The Knapps Were Here

Spooner Central

Spooner Central

The seaside attributes of our area attracted the well-to-do long before the Mastics became a suburban community, with one family in particular, the Knapps, building a stately mansion and maintaining a sprawling estate that would be the envy of even the rich and famous of today.

Of anywhere in the world, Joseph Palmer Knapp chose the Moriches Bay waterfront for his country home. He was a publisher and philanthropist and became quite prominent after inventing a multi-color, 6-cylinder press. He founded the American Lithograph Company in 1891 and published the Associated Sunday Magazine, along with other popular periodicals of his day, including "Farm and Fireside" and "Woman's Home Companion." He also published the New York Herald Tribune, and his magazine, "Every Week,” went out to more than a half million people. Known as J.P., Knapp distributed his “This Week” publication to 42 newspapers and reached 14.6 million readers.

It was J.P.’s son, Joseph Fairchild Knapp, who derived the most enjoyment from the area’s marine environment. "Dodi" was an avid outdoorsman and licensed pilot who tore across the local waters in speedboats. He served as a Naval flier in the Aerial Coast Patrol, Unit 3, patrolling the Long Island coast from 1917-1919 in search of German U-Boats. The unit was based at the Knapp Estate along Moriches Bay, near where the Smith Point Bridge would be constructed years later.

Dodi’s "Sea Sled" speedboat would hit 45 mph on the water, and he enjoyed racing with a member of another prominent family, William Shepherd Dana, who also maintained an estate in the area.

Dodi’s sister, Claire A. Knapp, raised show dogs at the famed "Clairedale Kennels,” located at the family estate. In the 1920-1930s, she entered her best in the Westminster Kennel Club contests at Madison Square Garden. Chow Chow dogs hailing from Clairedale took top honors in the Specialty Category three years running.

The legacy of the Knapps is brilliantly illuminated in the book, “The Knapps Lived Here,” and an extensive website covering the history of the Mastic Peninsula buy Ken Spooner. Check it out at www.SpoonerCentral.com.

With information from Spooner Central and "A Who's Who of Tri-Hamlet History," presented by the Mastic Peninsula Historical Society made possible through a grant from Legislator James Mazzarella.