In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most towns the size of Huntington built “opera houses,” although rarely were operas performed.  Theaters were often called opera houses because opera was seen as carrying a hint of cultural sophistication, while theater was still considered somewhat disreputable.  Opera Houses in Huntington, Greenlawn and Northport were used as social halls, lecture halls, concert halls and community theatres. The Huntington Opera House was built in 1892 behind the stores on the northeast corner of New York Avenue and Main Street.  As with many like wooden structures, the Huntington Opera House burned to the ground in 1910.  

In 1906, when Port Jefferson High School’s debate team was looking for opponents, Huntington High School’s team accepted the invitation to debate on January 20th at the Huntington Opera House. The question to be debated was “Resolved:  That literacy, as defined in the Lodge bill (Senator Henry Cabot Lodge from Massachusetts), be among the test for immigrants coming to this country.”  It seems like immigration was a much-debated topic in those days that still hasn’t been resolved today.

Each team had three debaters; the Port Jeff trio argued the affirmative while the Huntington side argued against the bill’s stipulation. Three judges would decide the debate’s winner: Rowland Miles of Northport, Thomas Ritch of Port Jefferson and the Honorable Judge Thomas Young of Huntington.  

Judge Thomas Young, born in Southold in 1840, was a descendant of many old Long Island families. After graduating from Frankville Academy, he went to Yale University, graduating in 1863.  He immediately went to Washington to offer his services to his country. He served as 1st Lieutenant in the Eighth U. S. Colored Troops in Florida and then on to Richmond for the surrender of General Lee.

After the war, he graduated from Albany Law School and entered the bar. In 1866, he settled in Huntington where he set up his law practice.  He married Martha Williams, a local girl, in 1870 and they raised three daughters. In 1876, he was elected District Attorney and later as County Judge of Suffolk where he served with distinction.  For over half a century, Judge Young was active in almost every enterprise for Huntington’s advancement.  He was president and a lifelong Board member of the Bank of Huntington, a director of Huntington’s Water Company, president of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Association, director of the Huntington, Norwalk, and Bridgeport Steam Ferry Company and for years a vestryman of St. John’s Episcopal Church.  Judge Young was a distant cousin to Captain Ira Young who lived on what today is called Young’s Hill Road and ran the steam ferry company.  The judge died tragically in 1918 when a railroad engine struck him on the mainline.

As to the debate, Port Jefferson, in the affirmative, won.  Their argument that “the educated immigrants were the best immigrants and we only want the best,” prevailed by unanimous decision of the three judges.