Residents celebrated the history of a Colonial-era treasure by spending the day at the Manor of St. George in Mastic.
Accompanied by members of the Mastic Peninsula Historical Society, the public walked the historic 127-acre property and toured the museum housed in the stately mansion built by one of the area’s earliest settlers, William Tangier Smith.
The Manor has a storied history, having been taken over by the British during the American Revolution and recaptured by Col. Benjamin Tallmadge in 1780. Not losing a single man in the skirmish, The colonel headed back across Long Island along what is now famously known as the Tallmadge Trail and set fire to 300 tons of forage the British had stored at Coram for their cavalry. During his brief time at the Manor, Tallmadge turned a captured British cannon on an enemy ship anchored offshore and sunk it.
The recent visitors admired the cannons still standing guard at the estate and looked seaward to imagine British Warships in Bellport Bay. They could see the impressions in the earth where Red Coat barracks had stood and viewed the pottery barn, cooperage, and whaling shed that were central to Colonial living on Long Island.
“It was great to see such community interest in this historic gem right here in our backyard,” said former Mastic Beach Mayor Robert Miller. “The lessons of history here go back centuries and are part of the founding of our great nation.”