Long Island's Most Active Paranormal Address Since 1710
1175 North Country Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Full-service American restaurant; entrées in the moderate range. Check website for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic colonial-era building; uneven floors and limited accessibility in some areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1710 · Colonial History · Revolutionary War · Long Island Heritage · Early American Architecture
The house at 1175 North Country Road in Stony Brook was built approximately in 1710, making it one of the oldest continuously standing structures on Long Island. Its early decades as a family home with an adjoining farm placed it squarely in the agricultural landscape of colonial Long Island — undistinguished, durable, and thoroughly ordinary.
The Revolutionary War changed that. When British troops moved through the area and occupied the building, the home's young caretaker, Annette Williamson, was reportedly left to manage the property alone while her parents traveled to New Jersey to check on another farm. She allowed the soldiers to quarter there without resistance. After the troops departed, the community's response to her cooperation proved far more dangerous than the occupation itself. Local residents branded her a spy and, by most accounts of the story, she was killed inside the house.
The building survived the war and continued as a residence. By the twentieth century it had transitioned to commercial use, eventually becoming the Country House Restaurant. The structure retains much of its colonial-era character — low ceilings, wide-plank floors, and walls that have absorbed nearly 315 years of occupation. It has been recognized by AOL City Guide as the most romantic restaurant on Long Island, an accolade that sits in odd proximity to its reputation as the island's most active paranormal address.
Sources
The central figure in the restaurant's haunted lore is Annette Williamson, and the details surrounding her death are contested. By the most common version of events, she was a young woman left alone to tend the house while her parents traveled, who made the pragmatic decision to allow British troops to use the building rather than resist them. When the soldiers left and her neighbors learned what had happened, they treated her as a collaborator. The version that has circulated longest holds that she was hanged from the second-floor rafters.
At least one paranormal researcher has expressed skepticism that Annette Williamson existed as a historical figure at all, noting the absence of documentary corroboration. The Country House Restaurant itself acknowledges the story's contested status while maintaining that unexplained activity at the site is well-documented regardless of its source.
The reported phenomena are varied. Visitors and staff describe flashing lights and photographic orbs. Footsteps have been heard in empty rooms. A woman's singing voice has been reported in the absence of any identifiable source. The restaurant describes spirit sightings as a regular occurrence, a claim that has sustained its reputation as the most active paranormal location on Long Island for decades.
The building's age — nearly 315 years as of 2025 — means that whatever its resident phenomena are attributed to, the structure has accumulated an uncommon density of occupants, events, and accumulated history within its walls.
Notable Entities
Dine in a colonial-era building where the alleged ghost of Annette Williamson has been reported for generations. The restaurant is consistently cited as the most active paranormal location on Long Island. The second floor, where Williamson's death reportedly occurred, is occasionally included in dining areas during busy periods.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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