Farmingdale Royal Arcanum

The Supreme Council of the Royal Arcanum, more commonly known as the Royal Arcanum, was founded in 1877 in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by John A. Cummings and Darius Wilson, and it is a fraternal benefit society. The Royal Arcanum’s structure follows a three-tiered system which includes local groups or “councils” with at least 16 members, five state councils or “Grand Council” with at least 1,000 members, and the highest tier which is the “Supreme Council” based in Boston.

In August of 1887, the Farmingdale Council 1052 became a member of the National Council of Royal Arcanum.  Farmingdale Council 1052 had boasted that they are the oldest organization in the Village of Farmingdale.  It was originally founded under the name, Hardscrabble Council 1052, but the name was changed to Farmingdale Council 1052 in 1888. The group was founded by William H. Trou, Dr. H. Thorne, Gilbert Laurence, Humphrey Pike, Alanson Van Cott, Peter N. Bowers, Adolph Bausch, Reverend H. Blatz, George Warner, George Nuncy, and John Turner.

Farmingdale Council 1052’s first home was a two-story wooden building which was built in 1888 and cost three hundred dollars. It would have stood at today’s address of 281 Main Street, where the Divine Olive was.

Being established as a fraternal benevolent organization required all members to buy life insurance for family protection from the Supreme Council in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of their membership, the group members and their families were able to attend an elaborate Christmas Party by the State Council of the Royal Arcanum in New York. Farmingdale Council 1052 also took part in sponsoring many events around Farmingdale and New York. One event the group sponsored was Santa Claus’ visit to the Village. They also sponsored the Babe Ruth Baseball Team which played Little League.

The last information available about the Royal Arcanum was 1956 and their dissolution information is unknown.

Source:

Junior Historical Society of Farmingdale. Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flights. 

Weldon E. Howitt High School, 1956

“Royal Arcanum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Sept. 2019,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Arcanum

Wardenclyffe Tower

Wardenclyffe Tower in Shoreham, New York was built by Nikola Tesla from 1901-1902. Tesla had many revolutionary ideas, and Wardenclyffe Tower was based on one of those many ideas. Tesla had an idea to create a global, wireless system for communication and power transfer, as he wanted to be able to transmit messages, telephones, and images across the world. With this tower, he wanted to be able to reach across the Atlantic to England, as well as reach ships on the sea who were traveling and may need to be reached.

Nikola Tesla was always an ambitious man and his ideas for this project were no different. Tesla wanted to revolutionize telecommunications with the implementation of wireless transmission. His dream tower was built, which stood at 187 feet tall and was made of mostly wood. At the tower’s base, a brick laboratory was also built.

Tesla’s tower would have been a prototype for a system with many uses. Tesla’s tower would have been able to broadcast music, news, reports, secure military communications, and images. This tower could have developed and advanced many fields before the history we already know, but Tesla’s ambitions on this project were a little too high. His dreams exceeded his resources and his financier’s patience.

In 1917 before the project was able to reach its completion, Tesla’s funding was pulled, and the tower was demolished for scrap to satisfy any debts owed to his financier. From its abandonment in 1917 until 1987, the brick building and property was either vacant or used by commercial businesses.

In 2013, nonprofit groups were able to save the property from sale and the property is now owned by the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe is a nonprofit organization that was established to restore the site and eventually develop a science and technology center in honor of one of the greatest minds in science. Also due to the efforts to save the site, in 2018, the site was listed on the National Register for Historic Sites and is now protected.

Source:

“History of Wardenclyffe.” Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, teslasciencecenter.org/history

Brief Biography of Alexander de Seversky

Alexander de Seversky was born in Triflis, Russia on June 7, 1894, to an aristocratic family. He learned how to fly by age 14 from his father who owned one of the first airplanes in Russia. De Seversky earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Imperial Russian Naval Academy in 1914  and became a second lieutenant in the Imperial Naval Air Service the following year.

 In 1918, de Seversky went to the United States as an assistant naval attaché to the Russian Embassy. This was a fortuitous assignment, as it gave him the chance to escape the Bolshevik Revolution by remaining in the U.S. Soon, he was working at the War Department as an aeronautical engineer and test pilot, acting for a time as a special consultant to the famed general, Billy Mitchell.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1927, de Seversky received a commission in the Army Air Corps as a major. De Seversky made numerous contributions to aviation. He filed a patent for aerial refueling in 1921 and developed the first bombsight stabilized with a gyroscope, and invented many other aeronautical instruments.

