Floyd Jones Library - Massapequa

 In 1896, Colonel Delancey Floyd-Jones, a career army officer, talked with Coleman Williams, husband of his cousin Sarah Floyd-Jones, about donating a small parcel of land east of Grace Church so a public library could be built. He paid Williams $60 for the plot and contracted with a carpenter to build a wooden building facing Merrick Road for $530.10. Relatives provided tables, bookshelves, fireplace implements, and $230.90 to purchase books.

In 1907, electricity was installed in the building, replacing candles that were used originally. A janitor was employed to maintain the building, which had no water, for $4 per month. A resident could purchase a key for $10 annually that allowed access to the library at any time. In 1932, Edward Floyd-Jones left the library $2,500 in his will. The library was a separate corporation and money provided by several other relatives over the years was invested.

In, 1952 trustees of the rapidly expanding public school system created a Floyd-Jones Library Committee to investigate how the building could best serve the community. Among the proposals were:

Expand the building as the centerpiece of a public library system;

Keep the building as is and build other library buildings in the area;

Demolish the building and replace it with newer, larger buildings.

Central to these discussions were two important considerations. The first was the legal issue of whether there could be two separate libraries. The New York Secretary of State ruled there could not be, because the state could not pay annual subsidies for two libraries in one school district. The other issue was the library’s endowment. After many meetings and much discussion, the Floyd-Jones Library Trustees decided to keep the library open and retain control of its endowment.

1969 – Students continued to come to the library, as evidenced by a file of cards signed by their parents, pledging to return books that were loaned or face fines. Fewer residents were using the building, however, so a Friends of the Library group was formed, in an attempt to attract more community participation. Members paid one dollar annually and could attend quarterly meetings. The Friends held bake sales, raffles and other fund-raisers. The group lasted about fifteen years, and had as many as 300 members, but petered out by the mid-1980s.

In 1984, the Historical Society of the Massapequas was interested in moving an 1870 servants’ cottage, located behind the Bar Harbour Library, close to Old Grace Church. It was vacant and deteriorating rapidly. After several discussions, the Library Trustees agreed to lease a portion of their property north of the building and the Society moved the cottage across Merrick Road in July 1986.

Two years later, Mrs. Paul Floyd-Jones Bonner, the last Floyd-Jones family member involved directly with the library, had resigned as Chairperson.  Eugene Bryson, a Trustee as well as a Vestryman in Grace Church, agreed to become the Chairperson and set out repurposing the library. He first had the rear storage room demolished and rebuilt to look like the rest of the library. He also applied for historic designation, eventually earning Town of Oyster Bay recognition. He retained the services of a professional librarian, to review the holdings and dispose of any duplicates or books no longer considered useful. Finally, he led the trustees to designate the library as a historic building.

The Floyd-Jones Library remains today as an historic structure. It is staffed by volunteers and is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 until 1pm.

 

Source:

“125 Years of Service: The Floyd-Jones Free Library.” Historical Society of the Massapequas, www.massapequahistoricalsociety.org/blog/125-years-of-service-the-floyd-jones-free-library. Accessed 27 Oct. 2024

Deep Hollow Ranch - Montauk

Deep Hollow Ranch is a historic ranch located in Montauk with an estimated 26 acre property. The ranch is recognized as the oldest ranch in the United States by the National Geographic Society. 

The compound includes several working barns, a 5,000-square-foot antique timber framed farmhouse, and a 2-acre buildable lot. The ranch traces its history back to the cattle punching of Long Island’s earliest settlers. These settlers took advantage of the region’s lush pastures and the fact that the ocean and sound provided natural boundaries that made the need for fences moot. it was owned privately and leased out to livestock owners. They would drive the herds of cattle and sheep out for the summer months to grow fat on the Maritime grasses.

