Sagtikos Manor is a historic home located in West Bay Shore,

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

. It is a long, eclectic structure which has been extensively enlarged by additions and alterations during its long and active life as a residence. The original section was built around 1697 and is a -story, timber-framed structure with a gable roof. Additions occurred through the early 20th century. Also on the property is a

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

, caretaker's cottage, buttery, potting shed, formal gardens, and Thompson-Gardiner family cemetery. ''See also:'' The property was first patented to

Stephanus Van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor ...

(1643–1700), who built the original house. During the 18th through 20th centuries, it was owned by the prominent Thompson and Gardiner families. The manor functioned for a time during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

as local headquarters for British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton.AIA architectural guide to Nassau and Suffolk counties, Long Island
/ref> In 1790,

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

recorded in his diary an overnight stop at "Squire Thompson's" during his tour of Long Island. It is operated by The Sagtikos Manor Historical Society and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976.

Robert David Lion Gardiner Robert David Lion Gardiner (February 25, 1911 – August 23, 2004), was the last heir to Gardiner's Island to have the surname "Gardiner". (His niece Alexandra Creel Goelet, was co-owner, until his death, and is now sole owner.) He was the 16t ...

inherited the property in 1930 and allowed the newly created Sagtikos Manor Historical Society to use the property in 1964. In 2012 the Historical Society sued the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. They argued that Gardiner had intended that part of his estate should go to support the maintenance of the property. However, since his will did not specifically name the Society, the courts ruled the Society did not have standing, could not even request an audit of the Foundation's finances. The Society had been looking for $65,000 per year.

References

External links

Sagtikos Manor Official WebsiteSagtikos Manor (Suffolk County Department of Parks)
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Colonial Revival architecture in New York (state) Historic house museums in New York (state) Houses completed in 1697 Houses in Suffolk County, New York Museums in Suffolk County, New York Historical society museums in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, New York 1697 establishments in the Province of New York {{newYork-museum-stub