Brookholt was a

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

mansion on Front Street in

East Meadow East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 38,132 at the 2010 census. Many residents commute to Manhattan, which is away. History In ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York. It was built for Oliver and

Alva Belmont Alva Erskine Belmont (née Smith; January 17, 1853 – January 26, 1933), known as Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was an American multi-millionaire socialite and women's suffrage activist. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong ...

in 1897. Designed by

Richard Howland Hunt Richard Howland Hunt (March 14, 1862 – July 12, 1931) was an American architect and member of the Hunt family of Vermont who worked with his brother Joseph Howland Hunt in New York City at Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of Richard Morr ...

, the house was built in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

-style, rendered in wood.

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...

designed a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

-style farmhouse on the property in 1906 also.

History

Alva Vanderbilt married Oliver Belmont on January 11, 1896, following her divorce from

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...

in March 1895. Alva had received a large settlement from the divorce, but the Long Island estate that she had helped design with

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

Idle Hour Idle Hour is a former Vanderbilt estate that is located in Oakdale on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was completed in 1901 for William Kissam Vanderbilt. Once part of Dowling College, the mansion is one of the largest houses in the U ...

, was retained by William. Although the Belmonts already had two summerhouses in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, Alva's

Marble House Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style. ...

and Oliver's

Belcourt Castle Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to b ...

, they desired a new estate on Long Island. Brookholt was the result. Oliver Belmont died an early death at the estate in 1908, following an operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

. Some scholars have alleged that Alva Belmont was superstitious about sleeping in a room where anyone had died. She did have a new master bedroom suite added to Brookholt following Oliver's death. After a mason also died in an accident during the new construction, she wrote: "It really does seem as though Fate had decided I am never to sleep peacefully at night." Brookholt Stables

Alva Belmont established the

Brookholt School of Agriculture for Women The Brookholt School of Agriculture for Women (also known as Belmont's farm school for girls) was an experimental American farm vocational school for women. Established on April 1, 1911, by Alva Belmont on her Brookholt estate, located in the ham ...

on of the estate in 1911, operating it as a training school for female farmers. The school did not work as Belmont had intended, so she terminated the experiment after its first year. After that Belmont focused all of her attention on the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

movement, holding many meetings and rallies at the estate. Belmont began contemplating selling Brookholt as early as 1909. She finally sold it in 1915 to Alexander Smith Cochran. Cochran, in turn, sold the estate in late 1923 to the Coldstream Golf Club, which planned to turn the estate into a country club. The main house was ultimately destroyed by fire in 1934 and the rest of the estate buildings were later demolished. The site is now occupied by the Mitchel Manor development.

References

{{Reflist Spinzia, Raymond E. and Judith A. Spinzia. ''Long island's Prominent Families in the Town of Hempstead: Their Estates and Their Country Homes.'' College Station, TX: VirtualBookworm, 2010. http://spinzialongislandestates.com/ Houses in Nassau County, New York Houses completed in 1897 Colonial Revival architecture in New York (state) Belmont family residences Gilded Age mansions