For nearly 260 years, Rock Hall has stood as a reminder of the Five Towns’ colonial past, quietly overlooking the busy flow of traffic along Broadway, a main street running through Lawrence.
Today, thousands of motorists make their way through the Five Towns, often unaware that one of Long Island’s most significant historic landmarks, now a museum, sits just beyond the trees and lawns at 199 Broadway. Yet long before Broadway became a main artery through the Five Towns, Rock Hall was already a fixture of the landscape.
Built in 1767, Rock Hall is considered one of the finest surviving pre-Revolutionary War homes on Long Island. The Georgian-style mansion was constructed for Josiah Martin, a wealthy British sugar plantation owner from Antigua who sought a permanent residence overlooking Jamaica Bay. Then the surrounding area was largely rural farmland, with open fields stretching toward the water and only a handful of roads connecting small settlements.
Martin purchased roughly 600 acres and built Rock Hall as a grand country estate. During the American Revolution, the home was briefly occupied by patriot forces in 1776, making it a witness to the turbulent years that shaped the nation. After Martin’s death in 1778, the estate remained in his family until financial difficulties led to its sale. In 1824, Rock Hall was acquired by the Hewlett family, whose descendants would own the property for more than a century.
Over the years, the house evolved from a working farmstead to a summer retreat for affluent families seeking respite along Long Island’s South Shore. As the Five Towns developed and transportation improved, the once-isolated estate found itself surrounded by growing villages and expanding roadways. Broadway, which had begun as a local route through farmland, gradually transformed into one of the region’s most heavily traveled thoroughfares.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the arrival of the Long Island Rail Road helped spur residential growth throughout the South Shore. Farms gave way to neighborhoods, businesses and schools, while Broadway emerged as the primary east-west route linking communities across the Five Towns. Through all of those changes, Rock Hall remained a recognizable landmark, visible to generations of residents who passed by its stately grounds. The mansion’s survival is particularly remarkable considering the rapid development that reshaped much of Nassau County during the post-World War II era. While many historic structures were demolished to make way for modern construction, Rock Hall endured as a symbol of preservation and community pride.
Recognizing the historical importance of the property, the Hewlett family deeded Rock Hall to the Town of Hempstead in 1948. Following an extensive restoration, the mansion reopened as a museum in 1953, preserving a rare glimpse into 18th-century life. The museum remains on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as an educational center featuring guided tours, lectures, archaeology exhibits and community programs.
In recent decades, Rock Hall has continued to expand its role as a cultural destination, hosting historical reenactments, seasonal festivals, concerts and educational programs for students and families. The museum’s collection of period furnishings, documents and artifacts helps tell the story not only of the house itself, but also of the broader history of Lawrence and the South Shore.
The contrast between Rock Hall and modern Broadway is striking. Outside its gates, traffic moves steadily through the heart of the Five Towns. Inside, visitors can step back nearly three centuries and experience the architecture, furnishings and stories of a bygone era. As Lawrence and its neighboring communities continue to grow, Rock Hall remains a rare connection to the region’s earliest history — a colonial landmark standing watch over a roadway that has become the backbone of the Five Towns.
