45 Shore Road, Setauket
A captain’s house tells on itself if you know where to look. Nine-foot ceilings because the man who built it had crossed enough low-beamed cabins to want air over his head on land. Windows sized to frame the water, not the street. A wraparound porch positioned to watch the harbor work. The Hulse House has been doing this on Shore Road since roughly 1848, back when Setauket Harbor was lined with shipbuilders and the men who sailed what they built, and it still reads that way today — a house made to look at the water that has never stopped.
I’ve shown a lot of “historic charm” that turns out to be a 1990s colonial with a crown molding budget. This isn’t that. 45 Shore Road is the real article — original wide-plank floors, nine-layer moldings, a hand-carved 1870 marble mantel — but it has been quietly re-engineered underneath, so you are not buying a museum you have to nurse. This profile covers what it actually is: the provenance, the systems someone already paid for, the harbor setting and its honest downside, and what it costs to carry a 178-year-old house with a 2024 kitchen.
Property Details
The Basics
- StyleHistoric / antique (the “Hulse House”)
- Bedrooms4 (per MLS — see layout note)
- Baths3 (2 full, 1 half)
- Living Area2,346 sq ft
- Lot Size0.33 acre (14,375 sq ft)
- Year Builtcirca 1848
- GarageDetached 2-car (former carriage house), custom 2024 doors
- HOANone
Layout note: the main floor holds the primary suite; two character bedrooms are upstairs with a full bath. The fourth bedroom reads as a flexible room — confirm the room count and configuration with the listing agent for your intended use.
Systems & Utilities
- SepticNew I/A onsite waste treatment system (2021)
- Heat2-zone natural gas (2016 & 2023)
- Cooling2-zone central air
- Generator16kW Generac whole-house (2018)
- ElectricUpgraded 200-amp service; smart thermostats
- Roof2010 (primary-suite portion 2024)
- VerandaRebuilt wraparound, Tennessee Porch Co. balusters (2016)
Key Interior Features
- Kitchen2024 eat-in — LG stainless, gas cooking, breakfast island, opens to dining & sitting room
- Primary SuiteMain-floor — spa bath with whirlpool tub, custom closets
- Parlor9’ ceilings, embossed wallpaper, original moldings, hand-carved 1870 marble mantel
- DetailFloor-to-ceiling period windows, original wide-plank pine & oak floors, nine-layer moldings
- GroundsIris-fringed patio on a century-old squash-court footprint, stone pathways
Tax & Financial Data
Sourced from OneKey MLS and public records. All figures are estimates — verify independently.
A sub-$12,000 tax bill on a near-million-dollar harbor-adjacent home in Three Village is comparatively gentle for the district. Verify the current bill and confirm whether a STAR exemption is in place. This is informational only — consult a licensed attorney or financial advisor.
True Cost to Own
Estimates only — verify every figure and get real quotes.
Property Tax: ~$984/mo
Derived from the ~$11,809 annual figure. Verify the current bill.
Insurance: ~$150–$350/mo (estimate)
A renovated antique of this size and value; older homes can price higher. Get a real quote — and read the flood section below before you do.
Utilities: a few hundred/mo, seasonal
2-zone gas heat and central air on 2,346 sq ft is efficient for a house of this era.
Maintenance reserve: ~$830/mo (~1%/yr)
An antique can run higher in any given year. The upside here: the big-ticket systems were recently done.
School District
One specific thing worth knowing about this address: Setauket, East Setauket, and South Setauket addresses don’t all map cleanly, and the mailing town isn’t a guarantee of a given school. Confirm enrollment eligibility for this exact parcel with the district.
Flood Zone & Environmental Reality
The honest section — read this one before the view wins you over.
The Documented History
The house sits directly across from Setauket Harbor. Shore Road has a documented history of flooding when the harbor overtops its banks after heavy rain — local reporting has shown the road impassable after storms, and East Setauket was among the hamlets named in the August 2024 Suffolk County flood emergency.
The Question That Matters
Road flooding does not mean the structure floods — the building’s elevation relative to the road is the variable, and it is parcel-specific. Pull this exact parcel on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask the listing agent directly about any flood-zone designation.
The Cost Implication
If the parcel lands in an AE or VE zone and you have a federally backed mortgage, flood insurance is mandatory and is a real annual line item. Quote it before you make an offer, not after. This is the single most important thing to verify here.
The Neighborhood
Water Access
Shore Road Marina about 1,000 ft; a sandy beach roughly 800 ft. Kayak launch, harbor views, and a harborscape that changes with the seasons.
Walkable Provisions
Se-Port Deli (~500 ft) and Elaine’s Restaurant (~600 ft) are effectively neighbors.
The Street
Shore Road runs along the eastern shoreline of Setauket Harbor — a low-traffic, scenic stretch that’s part of why the captains built here.
The Setting
Three Village is dense with Revolutionary-era and 19th-century history. This is a working part of that fabric, not a reproduction of it.
What Makes This Home Stand Out
Genuine Provenance, Not Borrowed
A circa-1848 captain’s-era house with documented original detail — wide-plank floors, nine-layer moldings, an 1870 marble mantel. This cannot be rebuilt new at any price.
The Expensive Systems Are Already Done
I/A septic (2021), 2-zone gas heat and central air, a 16kW Generac, 200-amp service, rebuilt veranda, 2024 kitchen. The line items that scare buyers off old houses have largely been handled.
Main-Floor Primary
A spa-bath primary suite on the first floor supports single-level living or aging-in-place inside a historic footprint — rare in a house this age.
Harbor Across the Street, Village Around the Corner
Marina, beach, and walkable deli and restaurant, with Port Jefferson 3 minutes one way and Stony Brook 10 the other.
The Honest Tradeoff
The water is the whole appeal and the whole caveat. Living across from Setauket Harbor means the sunsets and the swans — and it means a road with a flooding history and a flood-insurance question you must answer before you buy, not after. Old houses also ask for stewardship; the heavy systems here were redone, but a 178-year-old home is a relationship, not an appliance. Buyers who want both the provenance and the harbor should go in with the FEMA panel pulled and the insurance quoted. Do that, and the rest of this house earns its price.
A Day in This House
Morning light comes off the harbor and into the east-facing rooms first. Coffee on the rebuilt veranda while the herons work the shallows. The 2024 kitchen does the daily cooking and opens to the dining and sitting rooms for anything larger. Afternoons belong to the patio where the squash court used to be; evenings to the parlor with the marble mantel, or the porch again for the part of the day the captains built the house to see — the harbor going pink and then dark.
You Might Also Like
- Setauket, East Setauket, and South Setauket: What’s Actually Different Between Them
- Historic Homes on Long Island: What Buyers Should Know Before Falling in Love With an Old House
- New Suffolk County Flood Zone Remapping Is Here — What It Means for Your Homeowner’s Insurance
- Setauket and East Setauket, NY — The North Shore Neighborhood Guide
