In 1895, Mary E. married a day laborer, Ernest Bell of North Carolina,[6] and by 1900 the family with children Ethel, Alice and Lillian were the sole occupants of the house.

Mary E. Bell would become the local leader of the Varick Christian Endeavor Society in Center Moriches from its beginnings as a co-ed social group with activities such as dinners, picnics and other service projects like food banks and providing educational assistance such as tutors and weekly bible classes.

[9] From the turn of the century until it closed in 1914, the small church was dependent on Mary Bell and Annie Arch for its survival, Ministers came and visited from the AME Zion and members were lost from various causes, relocations and deaths also contributed to its demise.

After it closed its doors, Mary bell continued to hold church gatherings in her house informally,[10] by 1915 her husband Earnest would become institutionalized and would remain so until his death in 1950.

Mary and the girls, Alice (b.1898) and Lillian, with son Eugene (b.1902) were in the house in 1920 when the church's fortunes began to turn due to the great migration.

[12] The 1847 church building was moved to 123 Railroad Ave. By 1954 she was also famous for her sweet potato pies, they would be her most prominent featured dish at gatherings and fundraisers for the rest of her life.

[14] Alice Bell died in 1996, the house was taken from the family for tax liabilities and legal wrangling caused it to become a deteriorating rental property for the next decade, for which demolition loomed in 2009.

With the help of Bert Seides, a preservationist,[18] the house was proposed for historic preservation in 2011 by the Ketcham Inn Foundation,[19] which partnered with Brookhaven on its restoration, and now operates it as a special event space and museum.