Winfield Hall

 Located in Glen Cove, a Gold Coast Mansion was built on the same spot for Dr. Alexander Crombie Humphreys by C.P.H. Gilbert in 1899. The original Mediterranean villa style house was then purchased by Emmet Queen in 1907. It was then purchased by Robert Winfield Woolworth. It was speculated Woolworth wanted a home nearer the sound like the Joseph DeLamar Mansion.

Winfield Hall was designed and build for Frank Winfield Woolworth, after his existing home, also on the estate, suddenly and mysteriously burned.  Intriguingly, the plans were already completed for the new mansion by architect, C.P.H. Gilbert in 1916. It was one of the most expensive Gold Coast mansions ever built.  The pink and beige marble grand staircase, alone, cost more than $2,000,000 when it was built in 1917.

Built of white marble, the home was designed along the lines of an Italian renaissance palace.  At three stories high and with 56 rooms, it was (and is) an imposing edifice. The Georgian dining room featured 18th century Grinling Gibbons-style carvings, while the music room, the focus for the entire house, featured a built-in Aeolian organ. Each of the second floor bedrooms in the house was designed along the lines of a period museum, such as Empire, Ming, French Gothic, Marie Antoinette, Louis XIV, etc.

Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the mansion suffered a devastating fire in the winter of 2015.  A terrible amount of damage was done to the mansion, which had been rebuilt in 2010. As of 2012, it was a privately owned home.

Sources:

“Gold Coast Mansions.” Winfield Hall - Woolworth Mansion, www.goldcoastmansions.com/WinfieldHall/WinfieldHall.ht

 “Winfield Hall - the Historic Woolworth Estate in Glen Cove, Long Island.” FLS Black Car Service, 18 Nov. 2017, www.fatehlimoservice.com/what-to-see/winfeld-hall-woolworth-mansion

Samuel Ballton

 Samuel Ballton was one of Greenlawn’s most important and well-known citizens.

Samuel Ballton was born in 1838 as a slave in Virginia. During the Civil War, Ballton escaped from a Confederate forced labor camp and reached safety across Northern Lines. He crossed enemy lines twice to see his wife, with the second time being to aid in her escape where he brought her to a Union-occupied area in Virginia. After ensuring her safety, he continued his courageous acts by joining the Fifth Massachusetts Colored Volunteers in 1864. He wanted to preserve his country and ensure the freedom of his wife and self.

After the war ended, he settled with his wife Rebecca and their family in Greenlawn. He first became a farmer for the town’s wealthiest man, Charles D. Smith. He then became a share cropper for Alexander Gardiner, who had the largest farm in Greenlawn. This is where Ballton’s notoriety began where he grew record numbers of cucumbers and cabbage which were extremely valuable due to the increase pickling and sauerkraut plants near the railroad. This led to Ballton being known as Greenlawn’s Pickle King, when he grew 1.5 million cucumbers in one season to be pickled.

Ballton’s success as a sharecropper led him to other business ventures including real estate. He would get loans and resell pickles for profit, then purchase land. He would then build houses on the land and sell it to farmers for a small profit. He eventually proved his worth, even though some hardships and trials.

By the turn of the century, Ballton had proved to be a success in his community. He eventually learned to read and write without any schooling. His home was estimated to be worth 5.5 thousand (at the turn of century). He became a member of the William Lloyd Garrison Chapter of the veterans of the rand Army and member of Greenlawn Presbyterian Church. He died in 1917 as an outstanding founding member of Greenlawn and is still viewed that way today.

Source:

Day, L. Samuel Ballton. In Between Ocean and Empire: An Illustrated History of Long Island (pp. 94-

    95). Windsor Publications.