Sunlight hit the front of the old Baldwin/Hilbert home as years of overgrowth were cut away recently. When it did, the lady that has graced the northwest corner of County Line and Merrick roads enjoyed what could only be described as her second coming out party.

Though the years and neglect are obvious, the pride and beauty of her early days are evident. Gingerbread drips from her windows and portals, and a bright-green pitched roof sets off the white facade. To the sensitive ear, she sings with history.

The home, which sits on a 2.49 acre parcel, was recently purchased by a group of local developers under the corporate name of Toll Gate Land Improvement Co., of Amity Harbor. The corporate name denotes the history of the area since the site was once a toll gate between the counties.

To local residents, the names of the principals are more familiar than the name of the corporation. They are John H. Schad, a local businessman and president of the Amityville School Board; Jerry O’Neill, of Harbor Light Real Estate, Stuart Hilbert who was born and raised in the house and who is the the owner of Hilbert’s Garden Center which adjoins the property, John Battista, an electrical contractor, Dave Heller, of Heller Plumbing and Dennis McGrath.

According to Schad and O’Neill, the group is looking at several alternatives for the site. If they decide to move forward and develop it, O’Neill said one of their considerations is to incorporate the house into any plan or design.

But that depends on the outcome of architectural studies, pointed out Schad, who said the house may not be totally salvageable.

"We want to save as much of it as possible if we decide to develop the site," said Schad. "At best we’d like to restore all of it, but if that’s not possible maybe we can restore a portion of it or at least save some of the architecture."

The house is within the Town of Oyster Bay and is zoned business-F, neighborhood business. At almost two and one-half acres, the site falls well within a newly adopted Golden Age zone that could allow a developer to build senior citizen housing there. In addition, town officials said owners could apply for landmark preservation status, but pointed out that would set limits on what can be done to the building if the home were awarded that status.

A check with local historians determined that the home was built some time in the 1860s or 1870s. According to Seth Purdy, an Amityville historian, a map dated 1836 shows the site as a tollgate between Nassau and Suffolk counties. Purdy said that Merrick Road was a toll road during that era and that it was maintained by private individuals who would charge travelers. At some points the road was maintained with wooden planks; at others, it was a dirt road.

Early residents of the home were the Baldwins, relatives of May Baldwin, now deceased, who wrote a historical column for the Amityville RECORD years ago.

Gilly Ketcherer, of Massapequa recalls his father talking about the Baldwin brothers who were early owners of the home. "From what I heard, during the horse and buggy era, they were quite colorful and used to race against one another," he said.

In a column by Baldwin that appeared in the RECORD in 1963, the house was originally owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Ketcham Berry, an elderly couple who sold the farm to Baldwin’s father, Timothy, a veteran of the Civil War who purchased the house shortly after that conflict.

Baldwin sold the house to Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hilbert and the home was landscaped and improved with spacious windows and glass doors.

Some time around the turn-of-the century, a large red barn that stood on the south side of the road was destroyed by fire. "As a small child, I remember playing hide and seek among roll top sofas nd other fine old pieces," said May Baldwin in one of her historical columns. "Those were destroyed in the fire that razed the barn.

The fire struck at approximately 6 p.m. and swept the entire building with barely time to lead the horses housed there to safety. A bucket brigade and the Dauntless Hose Company of the Amityville Fire Department fought the fire. Though the barn was lost, their efforts saved the house for yet another generation of residents to admire.