At the peak of the South Fork ranching era, as many as 6,000 head of cattle and sheep roamed the land between the beginning of May and the start of November.  In the 1920s, the ranch became a guest ranch for people to come and stay. They built those nine beautiful cabins on the hill above the stables, as well as adding onto third house with other guestrooms and a wonderful restaurant. That ran until 1971 when the county bought third house and Deep Hollow as well as all the land down to the beach. They kept Deep Hollow as a concession to be open for the public to be able to ride and enjoy all the land. Third house became a museum which is no longer open.

The property has hosted several "Back at the Ranch" charity concerts during the 1990's, which featured acts like Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Today, Deep Hollow Ranch welcomes visitors all throughout the year. Also known as a horseback riding attraction, actual cowboys and cowgirls are tour guides. The ranch provides well-trained horses and experienced wranglers to ensure a safe and enjoyable riding experience. 

Source:

Deep Hollow Ranch . Historic Towns Of America. (n.d.). https://historictownsofamerica.com/oldest-ranch 

Giustino, S. (2021, November 1). Behind the Scenes at Deep Hollow Ranch. Montauk Sun. https://www.montauksun.com/about-our-cover-behind-the-scenes-at-deep-hollow-ranch/ 

Ketcham Inn - Center Moriches

Ketcham Inn, built in 1693, was a historic inn and tavern. Originally built as a single-story frame cottage, it was expanded to a two-story structure with a rear wing and gable roof about 1710 and 1790. The location was originally called the Moriches Inn and has served as a tavern, inn, stagecoach stop, and public house.

It once hosted two future presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The inn at the time was owned by William Terry. William Terry’s descendants sold the property to Andrew Ketcham in 1852. It was used as a local courthouse and other purposes and stayed in the Ketcham family until the early 1900s. It remained in use until 1989, when a fire broke out to portions of the building.

The inn represents life in 18th Century Long Island. In 1989, a small group of local citizens was formed to clean the inn. The group incorporated to form the Ketcham Inn Foundation. 

In 1993, the group purchased the land. The kitchen has been remodeled and is currently the office and keeper’s quarters. The foundation continues to raise funds for restoring the structure to its original condition. The inn observed the first phase of restoration on July 4, 2015 with a public reception. The inn provides educational programs and events are held during the year. 

The Book Barn, adjacent to the inn is open. Ketcham Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources:

Corry, Carl. “The Center Moriches Inn Where Future Presidents Stayed.” Greater Long Island, 18 Feb. 2019, greaterlongisland.com/the-center-moriches-inn-where-future-presidents-stayed/. 

“Historic Site.” Ketcham Inn, Havens Homestead, www.visithistoriclongisland.com/Suffolk_Ketcham_Havens_Homestead.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024. 

Four Fountains House

The Four Fountains House, also known as the Tyng Playhouse was designed by well-known architect Archibald Brown for Ethel and Lucian Tyng as a playhouse and cultural center. Their main residence was across the road. The building, which boasted a soaring, arched main room measuring 40 feet square, was intended to be part of a larger compound that was completed in 1928.  The original Four Fountains property comprised an apartment garage, guest house, and gardener’s cottage on 7.5 acres located between Southampton Art Village and the Atlantic Ocean. Most of these components were arranged around a square, flagstone-paved forecourt whose four corners were each anchored by a fountain. 

In 1942, the Tyngs sold Four Fountains to Archibald Brown. Brown’s wife, Eleanor, the founder of the interior design firm McMillen Inc., converted the playhouse into a summer home over the course of a year. In 1978, television executive William S. Paley purchased the property.  Several years after Paley’s 1990 death, the investor Bruce Bockmann and his wife, Maria, acquired the property. Both owners undertook additions and renovations to the compound. In later years, Australian designer Paul Bangay oversaw stewardship and redesign of the landscape.

The main house was torn down in 2020 as it was deemed untenable due to a combination of flood risk and regulatory constraints.

 

Source:

Sokol, D. (2020, January 15). The Historic Four Fountains Home in Southampton has been Demolished. Architectural Digest. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-historic-four-fountains-home-in-southampton-has-been-demolished

Albert's Inn - Plainedge

Albert’s Inn was owned by Albert Pirowski and his wife. It was located on the corner of Hicksville Road & Hempstead Turnpike. The house was three stories, resembling a castle with a turret. The restaurant was located on the first floor. Albert previously owned the Jericho Inn. That inn was a stopover for farmers on their way to sell produce in New York City. In 1921, Albert bought the property where the Inn was located. The house had 23 rooms and was bordered by copper beeches, alders, and elm trees.

