Commack History: The Harned's Legacy

The Harned Brothers Sawmill located on New Highway is more than a business; it also represents one of Commack’s early families.

According to Robert Saal’s An Illustrated History of Commack, after the Revolutionary War two Harneds owned adjoining farms along where Florida Avenue is today. The two homesteads incorporated a couple of hundred of acres and the family lived right behind the family.

Doug Harned, current owner of the sawmill, said the property where the building stands today was purchased by his great-grandmother around 1900. The land once belonged to the Wicks family, and the farmhouse that still stands today dates back to 1840. Before the sawmill business was started by Amos Harned, the family farmed the land.

The Harneds were also involved in the early days of the Commack school district. According to Commack…a beautiful place: Commack Public Education, 100 Years -- 1899-1999 by Brad Harris, Herbert J. Harned was one of the trustees of the when it was consolidated in 1899. Herbert was part of the decision to buy school property on Jericho Turnpike, and Harned Road is named after him.

The sawmill business began when Amos bought a saw from during the depression, according to Saal’s writngs. When a hurricane hit the area in 1938 destroying a great number of trees, it provided a large amount of lumber for the sawmill, and his brother Charles soon joined him in the lumberyard. World War II brought more business when the brothers began providing the wood that was used for mine sweepers that were being built by the United States Navy in Greenport. Success continued for the Harneds during the housing boom in the 1950s.

The business was then handed down to Doug and his brother Dave. According to a March 30, 2008 Daily News article, the circular saw sawmill is the only one still in operation on Long Island. In 2001 a developer bought the property and then donated it to the town of Smithtown.

Harned received a lifetime estate during the deal, and he said he will keep the sawmill running until he retires. Smithtown’s Conservation Board will take over once this milestone is reached, protecting the property that brings us back to the early days of Commack and reminds us of a prominent local family.