Historic Long Island Revolutionary War-Era Manor's Donation Approved By Brookhaven Town

FARMINGVILLE, NY — Brookhaven officials approved the donation of the historic American Revolutionary War-era property, the Manor of St. George in Shirley, at the Town Board meeting on Thursday.

As first reported by Patch, the manor, along with a $1.6 million trust fund, was offered by private owners to the town for preservation purposes recently. It has been privately-held since the death of the last-known descendant of William Tangier Smith, who received the 126-acre property from the King of England in the 1600s.

The vast property once stretched from the Carmans River in the west to Southampton Town in the east, then as far north as Route 25. It was slowly carved away over the years as Smith's descendants inter-married with other families. The Longwood Estate land in Ridge, as well as Havens House in East Moriches, were once part of the manor.

Eugenia H.T. Smith left the priority in trust for public purposes in 1955, but the land had not been accepted by the town until now for various reasons. Smith wished for it to be used as a museum and as a passive park, as well as for the pursuit of scholarly discussion.

The manor, which was open to the public as a museum and parkland up until the pandemic, contains not only the original manor house and its out-buildings, but also documents like the original charter from the King granting William Tangier Smith the land, including hundreds of years of historical records, Furman family attorney John Scott Prudenti of Center Moriches said.

The manor house's contents include "priceless artwork," including period paintings and those by the Dutch masters, original furnishings, as well as Chippendale furniture, according to Prudenti.

Though it has never been appraised for its value, its estimated worth is "in excess of 20 million," he said.

The land donation and acceptance of the trust was unanimously approved by resolution without comment from the board.

At Monday's Town Board work session, Supervisor Ed Romaine touted the land donation, calling it an offer he could not pass up.

"It's one of the most historic sites in Brookhaven town," he said. "This is a phenomenal opportunity to do something, which I'm very much in favor of."

Councilman Dan Panico, whose district includes the manor, said Tuesday the property was offered abruptly to the town, and while there are plans to accept it, there are none to make any changes there.

The property will likely remain in the stewardship of its current caretakers as a passive park, but there is the possibility for some public events in the future, he said, noting that one of the biggest would be the day of the property transfer.

"It would be a momentous day when the town accepts the donation," he said.

Panico expects the transfer of ownership from the trust to town to take place within the next few weeks.

"The property is, you know, from a historical standpoint, priceless," Panico said. "From a land value standpoint — millions, upon millions."

Local historian Bert Seides, who manages the Havens homestead in East Moriches, called the donation "very exciting news."

"We're all very pleased that we'll finally be able to piece some of the missing history that has been in the archives there, together with the history that we know here at Havens House and Smith House," he said.

"This is terrific," he said.