1936-1947 Old Water Mill Shop and Tea Room Guest Book

Beginning in 1921, the New York State Bureau of Services to the Blind maintained a small satellite operation from the Old Water Mill Shop & Tea Room in Water Mill, Long Island. With the help of a NYS Bureau staff member, the Shop stocked and sold items handmade by blind adults throughout New York State, with proceeds flowing back into the Bureau (later termed the New York State Commission for the Blind). 

The Old Water Mill Shop & Tea Room, inside what is now the Water Mill Museum, kept a guest book at its entrance just as the Museum does today. The guest book presented here was used between September 2nd, 1936 and September 20th, 1947. Locally designated holidays, visitors’ names and hometowns from around the world, and marginal notes paint a picture of a popular, busy storefront and restaurant - there may even be a few notable names among these pages.