The house itself had a grand staircase, parquet floors, stained glass windows, and fireplaces in each room. The restaurant was open seven days a week. Albert’s wife did all the cooking and baking. The family had an orchard with pear, breadfruit, quince, and apple trees which they canned. The building was sold in 1947 due to health reasons.

Sources:

Hencken, Sophie. “Plainedge Historical Photos & Documents Gallery.” Life at Albert’s Inn in Plainedge, Plainedge Public Library, Mar. 2021, www.plainedgeinfo.org/live/zenphoto/historical-photos/documents/booklets/alberts_reduced.pdf.php. 

Plainedge Public Library

Huntington Arsenal

 Built in 1740, the Huntington Arsenal on Park Avenue just south of Main, is thought to be the only one left of its kind on Long Island. 

Joseph Wickes built the original portion of the house, which sat on 1.5 acres of land, and used it to store grain.  Wickes then sold the building to Gershom Sexton who remodeled and converted it into a livable dwelling. The six-foot extension included a room with a fireplace and another to the back of the house.

The arsenal used during the American Revolution and it was also the residence of Job Sammis and his family from 1748 to 1789.  A weaver by trade, Sammis settled in the home with his wife Elizabeth Kellum and many children.

In 1765, Sammis made additions of his own to the house to make it larger. He added another small room on the north side and built a second story which was accessed from the fire room by ladder. It is said he helped the Suffolk County Militia by storing weapons and gun powder in the added space. 

When repairs were made to the building in 1930, a small cache of colonial muskets were found in the original walls, most likely hidden by Sammis prior to the British occupation of Huntington on September 1, 1776.

Sammis died in 1792 and Elizabeth passed away four years later. The Town of Huntington purchased the arsenal in 1974 and it is now a restored house museum, furnished as it was in the 18th Century. It is open for special events and, by appointment. The Arsenal is also the headquarters of the Order of the Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia.

 

Sources:

“The Arsenal.” The Arsenal - Town of Huntington, Long Island, New York, huntingtonny.gov/content/13747/99530/16525/default.aspx. Accessed 26 July 2024.

 

O’Connor-Arena, Melissa. “A New View: The Old Town Green Series - The Arsenal.” Huntington, NY Patch, Patch, 22 May 2010, patch.com/new-york/huntington/a-new-view-the-old-town-green-series-the-arsenal.

Massapequa Lake & Preserve

The man-made lake at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Merrick Road began being constructed in 1837. As the lake bed began to take shape, more and more soil was piled around the perimeter of the project. At the conclusion of the excavation work, the water from the dammed and diverted Massapequa Creek was allowed to flow into the scooped-out area. David S. Jones had the Massapequa Creek that flowed from Bethpage to the Great South Bay, diverted in order to cut down trees and remove stumps and brush to create the lake for his third wife Mary Clinton. Jones created the island in the center and named it Mary’s Island. Spillways were built and the water was allowed to flow to the Great South Bay under South Post Road, known now as Merrick Road. The Jones family lived in a mansion near the lake. During the 1940s, the Richard A. Corroon family took up residence in the mansion. It was also known as the Corroon Estate by the residents and the lake as Corroon’s Lake. 

The Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve was originally part of the New York City water supply property and was acquired by Nassau County in 1981. The preserve is divided into three sections bounded by major roadways. The southern section, from Merrick Road to Sunrise Highway, contains the most diverse and ecologically valuable lands. Freshwater swamps, marsh, stream, lake and sandy-bog area provide habitat for many rare and endangered Long Island plants, including orchids, carnivorous sundews and bladderworts. The longest hiking trail in Nassau County, the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail, begins at Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue and continues through the length of the preserve, ending at Cold Spring Harbor. 

