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Stare long enough at the creek that runs along the east side of Patchogue’s Blue Point Brewery. You’ll notice the occasional glob of ink dye pushing up through the sandy creek bottom.
Those tiny ribbons of color are remnants of the old lace mill that once greeted visitors to the village from the west, according to local historian Steve Lucas.
“Everybody called it the lace mill but they did all kinds of fabric,” Lucas said. “They did tablecloths, draperies, all kinds of things like that. And it was huge. I mean huge.”
The West Main Street operation covered more than 12 acres and was called the Patchogue Manufacturing Company when it shuttered in the early 1970s and a series of fires then sealed the buildings’ fate.
From the NYT (1996): Fate of a Derelict Mill Clouds Patchogue’s Future
“It started back in the 1700s as a little cotton mill with a paddle wheel and it just expanded over the years,” Lucas said of the property’s colonial history. “The river was flowing and they used that to power the mill.”
The current, mill-like building that now houses the Blue Point Brewery was not part of the original complex. It was built by Swezey’s department stores as an homage to the old mill. Swezey’s then went out of business.
Before the new building, Lucas said the property “was just a pile of rubble.”
Top photo: This post card photo was taken late 1940s or early 1950s and shows the mill’s sign.
