HAWKINS-JACOBSEN HOUSE

Photo courtesy of the Yaphank Historical Society

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Robert Hewlett Hawkins, born in 1817, was a seventh generation descendent of Robert and Mary Hawkins who arrived in Charlestown Massachusetts, (now a part of the city of Boston) in 1635 from London, England.

At an early age, James H. Weeks, an influential businessman from Yaphank, gave Robert a letter of introduction to a prominent mercantile firm in New York City and thus began Hawkins successful business career. In a short time he amassed a fortune allowing him to form many ongoing personal and business relationships with a number of honorable businessmen.

In 1850, he constructed a residence (Robert Hawkins House) on Yaphank avenue, Yaphank, New York that was home to him, his wife Isabelle (Swezey) Hawkins and their then three children, Elizabeth Tuthill, Isabelle S. and Rebecca Larissa. Robert Hewlitt, Jr., a fourth child was born in 1856.

Dating from 1853. The only early Victorian home in the area. Formerly the home of Robert Hewlett Hawkins, born in Yaphank in 1817. The house remained in the Hawkins family until 1887. It is now owned by Suffolk County and is part of the Parks Department Historic Trust. It is now under restoration by the County in conjunction with the Yaphank Historical Society.