Gamecock Cottage: Long History as Object d’Art in Three Village [PHOTOS]

Long the subject of artists from photographers to painters (and even once sculpted into a delicious looking gingerbread house – the fate of which is unknown but one imagines made for a very scrumptious treat), Gamecock Cottage, the historic structure at West Meadow Beach, is getting some needed improvements.

Read about the improvement projects at the cottage here on Patch.

After summer cottages were torn down on West Meadow Beach, four structures were saved, according to a 2005 New York Times article. One was Gamecock Cottage, built in 1864 and moved to the beach in the 1880s.

The article focused on a debate about the future of the cottage including an idea to move the structure again. That idea met with protest during a public meeting.

"I don't think there has been a property in all of Long Island that has been fraught with more controversy or political battles than this stretch of beach," Town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld was quoted by the paper.

Despite the years of controversy (or perhaps because of it), the cottage has been painted, sculpted and photographed thousands of times by professional and aspiring artists alike.

In the New York Times story, Stony Brook resident Kevin O'Callaghan, chairman of the 3-D department of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan said that he sees "someone painting that scene or photographing it" every day.

The appeal, according to O'Callaghan, is not just the cottage structure but the beautiful beach surrounding it as well. Suffice to say, the cottage has stayed put.

In a post about the Gamecock Cottage and its surrounding controversies, Long Island Sound blogger Matthew Houskeeper (@Soundbounder) wrote about the stillness and beauty of the place after a visit to take some photos of his own.

"Everything around me was silent and still," he wrote. "There was no wind in the air, or current in the water. The recent snowfall silenced any sounds in the distance. The small strip of land that had been the focus of so much heated debate, stood desolate and quiet."

The historical photo above is from the Three Village Historical Society. It was featured in a 2011 exhibit at the Port Jefferson Village Center titled “Stony Brook: A Village Lost to Time” that had more than 120 pre-1940 photographs taken of Stony Brook village, sponsored by Three Village Historical Society and the Recreation Department of the Village of Port Jefferson.

Click through the gallery to see more photos of Gamecock Cottage, including the gingerbread house, the Soundbounder blog pictures and a beautiful photo by Frank Fumelli uploaded to a Three Village Patch gallery. All photos used with permission.

Do you have pictures of Gamecock Cottage you’d like to share? Upload them to this post or head to our West Meadow Beach directory listing and add any of your beach pictures to our growing gallery.