Across the road from the Stony Brook Grist Mill is one of Long Island’s environmental treasures. The eleven-acre Mill Pond, or Lower Pond, is spring fed from the Upper Pond located on Rhododendron Road. an indigenous group called the Setalcott called this aquatic linkage ‘Cutsgunsuck’ which translates as “brook laden with stones” or Stony Brook, as the entire area is known today. Low Island, in the middle of the pond, is a nesting place for local waterfowl. In the late 1800s, the owner of the Stony Brook Grist Mill at the time, Edward Kane constructed a bridge from the area where the park is to Low Island. He grew grapes for winemaking there as well as other harvestables. The water from the Mill Pond has driven the wheel at the Grist Mill since 1699.  T. Bayles Minuse Park is a popular spot where generations of children have visited the ducks and swans. The park’s Sensory Garden features plants with a variety of scents and textures for the enjoyment of all visitors.

Main Street
Stony Brook, New York 11790