Sources:

Meyer, John H. “A Lake in Massapequa Made Just for Mary.” Massapequa Post , 4 Jan. 2019, www.massapequapost.com/articles/a-lake-in-massapequa-made-just-for-mary/. 

“Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve.” Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve | Nassau County, NY - Official Website, www.nassaucountyny.gov/2905/Peter-J-Schmitt-Massapequa-Preserve. Accessed 16 July 2024. 

Kissam House - Huntington

 Dr. Daniel Whitehead Kissam came to Huntington from Glen Cove in 1795 to practice medicine. In 1661, John Wescott built a house here and sold it to Thomas Powell in 1663. The house passed through several different owners and may have been used to quarter British troops during the revolution. Timothy Jarvis, a housewright, acquired the property and built the present house for Dr. Kissam. In 1840, Dr. Charles Sturges, the son-in-law of Dr. Kissam, added a “modern” kitchen wing and converted the old kitchen to a formal dining room. 

Sometime in the 1830s, with two families living in the house, it was remodeled. The back parlor had been converted into an apartment for Dr. Kissam and his wife. In order to compensate for the lost room and to adhere to the new fashion, the kitchen was converted into a dining room with Egyptian Revival details. An extension was built to the rear to accommodate a new, modern kitchen. Dr. Kissam died in 1840 and left to house to Charles Sturges.

The Sturges’ turned the original kitchen into a formal dining room and added the “new” kitchen to the rear of the house in 1840. They lived in the house until 1857, then it was owned by the Owen, Fuller and Taylor families until the Huntington Historical Society purchased it in 1967 from Hilda Taylor.

Today, the house, which has been restored to its 1830s appearance, and barn are used for educational programs, tours and festivals. Restoration and reinterpretation of the interior was begun by the Society in 1984. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources:

Blough, Kay. “No. 88: Dr. Daniel W. Kissam House Museum.” Huntington, NY Patch, Patch, 20 Apr. 2011, patch.com/new-york/huntington/no-88-dr-daniel-w-kissam-house-museum. 

 “The Dr. Daniel Whitehead Kissam House .” Town of Huntington, www.huntingtonny.gov/filestorage/13747/99540/16499/Dr._Daniel_Whitehead_Kissam_House.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2024. 

“Kissam Property.” Huntington Historical Society, www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org/kissam-property.html. Accessed 17 June 2024. 

Pagan-Fletcher Restoration

 In June 1834, the Pagan family, which included Robert, his wife Ellen, and their four young children, immigrated from Scotland. Pagan purchased 78 acres in Valley Stream. Pagan took up farming and grew rye, buckwheat, oats, corn, and potatoes.

In the early 1850s, Pagan opened a general store on his property. Also around that time, Ellen, a devout evangelical with Methodist leanings, opened her home to fellow worshippers, and conducted religious services. From the late 1850s through the 1870s, Pagan’s son-in-law, William Fletcher, married to Pagan's daughter Catherine, bought land that once belonged to Pagan. The final family to live in the homestead were the Fairchilds; related to the Pagans through marriage. The Fairchild family, fourth generation Americans, owned Fairchild Publications, the publishers of "Women’s Wear Daily.” 

In 1942, the Louis Fairchild family left, and another brother, Emil (not married to a Boyd sister) moved in full-time. Emil, Martha, and their three grown children: Donald, Gordon, and Jane, all lived in the house. Donald, the eldest, crayoned murals on the third floor landing, hall, and bathroom. 

In 1948, a year after Emil’s passing, the house, and remaining 10 acres were sold to the Lynwood Housing Corp. Between 1949 and 1950, Lynwood built Lynwood Gardens, a mid-century community of 49 homes. Lynwood used the old Fletcher estate for storage and office space. During Lynwood’s occupancy, many of the original features of the home were stripped, damaged or destroyed. 

In 1977, the Village of Valley Stream, under the leadership of Mayor Dominick Minerva, authorized the purchase of the home, which had foreclosed, for $40,000; rescuing it from demolition. In 1983, the Fletcher estate was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. From 1988 to 1992, the building was renovated and restored.  The Pagan-Fletcher Restoration is operated by the Valley Stream historical society and maintained by the Village of Valley Stream.

