Producing Three History Films

The Caumsett Foundation received a generous grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation in 2024 to help produce three short educational films about the history of Caumsett. The first one is an introduction to the story of Caumsett, from its origins as indigenous land to its time as the home of Jupiter Hammon, an early Black poet, up to the creation of Marshall Field III’s 1500-acre Gold Coast estate which later became today’s state park preserve. The second film is the story of dairy farming at Caumsett in the 1930s and 40s, and the recognized technology and architecture innovations. The third film is the fascinating story of Alfie Kuntz, the last living employee of the Caumsett estate.

The three films will reach our new, expanded audience which includes longtime local residents and those from all over Long Island and New York metro area who discovered Caumsett during Covid. The longest nine-minute film will provide the most effective platform for reaching all our visitors to tell the richly diverse history of Caumsett, many of whom have little knowledge of the evolution of this rich agricultural history and the creamy milk produced here. We explore the intricacies of production from how the cows were milked all the way to bottling and distribution. The awe-inspiring Hay Barn and sixteen adjacent barns will also play a role in the film, and will include a historical archive of maps, drawings, documents, and contemporary photographs as well as stunning images filmed by the Emmy award-winning production team, Big idea Media.

The films will be permanently displayed in the future Dairy Museum at Caumsett for all our visitors to enjoy. It is vital that we continue to reach our new audiences so they feel welcome at Caumsett, and after its installation as an exhibit in the Dairy Museum the Foundation plans to re-language the films into Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Gujarati, and provide closed-captioning.