The Sagtikos Manor was built in
1697, and expanded in 1772 and 1902. Its history spans more than three
centuries from its original purchase from the Secatogue tribe by Stephanus Van
Cortlandt in 1692 to the present.
Following Mr. Van Cortlandt’s death
in 1700, the land was purchased from his family by Timothy Carll in 1706. The
estate was then acquired by Jonathan Thompson of Setuaket in 1758. Mr. Thompson
purchased the land for his younger son, Isaac. Jonathan deeded half of the land
to Isaac upon the birth of his first son in 1773 and the remainder of the
property to Isaac upon Jonathan’s death.
At that time that Isaac more than
doubled the size of the original Van Cortlandt house by adding nine new rooms.
In 1790, George Washington spent the night of April 21st at Sagtikos Manor.
President Washington recorded this in the diary he kept of his tour of Long
Island.
After Judge Thompson’s death, the
Manor was used for the most part as a summer home for the family. His sons and
grandsons built their homes in New York City or other places on Long Island. In
1894, Isaac Thompson’s great grandson, Frederick Diodoti Thompson, bought out
all the other heirs and became the sole owner of the 1,200 acre estate. In 1902,
he added east and west wings to the house, enlarging it to forty-two rooms.
The last family member to live in
the Manor was Robert David Lion Gardiner. He owned the property from 1935 to
1985 when he deeded it to the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. In 2002,
Suffolk County purchased the remaining 10 acre property from the Foundation to
keep it from being sold to a developer.
Source:
Sagtikos History, sagtikosmanor.org/history.html