Source:

“Pagan-Fletcher Restoration & Tours.” Village of Valley Stream, www.vsvny.org/index.asp?SEC=17E2184D-D1F2-402C-8953-35B0520559EA&DE=7B89F47B-4238-4245-BF3D-EC35458038CC. Accessed 28 May 2024. 

Big Duck

In 1931, Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer commissioned some local builders to create this 10-ton eye-catcher using concrete (technically, "ferrocement") applied over a wooden frame. Taillights from a Model T Ford became its eyes, glowing red at night. Maurer sold ducks and eggs from the shop in its belly.  The builders Smith and Yeager completed the concrete finish work on the Big Duck which was featured in Atlas Cement's 1931 calendar. In 1937, Martin Maurer moved the building to Flanders, where it occupied a prominent location near the duck barns and marshes of Maurer's new duck ranch.

Maurer patented his fowl creation, and the Duck became the darling of vacationing New Yorkers -- particularly husband and wife architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, who invented the term "duck architecture" in their 1972 book, Learning From Las Vegas. This explain why, in the world of architecture, any building shaped like its product is called a "duck." 

The Big Duck -- 30 feet long, 20 feet high, and 18 feet wide -- has shifted locale a few times. In the 1980s, when the land on which the Duck sat was earmarked for development, giant duck preservationists and the Friends for Long Island's Heritage campaigned to save it. The Duck was donated to the county. On January 27, 1988, it was moved from Flanders to Hampton Bay along Route 24, to the entrance of Sears-Bellow County Park. However, by 2007 it was clear that the original land would not be developed, so the Big Duck was moved back to its Flanders spot.

The shop still operates -- now as a tourism center for the East end of Long Island, selling duck souvenirs to flocks of city weekend-trippers. The interior of the Duck offers a small display of Duck artifacts, photos, and news clippings, and if you time your visit just right you'll find a volunteer manning an exhibit in an adjacent barn about duck farming.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Sources:

“Big Duck.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Duck

“The Big Duck, Flanders, New York.” RoadsideAmerica.Com, www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2173. Accessed 16 May 2024

Holland Torpedo Boat Station

During the Civil War, John Philip Holland, an Irishman, knew that iron shipbuilding would render the British fleet invincible, thus preventing Ireland from achieving freedom from British rule. With visions of thwarting British naval supremacy, Holland began designs for a self-propelled submarine. Settling in New Jersey, Holland continued work on his plans. He brought his novel designs to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Through most of the next two decades, Holland continued to upgrade his designs and build prototype subs – none of which were ever commissioned by the Navy until his sixth design, the “Holland” in 1897. 53 feet long carrying a crew of five, the Holland had a dual power system and a torpedo tube.

The redesigned sub underwent testing in New York Harbor; while the seas were calm enough, shipping traffic, safety concerns, nosy onlookers and foreign spies deterred proper trials. In spring of 1899, Holland and Rice moved the sub and all operations to New Suffolk, leasing the Goldsmith and Tuttle shipyard for $10 per month. 

Submarine trials continued through the rest of 1899 within a three-mile course plotted in Cutchogue Harbor and Peconic Bay. On April 11, 1900 – considered to be the founding date of the U.S. Submarine Force – the Navy purchased the Holland for $150,000. The USS Holland (SS-1) was put into service on October 12, 1900 as the first commissioned submarine in US Naval history. Subsequently, the Navy ordered six additional Holland-type submarines, all of which underwent trials at the submarine base in New Suffolk, known as the “Holland Torpedo Boat Station.” Holland Torpedo Boat Station had engineers, mechanics, draftsmen, machine shops, housing and all the supplies needed to operate the seven submarines at Holland Torpedo Boat Station.

The base remained in operation from 1899 through 1905, when Electric Boat Company moved to Groton, Connecticut. A historic marker was placed where the station was by the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council.