He organized a new company, the Seversky Aircraft Corporation in Farmingdale in 1931, with Wall Street backing, and with himself as President and Chief Test Pilot. This new company was to specialize in long-range high-speed pursuit planes. Their first aircraft was an amphibian in which he set several speed records.

In the 1940s, 50s and 60s he wrote and lectured extensively on military theory and airpower, always promoting strategic bombardment and a strong Air Force. He was considered a leading expert on the tactics and strategy of aerial warfare and he considered global airpower as the solution to America’s security needs.

He was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1970 for "his achievements as a pilot, aeronautical engineer, inventor, industrialist, author, strategist, consultant, and scientific advances in aircraft design and aerospace technology." De Seversky was married to New Orleans socialite Evelyn Olliphant, who was also well-known as a pilot. She, in fact, learned to fly as a surprise for her husband, and the two of them flew on many trips together. De Seversky died on August 24, 1974.

Sources:

“Alexander De Seversky at the Cradle of Aviation Museum.” Cradle of Aviation Museum, www.cradleofaviation.org/history/history/people/alexander_de_seversky.html

 “Alexander De Seversky: Influential World War II Air Power Advocate.” National Air and Space Museum, 22 Mar. 2017, airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/alexander-de-seversky-influential-world-war-ii-air-power-advocate

Ferguson Mansion

"Ferguson's Castle" was the dream home of Julianna Armour Ferguson (heiress to the Chicago‐based Armour meat packing company). The estate was modeled after the religious monasteries of Italy and Spain that Ferguson and her late husband, Dr. Farquhar Ferguson, had visited together. Set into a steep hill overlooking Huntington Harbor, the forty‐room, Italian Renaissance‐style castle, with its lofty four‐story bell tower, was originally christened the “Monastery" when its three‐year construction was completed in 1911.

With the goal of creating an authentic feel to the house, Mrs. Ferguson, along with Boston architect Allen W. Jackson and a team of purchasing agents, scoured Europe looking for architectural treasures and valuable works of art to incorporate into the Monastery's interior decor. In the end, it was estimated that Mrs. Ferguson spent over $2 million to construct the home.

Stained glass windows and Byzantine‐style frescos taking several years to paint graced the Refectory (dining room). The impressive Grand Hall (living room) looked like an elaborate movie set for Romeo and Juliet. The dramatic double‐story cloistered courtyard, enclosed by a massive glass ceiling, took visitors on a fascinating journey back in time. Exotic marble and onyx columns supported the balcony from which the family bedrooms, outdoor cloister garden and main staircase surveyed the Grand Hall below.

Perhaps the building's most arresting feature was the floors paved with children's tombstones, dating back three centuries, which were also incorporated into many of the rooms. According to sources, when showing guests to their room, Mrs. Ferguson would tell them whom they would be staying with.

Julianna Ferguson died in 1927. Put up for auction in 1936, the valuable contents that Julianna amassed at the Monastery were sold for pennies on the dollar. Shortly after the auction, the house still found no buyers until Brooklyn attorney Charles D. Cords acquired the property. The Cords quietly resided in the Monastery for the next thirty years, but Mr. Cords, who loved the Castle, was unable to maintain the estate in the style to which it was accustomed.

Taking action, the county seized the fourteen‐acre waterfront estate. Local resident groups rallied to save the house, but without the support of the town or the county, their efforts were fruitless. Ultimately, the Castle fell into ruin, covered in deep vines. The empty house was soon vandalized, and valuable artwork and ancient statues and artifacts were smashed, covered in graffiti or pried from the walls and gardens of the home. The once grand showplace was sold to developers in 1970.

The battle to save Ferguson's Castle was lost to the wrecking ball, but with concrete walls over four feet thick and footings four‐by‐fourteen feet, the house did not fall easily. In fact, some of the footings and foundation still remain. The monumental task nearly bankrupted the project. Luckily, just before the house was razed, a number of the artifacts incorporated into the building were removed and sold to private collectors and museums. Today, the gatehouse (now a private home) and some of the garden wall are all that remain of Ferguson's Castle.

