On this site stood the first house at the Branch, built by Joseph Blydenburgh, who married Deborah in 1688; she was the daughter of Jonathan, eldest son of Richard Smith, "Bull Rider," patentee of Smithtown. The property remained continuously in the hands of his descendants until it was purchased in 1923 for a village green. In his diary on April 23, 1790, Gen. George Washington wrote, "Baited the horses at Smiths Town at a Widow Blidenberg's A decent house." The widow was Ruth Norton, widow of Benj. Blydenburgh IId, and both graves are marked by stones in the cemetery across the road.