Sources:

“Holland Torpedo Boat Station.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Torpedo_Boat_Station

Philips, Alice. “New Suffolk: The First US Submarine Base.” North Fork Real Estate Showcase, 25 Oct. 2021, northforkrealestateshowcase.com/new-suffolk-first-us-submarine-base

Long Island Automotive Museum

 Henry Austin Clark, Jr. opened the Long Island Automotive Museum in 1948 to store his burgeoning collection of antique cars. It was located on about 8 acres along County Road 39 in Southampton. Early on, Clark tended to focus on thoroughbreds and other significant American cars of the early 20th Century. Later, he amassed a collection of fire trucks and hosted brass-era flea markets at the museum among other auto-centric events. 

Henry Austin “Austie” Clark Jr. was a Harvard freshman when he acquired his first early auto, a Ford Model T made in 1915, two years before he was born. After leaving the Navy, where he served as a radar technician in World War II, he began collecting vintage vehicles in earnest. Clark owned some 250 autos and countless other motorized devices (a gas-powered pogo stick). What separated him from other collectors was his role as a one-stop shop. His museum hosted “The Iron Range,” a sporadic flea market of rare parts, many made of brass from the 1890s to World War I.  Clark filtered his encyclopedic knowledge into The Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1802-1945, a bible for collectors and historians. He was the chief researcher for writer Beverly Rae Kimes.

The museum closed in 1980 due to declining revenues. Clark auctioned many of the vehicles when he closed the museum. In 2017, Skip Norsic bought the property to use as storage for his company.

Sources:

“Remembering Henry Austin Clark Jr. and the Long Island Automotive Museum.” Hemmings.Com, www.hemmings.com/stories/2014/08/19/remembering-henry-austin-clark-jr-and-the-long-island-automotive-museum. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024

Strohl, Daniel. “Site of Former Long Island Automotive Museum Sells Decades after It Closed.” Hemmings.Com, www.hemmings.com/stories/2017/08/31/site-of-former-long-island-automotive-museum-sells-decades-after-it-closed. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024

Montauk Point Lighthouse

The Montauk Point Lighthouse, commissioned by President George Washington in 1792, is one of the best-known and most-beloved icons of Long Island. It was the first lighthouse to be built in New York, and is the fourth-oldest working lighthouse in the nation. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 2012, one of only 12 lighthouses to be so honored.

Construction o the lighthouse began on June 7, 1796 and was completed on November 5, 1796. It was built by John McComb, who also built Gracie Mansion and two other lighthouses that are still standing: in Eaton’s Neck, Long Island and Cape Henry, VA.

In 1860, 30 feet were added to its height and a new lantern room was built by Ira Winn of Portland, ME. The height of the tower is 110′ 6″ and there are 137 iron steps to the top.

When Montauk Point Light was first lit in 1797, it burned whale oil. Whaling was a growing industry at the time. and for more than hair a century Montauk Point's lantern used fuel from the huge mammals. By the late 1850s, however. whales began to be scarce as ships ranged the globe in search of them. For a time. Montauk Point Light was forced to burn lard oil when whale oil was unavailable. With the discovery of petroleum came kerosene which was cheaper and easier to obtain than whale oil. In the 1860s. finally, the light was converted to a kerosene wick permanently.

For many years Montauk Point Light was an inaccessible place, and the early keepers of the light, their wives, and families led solitary and very lonely lives There was only one rock road leading from the Point to East Hampton and the nearest village 20 miles away. Life at the light continued this way until the early 1900s when the new motor cars brought droves of visitors to the light.

Wives replaced keepers at tending light when they died or when they were called to other duties such as rescue work. Such was the case in December 1856, when the brig "Flying Cloud" ran aground on the rocks at Montauk Point and Patrick T. Gould, the keeper climbed down the face of the bluff in a gale to save the crew from drowning in the surf. He was awarded a gold medal by the grateful Lifesaving Benevolent Association of New York. The inscription on it told of his "courage and humanity saving from inevitable death the crew of the brig "Flying Cloud," wrecked on Montauk Point December 14.1856." However, apparently nothing was mentioned of his wife's role in maintaining the light during her husband's heroic rescue efforts.

