William Floyd Manor
by Mykaela Copeland
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Figure 1. William Floyd Manor Estate
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The William Floyd manor estate (shown in the image above) is 613 acres of gorgeous property built upon and occupied by eight generations of the Floyd family from 1718 – 1976. The Floyd family is originally from Wales. The family’s first descendant in America, Richard Floyd, came over 1667 where he first settled in Setauket as a merchant. After being accepted as a townsperson, he later settled in Mastic in 1670. The reason he chose to settle in Long Island was due to the profitable land negotiations occurring during the time, which provided plots of highly productive salt marsh land to townspeople. Salt marshes were extremely desirable because of the ecological services they provide. Salt marsh plants comprised the thatch that provided insolation to houses and barns. They also were a major food source for humans as well as for farm animals.
Richard Floyd II (the son of Richard Floyd), in 1718, purchased the land on which the Floyd estate stands. At the time of purchase, the Floyd’s owned 4,400 acres of land that was seven miles long and one mile wide. It spanned from Southbay to Post Road in the North. The first part of the Floyd manor was constructed in 1724. Every generation thereafter continued to expand upon the home. Nicoll Floyd, the youngest son of Richard Floyd II, was the first Floyd to live at the Mastic home. At this time, the estate served predominantly as a farming plantation (completed mostly in the Southern portion of the property). Along with farming, the Floyd’s were also in the shore whaling business, which was quite profitable, but highly unpredictable and inconsistent.
The house was then passed to Nicoll’s son, William Floyd (after whom the estate is name) in 1755, following Nicoll’s death. William inherited the house at only 20 years old. He was a very important person to New York and American history. He was a signer of the declaration of independence, member of the Continental Congress, a New York senator, and one of the first United States Congressmen. In 1803, William Floyd’s only son, Nicoll Floyd, took over the management of the plantation. By this time, farming had become less important to the Floyd family income. So much so, that Nicoll Floyd would mark the last generation of farming to occur on the plantation. In place of farming, the Floyd family expanded upon their investment in the booming deep sea whaling industry as a major income source. The Floyd family owned a fleet of profitable whaling ships that sailed out to sea from Sag Harbor.
By the 1880s, part of the Floyd estate had been sold, reducing it to a total of 2,200 acres. In 1881, the 2,200 acres was partitioned amongst 5 members of the Floyd family to be converted into seasonal residences, summer and winter were fishing and hunting became major recreational activities for the family. The last generation of the Floyd family to live in the home was Cornelia Floyd, the great granddaughter of William Floyd. She donated the estate and all 613 acres of the property to the state of New York to be preserved in 1976.
Floyd Manor and FI Lighthouse
by Libby Howlett
When the Floyd family first arrived in Setauket, the entire original 4,400 acres provided a great plot of land for farming purposes. The salt marsh grasses bordering the end of the property were used for thatching and insulation, while the now forested area down to the marsh was clear and used for farming. Now there only remains a small plot of land covered in weeds and cherry trees, where they used to grow things like oats, barley, wheat, corn and flax. The farm also produced diary products at one point, indicated by the milk room—the coldest room in the house—where they would store milk and other items to keep them cool. The forested area was allowed to come back after the 1880’s, when the hunting of pheasants and quail became popular. A small sliver of open area (shown in the picture below) remains cleared to the right of the property, where from the roof of the home, you can view the dunes and ocean.
The Fire Island lighthouse, our other point of visitation, also had an interesting history. The shape of the lighthouse is not just aesthetic but also functional. There are two types of lighthouses: landfall, which make their home on dry land; and wave swept: which are on the water and circular in shape. Designs of lighthouses have to consider several important features: climate, environment, material strength, subsurface conditions, lamping requirements, and methods of operation. Even if you looked at just the lighthouses on Long Island, you can see the numerous variations in shapes of lighthouses. Looking at lighthouses all over the world, we see an immense spectrum of lighthouse shape, size, and method of operation. If you step back from the lighthouse, you can see the lighthouse is fat at the bottom, decreases in size in the middle, and then makes a slight increase in width toward the top. This shape actually helps to make it more aerodynamic, in that it diffuses the wind better. Although built for functionality, the Fire Island lighthouse sits on some of the most beautiful land on the island, and is itself a wonderful sight.
