23 days ago
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Posted On: October 11th 2026, 10:55 pm
WIth the passing of Greenlawn's annual pickle festival several weeks ago, spooky season is upon us. The site of the festival just also happens to be known for its hauntings.
J. Gardiner Farm sits on the border of Greenlawn and Huntington at the intersection of Little Plains Road and Park Avenue. Originally constructed in the 1750's, it went through a number of changes over the years. A second story was built atop the home in 1860 by the family of Alex Gardiner.
However it was 20 years prior to this that gives the home its lore. The exact date was November 13, 1842. Rebecca and Alexander Smith were enjoying the evening tea in the parlor of the home when they were brutally bludgeoned to death. An investigation found that German immigrant Anton Geisler was the primary suspect & he was arrested in Port Jefferson. Geisler had spent the last few months working for the Smith's as a farm hand.
The home which is now a museum and part of the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Society has forensic tours of the home to show how it all went down. In fact the Smithtown Messenger newspaper ran an article in 2023 that had a description of the crime scene even I couldn't describe better:
“The Smiths appeared to have been left where they fell, and the position of the bodies suggested that Mr. Smith was struck first while sitting in his customary chair in front of a large fireplace,” says the Historical Association. “He sustained several blows to the head and fell into the fireplace. Much of the lower part of his body caught fire, most likely after his death. Mrs. Smith was found in the center of the room suggesting that she rose from her chair upon the attack. She, too, was struck several times about the head and body by the blunt side of an ax.”
The maternal grandchild of the couple, Alex Gardiner lived in the home later on. Covered in a previous post in May, Gardiner was a successful businessman who developed nearly 80 acres of farmland that he purchased from his mother, and later built the largest cider mill on Long Island. During the Civil War he also built a saw mill, which sold lumber to ship builders. Pickle Works (the subject of the May post) was what he was known for
J. Gardiner Farm sits on the border of Greenlawn and Huntington at the intersection of Little Plains Road and Park Avenue. Originally constructed in the 1750's, it went through a number of changes over the years. A second story was built atop the home in 1860 by the family of Alex Gardiner.
However it was 20 years prior to this that gives the home its lore. The exact date was November 13, 1842. Rebecca and Alexander Smith were enjoying the evening tea in the parlor of the home when they were brutally bludgeoned to death. An investigation found that German immigrant Anton Geisler was the primary suspect & he was arrested in Port Jefferson. Geisler had spent the last few months working for the Smith's as a farm hand.
The home which is now a museum and part of the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Society has forensic tours of the home to show how it all went down. In fact the Smithtown Messenger newspaper ran an article in 2023 that had a description of the crime scene even I couldn't describe better:
“The Smiths appeared to have been left where they fell, and the position of the bodies suggested that Mr. Smith was struck first while sitting in his customary chair in front of a large fireplace,” says the Historical Association. “He sustained several blows to the head and fell into the fireplace. Much of the lower part of his body caught fire, most likely after his death. Mrs. Smith was found in the center of the room suggesting that she rose from her chair upon the attack. She, too, was struck several times about the head and body by the blunt side of an ax.”
The maternal grandchild of the couple, Alex Gardiner lived in the home later on. Covered in a previous post in May, Gardiner was a successful businessman who developed nearly 80 acres of farmland that he purchased from his mother, and later built the largest cider mill on Long Island. During the Civil War he also built a saw mill, which sold lumber to ship builders. Pickle Works (the subject of the May post) was what he was known for
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