The lighthouse was tended by civilian keepers until 1939, when the Coast Guard took over. During the Second World War, the Army moved into the lighthouse and built the large tower that stands next to it for the purpose of watching for submarines.

 

Sources:

“Montauk Point Lighthouse.” Montauk Historical Society, montaukhistoricalsociety.org/montauk-point-lighthouse/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024

“The Story Of the Montauk Point Light House.” Long Island Genealogy, www.longislandgenealogy.com/lighthouse.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024

Heitz Place Courthouse/Gregory Museum

 On Aug. 19, 1893, Arnold Heitz donated the present Heitz Place site to be used as a village hall.  The main building was completed in 1895. Between 1895 and 1920 the village hall served a variety of governmental and meeting purposes. During World War I, the Heitz Place Courthouse served as headquarters for Selective Service for Eastern Nassau County. By 1915, the existing jail was deemed inadequate and a brick three-cell jail was built adjacent to the building.  One of these cells was retained by the museum

With the commencement of World War II, the courthouse resumed its function as a Draft Board Headquarters. In the post-war years, the building served several new purposes. The parole officers were located there, and the town’s veterans agency official, Joseph McCarthy, counseled returning servicemen.  The Heitz Place Courthouse fell prey to vandals until 1970, when arrangements were made between officials of the Town of Oyster Bay and the trustees of the museum for a long-term lease of the facility to Gardiner Gregory, to serve as a Long Island Earth Science Museum.

Gardiner Gregory was the curriculum materials director for the Hicksville School District in the late 1960s and early 70s. He collected moths and butterflies and then began collecting minerals. Displays at the museum include his collection as well as mineral collections, fossils, local artifacts, moths, butterflies, and fluorescent rocks.

The United States Department of the Interior recognized the building as a National Historic Place on July 30, 1974.

Sources:

“The Gregory Museum: Then and Now.” Nassau Observer, 10 May 2013, nassauobserver.com/the-gregory-museum-then-and-now

“History of Hicksville.” Hicksville Historical Society, 31 Jan. 2016, hicksvillehistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/about/history-of-hicksville

Harbor Hill - Roslyn

 Among the largest estates ever amassed on Long Island was the enormous Renaissance –style mansion known as Harbor Hill designed in 1899 by Stanford White and built in 1900 to 1902 for Clarence H. Mackay and his wife Katherine. Clarence Mackay was the son of Comstock Lode magnate John William Mackay, and inherited much of an estimated $500 million fortune upon his father's death in 1902

 The 576-acre estate was built in 1900-1902 and was divided into formal gardens and terraces surrounding the main house and a 70-acre farm.  A description of the house was given in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. This is a brief excerpt: “Early in the course of the preparations of plans Mr. Mackay made known his preference for the natural wildness of the estate and of his desire to preserve this feature as much as possible. It was decided that the house should be built on the very apex of the hill.” At the bottom of the west garden, Mackay commissioned two replicas of the famous Marly Horses statues. The 26-foot statues and pedestals were carved by sculptor Franz Plumelet and installed in 1920.

Social events held at the house included a grand party for the then Prince of Wales and Charles Lindbergh, was feted at a banquet and dance Mackay held the night of transatlantic aviator's ticker-tape parade on 5th Avenue.

With Clarence Mackay’s death in 1938, the Harbor Hill estate was left to his son John Mackay III. Due to vandalism during the World War II, the mansion was demolished in 1947. The property was sold in the late 1950s and became the Country Estates housing development.

The remaining structures associated with the Harbor Hill Estate are: Mackay Estate Dairyman's Cottage, Mackay Estate Gate Lodge, Harbor Hill Water Tower, John Mackay III House and retaining walls throughout Country Estates.

