Islip to Mastic, South Shore of Long Island's Suffolk County Historical Driving Tour
Loading...
Get a QR Code for this tour
Description
Historical homes, schools, maritime museums, and more, eastward from Islip to Mastic, N. Y.
1. Wereholme (also known as the Scully Estate or Harold Weekes Estate)
The mansion was designed by Grosvenor Atterbury, an acclaimed architect who completed designs for John D. Rockefeller, and completed in 1918. The property was built for Harold Weekes, a noted college football player, and his wife, Louisine Peters Weekes. The home was originally part of the larger estate of Louisine's parents, Samuel and Adaline Peters. The original Peters estate, which consisted of nearly 300 acres, was known as Windholme. The Peters divided the estate between their two children, Harry, who received approximately 230 acres, and Louisine, who received the remaining 70. The home now houses the Seatuck Environmental Association.
2. Idle Hour (Vanderbilt mansion, formerly Dowling College)
The Vanderbilt family was known for building larger-than-life, grand estates. Long Island's Idle Hour, one of the largest residences in the United States, was the home of William Kissam Vanderbilt, the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and heir to the family fortune. The original Idle Hour burned to the ground in 1899 but was rebuilt on an even grander scale. After Vanderbilt's death, the estate passed through several owners. At one point, it was home to an artists' colony. Most recently, it housed Dowling College, which closed in 2016, and the mansion has been unoccupied since 2017.
3. Jacob Ockers House
The historic house on a hilltop at 965 Montauk Avenue (Route 85) in Oakdale is called the Jacob Ockers House. The house was built sometime before 1840 and the first owner was probably Moses Benjamin. Jacob Ockers was a highly successful oysterman and began working in his father's business in 1863. Ockers purchased the house from the Benjamins in 1880. By 1903, Jacob controlled 800 acres of oyster beds and was the largest producer of oysters in the world. The "Oyster King" died in 1918 and his widow lived into the 1930s; their daughter, Louise E. continued to live in the house until 1970. The property was subdivided in the 1970s. A quarter acre lot containing the Colonial Revival style house was donated to the Town of Islip and later became a museum and office space. The Jacob Ockers House was listed in the New York and National Registers in 1992.
4. Long Island Maritime Museum and Rudolph Oyster House
The Long Island Maritime Museum (formerly the Suffolk Marine Museum) covers 14 acres on the shore of the Great South Bay and contains three working boat shops, a baymen's cottage, a research library, and a gift shop. In 1974 the museum moved an oyster house 600 feet to become part of the museum and save it from being demolished. The Rudolph Oyster House was active from 1908 to 1947 for culling and shucking oysters. After two years of renovations, the oyster house reopened in 1976 as an exhibit on the local oyster industry that once thrived in Long Island's Great South Bay. The Rudolph Oyster House was listed in the New York and National Registers in 1994 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2001 for its significance in industry, commerce, and maritime history. Admission is $8 per person or $6 for children and seniors.
5. Swan River School House
The Swan River School House was built in 1858, served as a school until 1936, and is well-preserved both in its exterior and interior. The Greater Patchogue Historical Society, formed in 1981, manages the former schoolhouse which has become a museum since the 1960s. The front of the wood frame building is three bays wide and features one window flanked by two doors - one was for girls and one for boys. The original school bell was removed after hurricane damage in 1938; it is displayed inside, along with the original pot belly stove and 1870s wooden desks. The school house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. It is said to be the second-oldest one-room schoolhouse on Long Island in its original location on its original foundation.
6. Smith-Rourke House
The Smith-Rourke House has stood since 1837 and was built for William Smith, Jr., a retired sea captain. The Greek Revival/ Italianate style house is two-story, five bays wide and measures about 32 by 40 feet. The wood frame, clapboarded house rests on a brick foundation and is topped by a tin roof pierced by four brick chimneys with a central cupola. The Smith-Rourke House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 for its significance in architecture. A carriage barn southeast of the house that dates to the mid-nineteenth century also contributes to the property's importance.
7. Bellport Academy
The large building northwest of the intersection of Academy Lane and Gerard Street is a private home that was built in 1833 as the "Bellville Academy." Later renamed Bellport Academy when the name of the village changed, it served as a schoolhouse until 1902. The original location was across from the west end of School Street (Osborne Lane). The abandoned building was sold to a contractor named George Corman who moved the structure across the street, opposite the Academy Lane Cemetery, where it served as a carpenter shop. The building was moved again in 1919 about 500 feet south onto a former golf course by new owners, the Lloyd family, who had the building renovated to become their private residence. A curving driveway leads from Gerard Street through a gap in the hedge border to the entrance of the private home. The Bellport Academy building was listed in the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1980. The building is near the Village of Bellport Historic District, also listed in 1980 (see the attached map).
8. William Floyd Estate (Old Mastic House)
Now part of the Fire Island National Seashore, the William Floyd Estate which includes the Old Mastic House dates back to 1718. The estate was home to William Floyd, a member of the First Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The home belonged to Floyd descendants until 1976 when it was donated to the National Park Service. The house consists of 25 rooms which have been preserved along with the furnishings that were in the home when the family donated the estate to coincide with the bicentennial celebration of 1976. The estate originally consisted of 4,400 acres, but as descendants sold parcels over the years, the acreage was gradually reduced to 613 acres. The estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
