Howard smith cemetery

Located on Maxess Road off Route 110 is a small historic graveyard known as the Howard Smith Cemetery. In the January 23, 1914 edition of The Long Islander, an article titled, “Huntington’s Old Families," mentions a certain Thomas Smith who deeded his property in 1756 to his nephew John Howard Smith and other family members. The name “Howard Smith” was kept in the family for the next few generations.

The oldest of the 18 gravestones found on this family cemetery belongs to Elizabeth Smith, who was buried here in 1831. Her tombstone reads, "Elizabeth, wife of John H. Smith, died August 10, 1831, aged 85 years, 4 months, and 12 days. Humble and harmless in life, and a Christian. As a parent honored in offspring. Having seen her fourth generation, and a posterity of 250 souls. Children 17, grandchildren 97, great-grandchildren 135, and great-great grandchildren 1.” As is evident from the inscription on her husband’s tombstone who died in 1835, the size of the clan had risen to 300!

The area where Howard Smith farmland once stood, in combination with other farms of the extended family, became the “Melville Industrial Park” in 1961. The Howard Smith Cemetery is found in a corner of the Estée Lauder parking lot.