 

 

Sources:

“Harbor Hill.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Dec. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Hill

“Harbor Hill Country Home.” Roslyn Landmark Society, 1 Jan. 1969, www.roslynlandmarks.org/profiles/harbor-hill-estate

“Mackays and Harbor Hill |.” The Bryant Library, www.bryantlibrary.org/local-history/from-the-bryant-room/places-and-events/harbor-hill-for-the-mackay-estate/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024

The Mansion at Glen Cove

 The Mansion at Glen Cove was designed by architect Charles Adams Platt in 1910. The 55-acre estate was the home of John Teele & Ruth Baker Pratt. John Pratt was an attorney and an executive with John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Ruth Baker Pratt was the first woman elected to Congress from New York. The area surrounding the Mansion is scattered with former Pratt estates. John Pratt’s brothers were also his neighbors. George developed “Killenworth,” a Gothic Tudor mansion, which is currently the Russian Consulate’s quarters. Frederic’s stone mansion, “Poplar Hill,” which is now a home for seniors. Herbert’s waterfront home, “The Braes,” is now the Webb institute of Naval Architecture and Harold’s Neo-Georgian mansion is now Nassau County’s “Welwyn” Preserve.

Originally known as The Manor, The Mansion features a stately two-story portico entrance, an elegant, baronial double staircase, imported paneling and antique fixtures. Portions of the movies “Sabrina” and “North by Northwest” were filmed at the mansion.

The estate was maintained by the Pratt family until 1965, when Ruth passed away. Two years later, in 1967, the Harrison Conference Center bought the mansion and transformed it into a conference center and hotel.  In 1967, it became one of the very first conference center hotels in the United States. In 2018, it added 60 more rooms to its accommodations, making the room total 187.

 

Sources:

“The Mansion.” The Mansion at Glen Cove -, 9 Apr. 2022, themansionatglencove.com/the-mansion

Ryan, Caroline. “A History of the Glen Cove Mansion.” Glen Cove Record Pilot, 29 Aug. 2019, glencoveoysterbayrecordpilot.com/a-history-of-the-glen-cove-mansion

The Christeen

 Christeen, a 38-foot gaff-rigged sloop, is the oldest oyster sloop in America and a National Historic Landmark. She was originally built in 1883 for Captain William Smith in Glenwood Landing for harvesting oysters in Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor. The vessel was licensed to work the offshore oyster beds of Long Island and to participate in the coasting trade in 1884. In 1894, then owned by Henry W. Schmeelk, Jr., Christeen was licensed to work the Connecticut Oyster beds.  The sloop continued to oyster and carry cargoes under sail until 1914, when a small engine was added and she was converted to an auxiliary powered motor vessel.

In 1936, Christeen was sold on the occasion of Capt. Bond's death. The sloop worked in the New Jersey fisheries.. After a brief service as an excursion and sightseeing charter boat in the 1970s, Christeen was sold again and became a liveaboard at New London, Connecticut, when discovered and purchased by the Connecticut River Museum, who restored the vessel's  appearance and.rehabilitated her to return to sail, and occasionally dredge for oysters. On December 4th, 1991, Christeen was officially certified as a National Historic Landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Over her 125 years, Christeen served not only as an oyster dredge but also as a cargo carrier and live-aboard between Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. After surviving 16 major hurricanes, numerous nor’easters, two sinkings, and severe neglect, Christeen was returned home to Oyster Bay in 1992. A dedicated group of volunteers worked tirelessly on the restoration of Christeen.

Christeen was completely restored and launched in 1999. Christeen’s new mission is to serve as a floating classroom for The WaterFront Center. Programs offered on the ship include sunset cruises, harbor tours and marine ecology classes. During daytime harbor tours and golden-hour sunset cruises, passengers aboard Christeen set out on a two-hour boat ride that allows them to experience Oyster Bay and the Long Island Sound from a new perspective.

While on board, crewmates will offer visitors information about the surrounding towns, waters, houses and boats.

Sources:

“History.” Oyster Sloop CHRISTEEN, www.sailchristeen.org/history. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024

 “Sail Aboard Christeen.” Long Island Weekly, 26 July 2022, longislandweekly.com/sail-aboard-christeen