Source:

“Bygone Mansions.” Gold Coast Mansions - Historic Long Island - Bygone Mansions, goldcoastmansionsoflongisland.com/index.php?page=bygone_mansions_02

Sagtikos Manor

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

Inisfada

Inisfada was the estate of Nicholas Frederic Brady and his wife, Genevieve Brady. Inisfada was located in North Hills, Long Island. The name of the estate, Inisfada, is Gaelic for Long Island.

The estate was completed in 1920 and was considered to be one of the largest of the Gold Coast Mansions on the North Shore and was once the fourth largest mansion in the United States. After the completion of building in 1920, it was estimated that the four years of work cost approximately three million dollars.

Inisfada consisted of 87 rooms and was on 300 acres of property. The mansion covered 90,000 square feet and was a Tudor-Elizabethan style home. It was created by architect John Torrey Windrim from Philadelphia, PA. Windrim was best known for working on large buildings, such as hospitals and museums. Inisfada was his only work done in New York.

The mansion was faced with brick and limestone. It was decorated with carvings, gargoyles, figurines crenellations, and 37 chimneys. The front of the home had a carriage porch with a carving above it of St. Genevieve, whom Mrs. Brady was named after. Also, the brickwork had carvings interspersed around the mansion of characters of nursery rhymes and fairytales. It is believed that the Brady’s childlessness and longing to help children is the reason they had carvings of fairytales and rhymes on the exterior of their home, but there is no documented proof as to why those were carved there.

In 1937, Genevieve Brady decided to sell their home, after 7 years of being in such a large home alone after her husband’s death in 1930. She sold the house for a deflated price of $471,761 to the New York Province of the Society of Jesus. After this sale, their home became known as the St. Ignatius Retreat House and was used as a retreat house for the Jesuits.

The Jesuits never had Inisfada added to the National Register of Historic Places or have it designated as a National Historic Landmark. Eventually in 2012, the Jesuits put the house up for sale, along with its 33-acres, for $49 million and advertised it as a prime development site. After seeing this, many residents and civic associations tried to save the estate, but despite their efforts, it was sold to a Hong Kong-based development company for $36.5 million. After the sale, Inisfada was sadly demolished on December 5, 2013.

Foreman, John. “In Memoriam.” In Memoriam, 8 Aug. 2013 http://bigoldhouses.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-irish-channel.html

“Inisfada.” House Histree, https://househistree.com/houses/inisfada.

“Inisfada.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inisfada

Mather of Port Jefferson

John Richard Mather was born in Port Jefferson on November 20, 1814. He was undoubtedly the oldest shipbuilder on Long Island. With but two exceptions, the vessels were all two and three masted schooners. Mr. Mather was born in Port Jefferson at a time when it was known as Drowned Meadow. He was known by the locals as “Boss Mather.”

After learning the trade in Bridgeport, his step-father, William Jones gave him an opening in a shipyard. This continued for seven years, when Boss Mather become his own boss, continuing the building of vessels inside the millbridge until the seventies, when he moved to the location now occupied by the Mather marine railway plant.

Mr. Mather retired in 1885 and the business was carried on by his only son, John T. Mather. He died in 1899 at the age of 84. Mr. Mather was postmaster in 1840.  He also was involved in the lumber business with William Jones under the style of Mather & Jones. The Boss was instrumental in creating Jones street, and built the old wharf that had an L at the outer end many years ago. After his death, the firm built the Martha E. Wallace, the last large sailing vessel built in Port Jefferson.

John Titus Mather was born on June 27, 1854. His family was well known for its shipbuilding, which dated back to 1797. John T. Mather had other large businesses related to shipping. During World War I, Mather retired from active business life. For many years, he made careful study of how best to use the proceeds of his success to the benefit of those less fortunate. As early as 1916, Mather had made provisions in his will for setting aside a substantial sum to erect and maintain a non-sectarian charitable hospital to give people the advantage of the best in hospital facilities at a reasonable cost. A year after his death, the Mather Hospital opened its doors.

The Mather house is now part of the home of the Port Jefferson Historical Society.

Sources:

Cohen, Lon. “This Day in History: John T. Mather Is Born in 1854.” Port Jefferson, NY Patch, Patch, 27 June 2011, https://patch.com/new-york/portjefferson/this-day-in-history-john-t-mather-is-born-in-1854

Genealogy, Long Island. The Mather Family of Long Island, http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/mather.htm

“John Richard Mather (1814-1899) - Find A Grave...” Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38235254/john-r-mather

“John T. Mather.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Dec. 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Mather