Marshall Field Estate

The Marshall Field Estate, which is also known as the Caumsett Manor, is one of the largest mansions on Long Island. It is also one of the Gold Coast Mansions. Marshall Field III purchased the property in 1920, which consisted of 1,426-acres of land, which he named Caumsett, after the Matinecock tribe’s original name for the peninsula which means place by a sharp rock.

Soon after the purchase of the land, the estate was built in 1924-25 for Marshall Field III to use as a hunting lodge and farm. It was designed by architect, John Russell Pope, who was famously known for designing the National Archives and Records Administration building, the Jefferson Memorial, and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The estate is an example of English Georgian design, but was adapted for a more modern (at the time) 20^th century American country home.

The homes original site was much larger than what is seen today. The west wing and east wing have since been demolished. These demolition projects have removed the original living room, master bedrooms, and servants’ quarters. The remainder of the house has been restructured and the rooms on all three floors have been rearranged or changed to serve a different purpose. An example of this would be that the dining room has been changed to serve a new purpose as a kitchen.

On February 3, 1961, New York State purchased the property for $4 million and they made it a state park for use of the people. The estate was eventually listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1979, which helped preserve one of the largest Gold Coast Mansions. 

 

Sources: 

Caumsett Manor-Marshall Field Estate, Cold Spring Harbor New York. (2016, December 20). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from http://www.historic-structures.com/ny/cold_spring_harbor/caumsett_manor.php

Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve. (2020, October 20). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caumsett_State_Historic_Park_Preserve

John Russell Pope. (2020, November 14). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell_Pope

 

 

 

Massapequa Hotel

 The Massapequa Hotel, located two blocks south of Merrick Road on Ocean Avenue was built by Joseph Snedeker in 1888 and was designed to attract wealthy New York City residents. 

When completed, it contained three hundred rooms, making it one of the largest hotels in the country. It had a large central parlor and dining room serving sumptuous meals, a wraparound balcony, a bowling alley, riding stables, a beach and proximity to a golf course. Originally accessible from the Farmingdale station, it became even easier to reach when the Massapequa station was completed in 1888. Carriages brought down customers who stayed for days or weeks at a time. If the main hotel was filled, they could stay in one of the "cottages" built nearby. These were Victorian-style structures that patrons would easily find attractive.

One of the more unusual features of the hotel was the existence of a bathing beach, known as Billy's Beach (Billy was Mr. Snedeker's son), located on South Oyster Bay a few blocks south of the main hotel.

Despite its size, or perhaps because of it, the Massapequa Hotel was never a profitable endeavor. In the years immediately prior to World War I, Queens Land and Title Company endeavored to attract city dwellers to its "new city" on Long Island. It bought large pieces of property between Broadway and Hicksville Road, laid out streets and ran trains to attract potential homebuyers. It also convinced the newly-created Nassau County government to widen and smooth Merrick Road to accommodate a new apparatus called the automobile. These developments lessened the area's "wild" character and made it more difficult for Snedeker to attract customers.

By 1916 the Massapequa Hotel was forced to close. Ironically, a section of the hotel lived on when it was moved to Hicksville and Merrick Roads and became part of Panchard's Hotel, which lasted until 1952. Several of the cottages, including Snedeker's residence, with a large "S" affixed to the south wall, still stand on Ocean Avenue.

The Historical Society of the Massapequas recognized the uniqueness of the Massapequa Hotel and erected a historical marker in 2008.

 

Source:

Kirchmann, George. “Massapequa Hotel.” Massapequa, NY Patch, Patch, 8 May 2013, patch.com/new-york/massapequa/massapequa-hotel

Alicia Patterson Guggenheim

 Alicia Patterson Guggenheim was born in 1906 as Alicia Patterson to a generational newspaper family. Her father, Joseph Medill Patterson, was the founder of the New York Daily News and her great grandfather, Joseph Medill, was the owner of the Chicago Tribune.

Alicia began her journey with newspapers in the promotions department of her father’s Daily News in 1927 and was eventually assigned as a reporter. She spent some time working for her father’s paper until she was fired due to the paper being sued for libel on one of her pieces. After she was fired, she moved back to Chicago where she spent much of her earlier years. This is where she met, then married Harry Frank Guggenheim in 1939, which was her third marriage.

