist church was built locally in 1853.
Caleb Newton (the person)
Genealogical records show:
Born: Nov 9, 1793 in Ronkonkoma
Married: Mary Tuttle (1816)
Later moved: to Broome County, New York
Died: Dec 10, 1870
Some of his children were born near Lake Ronkonkoma, confirming the family lived there during the early settlement period.
Why the farm matters historically
The Newton farm represents an early stage of the settlement of the central Long Island interior, which was much less populated than the coastal towns.
It is significant because it shows:
Early farming settlement near Lake Ronkonkoma
The birthplace of the first organized Christian congregation in the area
A connection to Methodist circuit riders traveling across Long Island
What happened to the farm
Like most early Long Island farms:
The original property was eventually subdivided.
Farming declined in the 1800s–1900s.
The land became residential and suburban as Ronkonkoma developed.
Today the farm itself is gone, but the historic marker preserves the site’s significance.
✅ Key takeaway:
The Caleb Newton farm (established by the 1790s) was one of the early farms around Lake Ronkonkoma and is remembered mainly because the first church gatherings in the community were held there starting in 1796.
