Residents of the Tri-Hamlet Area share their neighborhoods with the estates of the town’s earliest settlers dating back to the American Revolution, including those of heroes such as William Floyd, Nathanial Woodhull, and William Tangier Smith.
Colonel Smith’s 81,000 acres, making up almost the entirety of what is now Brookhaven Town, were granted to him in 1693 by King William and Queen Mary of England. The Smiths built the Manor of St. George in Mastic, a key asset in the nation's history, which, for a short time, was the British Fort St. George until it was captured during the famous raid by Major Benjamin Tallmadge. The Manor, with its War of 1812 cannons still holding vigil over Bellport Bay, is open to the public, with tours offered during the warmer months.
From Tangier Smith’s massive holdings came the William Floyd Estate in 1718, consisting of 4,400 acres in Mastic Beach. Famed as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Floyd served as an officer in the Continental Army, Congressional Delegate, Congressman, and state senator. His sprawling estate, where he operated a thriving plantation, is managed by the National Park Service. Public pressure is growing on the government to reopen the Floyd Estate to the public.
Marrying William Floyd’s daughter, Mary, was General Nathanial Woodhull, another local Patriot who died on a British prison ship from wounds suffered during the Revolution. Shortly after, his family home in Mastic was lost in a fire, but Mary rebuilt a replica nearby. This home was dismantled, and its wood was sold off in 1938. Historical markers direct visitors to the Woodhull Gravesite in honor of the officer who also fought in the French and Indian War.
A cousin of William Floyd, Richard Floyd, owned land in Mastic Beach until he was exiled for being a British Tory by Judge William Smith, an heir of Colonel Tangier Smith. His home, known as Pattersquas, later became Bayview Hospital under the direction of Dr. Frank Calabro. The house is gone; the property is now a Brookhaven Town park.
William Buck Dana also married into the Floyd Family, building the Dana Estate in Old Mastic after he helped iron out disputes over the division of the Patriot’s property. He built a home for Kitty Floyd on the banks of Forge River in 1883, which became known as Moss Lots. Nicoll Floyd II developed another piece of the estate, building a mansion called “Taupeonk.” The editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, Anna Wintour, famously uses the stately home as a country retreat.
According to “The Great Estates of Colonial and Post-Colonial Times,” put together as a series on local history by the members of the Mastic Peninsula Historical Society, the Smiths and the Woodhulls eventually intermarried with the Lawrence family, and a new mansion was built on their land around 1907. It changed hands over the years and in 1916, Joseph Knapp acquired it. The Knapp Estate was used as a Naval Seaplane Base during World War II and was sold to St. Jude's Church in 1950. It burned down in a 1959 fire.
At the headwaters of Eli Creek, a Forge River tributary, stands the 1880 Hawkins House along Montauk Highway in Moriches. The family, originally from England, came to Long Island via Boston in the 1600s, and many generations of Hawkins can be traced to them. The historic Hawkins-Downs Cemetery on James Hawkins Road is the resting place of various family members, including those who fought in the Revolutionary War. The Mastic Peninsula Historical Society is preserving the property.
Further up Montauk Highway in Shirley, next to the Kohl shopping center, is the 1830 Floyd-Murray-Petty House, built by Charles Murray, a supervisor at the Floyd plantation. The town of Brookhaven restored it, and it stands among shopping centers and stores as a treasured reminder of the hamlet’s past.
Across William Floyd Parkway from the Manor of St. George is the former Island Manor View, built around 1911 by Fred Quimby. He had grand designs to develop the peninsula that never got off the ground. A song promoter by the name of Walter T. Shirley found Quimby’s plans in the Manor View’s attic and went on to build over 4,000 homes in the community that bears his name. The Tollfrees purchased the mansion and, after that, belonged to the Cutro Family for many years. During its heyday, the hotel featured a nightclub with entertainers such as Tony Bennett and the Dorsey Brothers.
Many of the cottages, outbuildings, and barns of the early “blue blood” estates are now the homes of the decidedly “blue collar” residents of this South Shore community. Brookhaven Town’s Patriots Preserve Park, just off William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, honors the early residents who helped found our nation.