Long Island Town PlansTake Over Of Famed Revolutionary War Site, The Manor Of St. George

FARMINGVILLE, NY — Brookhaven Town officials are considering accepting ownership of the historic colonial-era homestead, the Manor of St. George in Shirley, where one of the biggest battles of the American Revolution was fought on Long Island.

The private owners of the manor, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, have approached town officials to donate the waterfront property, as well as relinquish a $1.6 million trust fund for its upkeep, Supervisor Ed Romaine said at Monday's Town Board's work session.

The takeover would be significant given the property's historical importance as the site of the biggest battle in Brookhaven Town during the Revolutionary War.

The manor is part of the Tallmadge Trail, a route with a series of key properties where skirmishes took place.

It sits on a 126-acres of mostly-wooded property overlooking the Carmans River, which flows into Great South Bay, and was the site of the largest gathering of the British Navy's fleet during the occupation.

It's also where colonial soldiers led by Col. Benjamin Tallmadge fought the British back, and won.

In the 1600s, William Tangier Smith was deeded the vast property by the King and Queen of England, with it stretching from the Carmans River in the west, to the edge of Southampton Town in the east, and north to Route 25, said Center Moriches attorney John Scott Prudenti, who is representing the property's trustees, George and Judy Furman, of Sparta, TN.

Prudenti told Patch in an interview he was retained "to fulfill the testamentary trust of Eugenia A.T. Smith, the last lineal descendant of Tangier Smith, who was one of the original settlers of the area."

In her last will and testament, Smith, who died in 1955, directed the property, known as the Manor of St. George, all artwork, documents, furnishings, and other important artifacts, that were "meticulously and painstakingly maintained, generationally by the Smith family," fall under the guidance of the Furmans, he said.

Romaine said the property is similar, if even larger, than the Longwood Estate, which was once a part of the manor.

The donation will include not only the home, but surrounding out-buildings, and a "tremendous vault" of historic documents, he said, adding that town officials are trying to enlist the aid of Suffolk County Historian Peter Fox Cohalan.

The trust fund will account for the manor's operating budget and allow the town to keep the manor's maintenance workers, but most importantly, will allow for it to be opened to the general public.

"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."

The preservation plan is very much like what the town is doing up on the north shore with the former Roe Tavern in Setauket, which is now being restored, and other properties that have been finished like the Davis Meeting House in Coram, which was the very first Town Hall in Brookhaven — also a part of the Tallmadge Trail.

"Every time we remember the past, we remind ourselves of our roots," Romaine said. "We look back with clear vision and understanding of what went before. We have a much clearer vision of what should come up in the future. So we are going to reward ourselves and future generations by preserving the manor of St. George."

In the work session, Panico noted the property also contains a revolutionary war cemetery, as well as colonial-era canons.

"This is not only local history; this is national history," he said. "It's just a phenomenal property."

With the donation in place, the town was able to not only ensure the preservation of the property, but also stave off its subdivision into multi-family homes.

It was not immediately clear if any offer for a subdivision was on the table.

Once preserved, the historic property joins the western end of Neighborhood Road with that of the William Floyd Estate on the eastern end, which has long been a focal point of the community's vision for the redevelopment of the hamlet of Mastic Beach.

Panico suggested that the Town Board should be at the property when the town takes over ownership, and Romaine agreed, saying that at the transfer of the deed, there should be "a major media event."

"It's one of the most beautiful views on the island," Panico said.

The matter is expected to come up at the board's next meeting on Thursday.