Efforts by Hobson residents to have their small northern Suffolk village named to state and federal historic registries won the attention of the National Park Service last fall.

In a rare move, Patrick Andrus, a historian with the National Register of Historic Places, visited the historically black oystering community near Chuckatuck in September. It’s unusual for federal historic officials to make a on-site visits, particularly before a state or federal application has been filed.

After a whirlwind tour of the village, Andrus praised the efforts of residents to preserve their history and urged them to continue moving forward with research for their applications. The village must be named to the state registry before being considered for the federal designation.

&uot;The middle part of the road is where you are right now,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s a complex process…and you are now doing the hardest work.&uot;

The research, such as collecting oral histories and photographs of the community, is needed for the state – and subsequently, the federal – nomination forms.

Hobson resident Mary Hill, who grew up in the community and began spearheading efforts to get the historic designation more than a year ago, has already done much of that work.

Hill began her efforts after the city became increasingly aggressive in enforcing city code violations.

, issuing citations for high grass and dilapidated housing. At least twice, the city has razed vacant homes after repeated citations to property owners were ignored.

Hill said she hopes having the historic designation would reduce the chance of dilapidated buildings being destroyed. Although the state and federal historic designations are strictly honorary, she believes the recognitions would help the community win grant funding from other sources to help repair and restore some structures in Hobson.

Even if Hobson is named to the state and federal registries, private property owners will retain full rights of the site and residents will continue to be responsible for keeping properties up to city code.

&uot;The national register does not provide instant monies,&uot; Andrus said. &uot;But it does tie into other groups interested in restoring communities that may have money available in the form of grants.&uot;

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com