Producing Two History Films

The Caumsett Foundation received a grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to help fund two short films and viewing equipment. The first one will be on the introduction to the story of Caumsett, including the Indigenous settlement, the Colonial era including Jupiter Hammon, (an early Black poet), up to the creation of Marshall Field III’s 1500-acre Gilded Age estate and World War II; and the second, the story of dairy farming, technology and architecture at Caumsett Farms.

The films will reach our new, expanded audience composed not only of our long-term township residents but also families and individuals from all over Long Island and New York City who “discovered “ Caumsett during Covid and have continued to visit our beautiful Park.The first seven-minute film will provide the most effective platform for reaching all our visitors to tell the richly diverse history of Caumsett on site. The vast majority of our visitors have little knowledge of the evolution of this (including the beloved “Elmer the Cow”), the rich, creamy milk produced here, how it was bottled and distributed. Americans from all backgrounds continue to consume dairy products, but fewer and fewer people in this region understand the process of “cow to table”. The awe-inspiring Dairy Barn will also play a role in the film. The films will include an historical archive of maps, drawings, documents, and contemporary photographs as well as stunning images filmed by expert film producers who excel in this field.

The films will be permanently displayed in the future Interpretive Center at Caumsett for all our visitors. We also plan to post both films on our website, and to use short clips for social media outreach as well. It is vital that we continue to reach our new audiences so they feel welcome and included at Caumsett. Film gives us the opportunity to re-language these films into Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Gujarati, or at the very least, provide captioning.