

SAGTIKOS MANOR
677 W. Montauk Hgwy. West Bay Shore
Sagtikos Manor is a pre-Revolutionary residence, in the Colonial Revival style of architecture, dating from 1697, and expanded in 1772 and again in 1902. The estate was used briefly by the British Army during the Revolutionary War. President George Washington stayed in the new addition of 1772 when he made his tour of LI in 1790. The property was inherited by Robert David Lion Gardner in 1930 and was permitted for use by the newly-created Sagtikos Manor Historical Society in 1964. Besides the large manor house itself, there is a carriage house, caretaker’s cottage, buttery, potting shed, formal gardens and the family cemetery. It is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. (We will see the historic peonies that have been painstakingly propagated over the years to recreate the Peony Walk. The gift shop is a delightful place to stop before we set out for our picnic lunch.

MEADOW CROFT ESTATE
200 Middle Road, Sayville
Meadow Croft Estate is the former home of John Ellis Roosevelt, cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt. The estate was the summer home of the John Roosevelt family and comprises a 19th century farmhouse and a grand 1891 addition, designed by Sayville architect, Isaac Green, Jr. Additional structures on the property include a carriage house, an auto house, a caretaker’s cottage and a swimming pool. The property is owned by Suffolk County, but its care, upkeep and restoration are the work of the dedicated volunteers of the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association, which envisioned a museum when the wrecking ball threatened the property in 1984. The colonial revival garden has been restored to its original beauty with heirloom plants. Through the use of historical archival documents and donations of family furniture, the group restored the house, and the Laughlin family, whose small winery sits adjacent to the property, returned the original dining room set. (The winery is open only on weekends, so we will not be able to visit.)