Now, Riverhead’s oldest farming family faces the challenge of rebuilding after last week’s fire caused more than $2 million in damage.

The farm traces its roots back 364 years to Nov. 20, 1661, a year after 13 Puritan families from the New Haven Colony in Connecticut came across the Long Island Sound to live among the native Shinnecock tribe.

The Puritans formed Southold Town, whose elders established Aquebogue with 40 lots the following year. Three of those were allotted to William Wells for his family to farm near Phillips Lane on Sound Avenue, now part of Northville on the Riverhead border.

“The original deed went from the Sound to the bay, and over the generations, quite a bit of it got sold off, and then different family members got different portions,” said Eric Wells Sr. of Wells Farm, located at 4976 Sound Ave. “We’re lucky enough to have this section [on Sound Avenue] still, and some cousins of ours have another section. We’re still able to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Wells Farm, which has grown to about 300 acres over the centuries, is the only property to keep its original name from its inception, according to a 1937 article in the County Review, an earlier version of this publication.

Mr. Wells is a 12th-generation farmer and operates one portion with his parents, Todd and Laura Wells, and his wife, Darlyn. They sell livestock to the public, and sell grain and potatoes wholesale. 

The other portion is run by Matt Wells, one of the sons of the late Lyle Wells, who died in an equipment accident in January 2018. His Wells Homestead Acres at 4549 Sound Ave. is Long Island’s largest asparagus producer and also grows squash, zucchini and cut flowers.

To ensure the land was preserved as farmland, as their father would have wanted, the siblings sold the development rights to 11.16 acres of the Wells farmland along Phillips Lane in 2021.

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The destruction has been “a huge loss,” said Eric Wells Sr., the farm’s co-owner, in a phone interview Monday, Nov. 17.

The Nov. 12 fire at the Northville farm, in the Wells family since 1661, destroyed two of three barns. All of the chickens in one barn were killed, as well as two of the 20 pigs housed there.

Between the barns and the machinery, Wells estimated the losses at over $2 million. 

“It’s tough, really the only way to describe it because there’s really no words to truly describe what we’re going through,” he said. “It’s hard to try and bounce back from something like that.”

There has been a glimmer of hope amid the charred tractors and smoldering equipment after the flames were doused. The family has received immense support from fellow farmers and the wider North Fork community. 

“Some people have stopped by to lend their support [by] helping to clean up, and a few people have donated some tools for us,” Mr. Wells said. “[Other local farmers] feel for us, they really do. Some retired farmers had stopped in who still have some old machinery, and they offered to let us use their old machinery.” 

He’s also thankful that his two teenage daughters and wife escaped any serious harm. The girls, along with a Riverhead police officer, suffered smoke inhalation and were rushed to Peconic Bay Medical Center.

While at the hospital, doctors found that Mr. Wells’ wife suffered minor burns on her chest from the smoke, he said.

Despite the scare, the dad expressed pride in his teenagers for rushing to save the pigs.

“It’s very nice to know that my kids are that attached to the family business,” said Mr. Wells, adding that the girl returned to school this week. “It’s sad they had to go to the hospital for it, and really it’s not something I would have asked them to do, but at the time, it’s what needed to be done.” 

The surviving animals are doing better as well after the stressful night, Mr. Wells added.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for donations to help the family rebuild Wells Farm. As of Wednesday afternoon, it has raised nearly $9,395 out of the $22,000 goal.

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Two barns caught fire at the farm at 4976 Sound Ave. around 5 p.m., though firefighters were able to save one, according to Riverhead Fire Department Chief Piotr Kurzyna. One of the destroyed barns housed pigs and chickens.

“I literally drove here at 4:35, and by five the building was on fire. 
So, I drove through here. I didn’t see anything, nothing to indicate there was any problems,” Laura Wells, the owner of the farm, told Riverhead News-Review on Thursday, Nov. 13.

“I was talking to my grandson. He’d come over to get a package from our porch. 
I walked outside with him, and then I went back in the house. I got word that there was a fire, came back and the yard was full of smoke. I was literally outside not even two minutes before that, and then all of a sudden, there was smoke everywhere.”

The Wells family has operated the farm since 1661, making it Riverhead’s oldest farming family.

The Riverhead Police Department said they responded to the fire and found a portion of one barn fully engulfed in flames.

With the assistance of the Wells family, uniformed officers entered the barn and helped multiple animals to safety. Firefighters at the farm were reportedly seen chasing pigs out of the barn and into pens to save them.

“It was difficult to get the animals out, especially when they were afraid,” Chief Kurzyna told Riverhead News-Review last Thursday afternoon. Smoke also made it difficult to get the animals out, he added.

All of the chickens in the barn were killed, as well as two of the 20 pigs, Ms. Wells said. None of the lambs on site were in the barn.

A Riverhead police officer and Ms. Wells’ two granddaughters were treated on site for smoke inhalation and transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for further care, according to officials and Ms. Wells.

“My granddaughters ended up in the ER. 
They had smoke inhalation. They were helping get the pigs out. I believe [there was also] a police officer, but they say he’s doing fine,” she said. 


The officer was treated and released from the hospital, Riverhead Police Department Chief Ed Frost said.

The pigs have been secured together in an outdoor pen since last week. Their behavior appears normal, and they are eating and drinking.

“The pigs are doing very well. There’s one that has a small burn on the backside. They will probably bring somebody in to have to look at that. As far I can tell, it’s just the one pig,” Ms. Wells said. “But they’re doing well, surprisingly. Being outside probably helped them, with the fresh air.” 

According to Ms. Wells, more animals are housed in these barns during the summer, but now the season is winding down.

“I would like to thank all the first responders who came to our place to help with the barns that caught fire. Also, I would like to thank those who helped save as many animals as possible and get them out of the building and into an outside pen where they could get fresh air and be tended to by our personnel,” Eric Wells Sr. wrote on Facebook. “I would also like to thank Stan Niegocki of Niegocki Farms for his help in tending to the animals.”

Fire departments from Riverhead, Jamesport, Flanders, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Wading River, Hampton Bays and Eastport responded to the inferno, which closed traffic along Sound Avenue between Church Lane and West Lane for several hours. Chief Kurzyna said that more than 50 firefighters responded to the scene.

It took more than two hours to get the fire under control, according to Chief Kurzyna. Firefighters were there for about nearly four hours, spraying the buildings down to ensure there were no more hot spots.

“Everybody did a phenomenal job at that fire,” Chief Kurzyna said.

The Ridge Fire Department and other ambulance personnel were also on standby.

The Riverhead fire marshal’s office, Riverhead Detective Division and the Suffolk County Police Arson Section are investigating the cause of the fire, which did not appear to be suspicious in nature.

“They’ve ruled out foul play. That’s about all they can do at this point,” Ms. Wells said.  “The fire marshal was saying they’re just leaving it as undetermined.”

Police said due to the significant amount of water used to extinguish the fire, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation representatives were present to monitor water runoff.

John Di Leonardo of Humane Long Island rushed to the scene after smelling smoke from the nearby fire. He got there around 6 p.m. and stayed for about an hour. Mr. Di Leonardo said upon arriving, he immediately noticed how terrified all the pigs and sheep in the corral were. 

“A lot of the pigs were experiencing smoke inhalation, foaming at the mouth,” he said. “They had burns and lacerations on their body.”

Mr. Di Leonardo said he did not perform any veterinary assistance, but offered to bring some doctors in.

“It could have been so much worse. Buildings can be rebuilt, you know. Nobody got hurt, so that’s what’s important at this point. That’s what we need to focus on,” Ms. Wells said.

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