Getting to Know the Floyd Family!
by Meaghan Coyne
This week we went to the William Floyd estate! The estate is a gorgeous house sitting on 613 acres of property whose history dates back to 1718. At this time the land was bought by William Floyd for his second son, Nicoll. Nicoll, because he was the second oldest son in the family, normally would not have inherited any land because the eldest son usually inherited all of his father’s land. His father bought this land so that both of his sons could inherit something.
The house was first built in 1724 as six room starter home. There were three rooms downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs. One bedroom was for the parents of whichever generation of the Floyds was living there, one for the sons, and one for the daughters. One generation of Floyds had 7 daughters and 1 son…all of the daughters shared one room and the son had his own! Since then the house has expanded greatly. Almost every generation has added on a wing or a room or other feature. When looking at the house from the front, the middle section is the oldest, the servant’s wing is on right, and there are two back wings that are not visible from the front.
During the revolutionary war, the British decisively won the Battle of Long Island. Since there was so many farms on Long Island the British saw it as a valuable source of food for their soldiers. As a result the British took full control of Long Island after the battle for the duration of the war. Because William Floyd had signed the Deceleration of Independence, he and his family were forced to flee. They first went to the north shore of the island and then across to Connecticut in August 1776.
The British then took control of the house for the duration of the war. The grand living room, which had previously been used by the family for weddings, funerals, and other formal affairs, was turned into a stable. The land that had been extensively farmed by the Floyds was ignored by the British and left to overgrow. When the Floyds came back to the house after the war they found it in disarray.
After rebuilding the house to its former glory, the family continued to expand and refine the house. In 1976 the estate was given as a gift to the people of the United States by Cornelia Floyd in the name of the Floyd/ Nichols families to commemorate the bicentennial. Today it remains as a cultural preservation, not a reservation as many historical sites are, preserved as it was the day Cornelia Floyd left.
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| Picture: Ariel view of the Floyd estate today, preserved as it was in 1976. Source: www.tripadvisor.com |
Fire Island Lighthouse
by Carlin Yu
It was a perfect weather on a Friday for a trip to a lighthouse and by near a beach today. Our trip today is going to the William Floyd Estate, which my classmates will talk about in their blog, and Fire Island Lighthouse, which I will talk about. Went we arrived to the island, we were able to see the lighthouse from afar. We had to walk on a boardwalk to get to the lighthouse and the boardwalk to the lighthouse is very long. Facing the lighthouse, on the far right is the beach and on the two sides of the boardwalk are plants and flowers.
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| Fire Island lighthouse and beach. This is the boardwalk we have to walk on in order to get to the lighthouse. |
Fire Island is a barrier island because it is completely surrounded by water but also very close to the mainland (Long Island). Fire Island used to be 80 miles south of the main land but the island has been moving closer and closer to the mainland every year. Fire Island is currently moving 1.8 feet per year towards main land and soon the island will join with the mainland. Fire Island had erosion problem just like what Montauk Lighthouse had. Boulders and gabions were placed around the island to stop the strong waves from eroding the land away.
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View of Fire Island at the top of Fire Island lighthouse. It was a beautiful and sunny day.
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Since Fire Island is very close to the ocean, a lighthouse was built there for ship navigation. George Washington authorized construction of a lighthouse on Fire Island in 1792 but the first was not built until 1826. The lighthouse was too short and was not effective so it was taken down and the current lighthouse was built and completed by 1858. The Fire Island lighthouse has a total of 6 orders of lenses throughout its operation. The current lens being used for operation is the 6th Order. Compare to the 1st Order, the 6th Order is much smaller but just as effective as the 1st. The Lens Building is where the original 1st Order Fresnel lens is now stored and put on display. It was the first lens to be used by the lighthouse since the lighthouse was completed in 1858 till 1933 when the lens were replaced. The lens were stored away and lost. The lens were found in 2010 in Philadelphia and was then put on display back at Fire Island.
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1st Order Frensel Lens in the Lens Building. This was put on display in 2010 after it was found.
-Photo credit to Elizabeth Howlett
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A comparison of all 6 Frensel Orders that was used in the lighthouse. The 1st Order was the largest of the 6 orders and the 5thOrder is the smallest of the 5 orders.
-Photo credit to Riley O’Connor |