After their marriage, Harry and Alicia moved to their thirty-room mansion in Sands Point. In 1940, she created her won newspaper, Newsday, and would commute to her office in Hempstead from Sands Point. Between the two of them, Harry and Alicia held all shares to the newspaper with Harry controlling 51% and Alicia controlling 49%. Besides being the creator and owner, she was also the editor of the paper.

Alicia wanted to create Newsday to give balanced news coverage through investigative journalism while maintaining a lively style. Her idea of balanced news coverage was to ensure that there was even coverage of both democratic and republican news, as well as international coverage. She also investigated local stories of crime, as well as entertainment to make it a newspaper for all readers to enjoy.

Quickly, she made Newsday a well-respected paper and it even won the Pulitzer Prize in 1954. Also in 1954, Newsday became the country’s largest suburban magazine and the Guggenheims used it to help create an identity for Long Island. By 1957, Newsday’s daily circulation count was 130,000.

On July 2, 1963, Alicia Patterson Guggenheim passed away at the age of 56 from complications following a stomach surgery. By the time of her death, the daily circulation count has reached 370,000 and Newsday had obtained four Polk Awards. Following her death, Harry became the publisher and editor of Newsday and the newspaper did its best to maintain the integrity and purpose that Alicia created.

 

Greer, K., & Diamond, S. (1985). Alicia Patterson Guggenheim. In In Between Ocean and Empire: An Illustrated History of Long Island (pp. 212-213). Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications

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.

Entemann's Bakery

 In 1898, William Entemann opened a bakery in Flatbush & made local deliveries of bread, rolls, and cakes. In the early 1900s, his son William developed rheumatic fever and it was suggested they move to the country. They settled on Bay Shore and operated a retail shop from there.

When William Jr. died in 1951, his three sons made two decisions. They decided to bring their baked goods to the supermarkets and they would stop making bread and rolls. In 1957, Entemann’s was introduced to Food Fair Stores. It became so successful that home deliveries were ceased. Martha Entemann designed and created the see-through cake box in 1959. By 1961, it became so popular, a new bakery had to be built to meet the demand. They built a five-acre facility in Bay Shore. In 1975, they opened a bakery in Miami.

In 1978, the Warner-Lambert Company bought Entemann’s. Within months of the purchase, a new 120,000 square foot plant was opened in Miami and a processing center was built in Albany. In 1979, they opened a bakery in Chicago. In 1982, General Foods purchased Entemann’s from Warner-Lambert. In 1984, Entemann’s products were introduced in San Diego.

Entemann’s was then purchased by Bimbo Bakeries and in 2014, they closed their Bay Shore facility.

 

Sources:

Between Ocean and Empire: An Illustrated History of Long Island. Windsor Publications, 1985

Kosman, Josh. “Entenmann's to Close Landmark LI Bakery, Lay off 178.” New York Post, New York Post, 28 Mar. 2014, nypost.com/2014/03/27/entenmanns-to-close-landmark-li-bakery-lay-off-178

Silk Dye Works in Farmingdale

In 1881, Rudolph A. Weber came to the United States from Germany. Weber was a silk dyer and he founded the R.A. Weber Silk Dyeing Company in College Point. In 1914, R.A. Weber Silk Dyeing Company was sold, then transformed into the Independent Silk Dyeing Company and moved to Farmingdale. Farmingdale was the best location on Long Island, due to it having the purest water supply on Long Island, which is one of the most important factors when dyeing materials. It was located off Conklin Street (near Cedar Ave and Birch Ave).

Throughout the transition, Rudolph A. Weber was still the general manager until his death in 1920. Following his death, his son—Rudolph H. Weber, became general manager, treasurer and eventually, president in 1953. 

Over the course of the next few decades, materials, equipment and procedures changed allowing them to better suit the needs of their patrons. In 1949, the number of employees at the Independent Silk Dyeing Company was 250 people. Eventually the name changed again and became the Independent Textile Dyeing Company. 

In 1956, Rudolph R. Weber (who was the grandson of the original founder) became president when his father retired. 

The company had changed names many times. These names included Jayne Textile, Kenmark Textile, and Susquehanna Textile. The company was always evolving with Jayne Textile Printing Corporation beginning to conduct screen and textile printing in 1972.

Sources:

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

Weldon E. Howitt High School, 1956

Shakalis, Connie. Historical Vignettes from the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society