The new director of Raynham Hall, Andrew Batten comes with connections to Long Island and Raynham Hall. He grew up a few towns away in Port Washington and left his job in Rye, New York at a house museum.

He sees a connection between Rye and Oyster Bay, not through the infamous bridge defeated in the late '60s, but through the Halstead family.

It was Sarah Townsend Coles Halstead, who with her sister Julia Weekes Coles, were involved in turning Raynham Hall over to the Town of Oyster Bay in October 1941. The Halsteads had homes in both Oyster Bay and Rye.

Mr. Batten was the education coordinator for the Rye Historical Society's house museum, Square House. "It's actually very similar to Raynham Hall. They were colonial houses built about the same time. The Rye house was built around 1730 and it served as a tavern for many years, so it served as both a private and a commercial property."

Raynham Hall, was originally built in c. 1738. One of the front rooms was used by the Townsends as a store. Solomon Townsend made his money as a merchant and had a fleet of ships.

Square House too had a connection with the sea. "Rye is a port town. The house was a little further from water but close. At one point it seems the same family, the Halsteads, who owned Raynham Hall, owned a number of houses in Rye." They were a farming family, he said.

Educational Director

Mr. Batten said at Square House they ran a number of different educational programs. In the house itself they did tours and classes. He taught open hearth cooking. Each year they did an archeological dig for children. They did walking tours of the town and programs on Native Americans and Revolutionary War History.

He hopes to do similar programs here. He has already been asked to take part in the 20/20 Lecture Series run jointly by the Friends of Raynham Hall and the Oyster Bay Historical Society. He hasn't picked a topic yet but is looking forward to speaking.

Mr. Batten lives in Port Washington, is single "and looking." He commuted to his job in Rye by car and learned a valuable lesson for his work here. "One of the reasons many families in Rye and Oyster Bay are related is because its easier to go by water than by land!"

When asked if he sailed, he said, he grew up in Port Washington but has been away for a long time and so sold off the boat. "When I was a kid, we had a small motor boat and friends had little Sunfishes and one had a Pierson 36 footer. But I was never good at sailing. I was just crew or cargo," he quipped.

He has a sense of humor. He said, "I find it invaluable in this kind of work."

New Exhibit Space

Mr. Batten visited Raynham Hall when he was being interviewed and then saw the display with the house construction that has been removed for the new installation that shows more of the collection.

"We can always move it back. There is a lot of flexibility in how we use that space."

With over 7,000 pieces in the collection, he said "For a place with limited storage space, it's impressive we can shoehorn it all in. The importance of the upstairs gallery is that it lets us share the collection with the community and it helps us to see what we have."

Mr. Batten has been working as a volunteer and as a professional in historical programs for the past 18 years. He worked in Pennsylvania, on the west coast and upstate New York and finds it exciting to be now involved with the area in which he grew up. "I have got to learn all about it. It's exciting and challenging. There are a lot of similarities and things in common."

Here in Oyster Bay the farmers were also fishermen.

In Rye the inhabitants were farmers but almost everyone had close access to the water, he said.

Maritime history is not part of his current repertoire. His area of focus is primarily on Colonial America with an emphasis on military history but he has help at hand with his father who is an amateur maritime historian.

He has been learning about Raynham Hall's history, which includes some military history. The Queens Rangers were stationed in Oyster Bay and took over Raynham Hall as their headquarters. "The board sent a pack of information. I learned a lot in one day," he said.

There will be a reception for Mr. Batten on Thursday, Jan. 28. They have invited many local residents, officials from the Town of Oyster Bay and local museum people including representatives from Sagamore Hill National Historic Site; the Oyster Bay Historical Society; Planting Fields and Coe Hall.

Mr. Batten said there are a lot of ideas the board is considering for the future, but that one of their biggest concerns is getting the office space finished.

After the recent restoration of the house museum, after a fire about six years ago, the second floor which was the director's apartment is being turned into office space.

That will make it easier on the staff to function and they can possibly open some more rooms to the public, he said.

"Upstairs looks great. With a little touch up and wiring, we are in. It will be nice that in the foreseeable future it will get done."

Although his official job began the week of Jan. 18, Mr. Batten came the week before to get up to speed on the upcoming gala. "The theme is: From Time to Time. It is getting a jump on the millennium and looking back at the Townsend family and looking forward to our own future." The date is Friday, March 5. The gala committee is meeting on Jan. 28 to begin sending out the invitations.