A Syosset Scrapbook 

 Part Seven

Early Syosset RR station
(top right photo courtesy of Don Karas)

The Swamp, January 5, 2003

At the LIRR station, c. 1916
Left, Eugene S. Smith, William Knettel, George Carnes (station agent), LuLu Brower, unidentified.
Right, William Knettel, Eugene S. Smith, George Carnes, unidentified, Lonny Brower.
American Legion post #175 on Berry Hill Road was named for Eugene S. Smith, 
 killed in World War I.
(images courtesy of Diane Oley)

Monthly LIRR commutation ticket September 1920;
 good for use between Penn Station in NYC and either Oyster Bay or Syosset

Rail Road station c. 1930

Above:  Derailment at the Jackson Avenue crossing, 1937

Traffic jam on Jackson Avenue, c. 1940

"She [Engine 5406] was assigned to the LIRR in the 40's and was pulling a commuter train west on the Port Jefferson branch right after a terrible rain storm.  Just east of Syosset, she hit a washout and derailed, burying her nose in the sand and breaking off her keystone.  She went back to the Pennsy for rebuilding and 'the beauty treatment'." Richard Glueck (whose father, Harry A. Glueck, a LIRR executive, supervised the cleanup)

      
Coal-fired steam engine, c. 1930; photo dated Sept. 15, 1944

Commuter train climbing
Cold Spring Hill, c. 1967 
(photo courtesy of Richard Glueck)  

LIRR pin with Lions Club emblem, c. '50s

Rail Road Station 1957
(image courtesy of Michael Mark)

 Train schedule, effective 12/15/62, "The Route of the Dashing Commuter"
and Long Island Rail Road train in Syosset, 5/26/62

Craig's Taxi, Jackson Avenue at the train station, met the trains for many years.
This ad is from 1962.

Left, LIRR Diesel Locomotive #20, at "Syosset Hill", 5/11/1964
Right, Syosset boxcar

One-half fare ticket between St. James and Syosset, stamped July 27, 1964

Train station platform,
1970s

Overpass, constructed by Continental Bridge

Train station from Fire Department parking lot
(photo by Patrick Judge)

Many local estate workers attended the Butlers' Ball at the Hotel Commodore in New York City, January 13, 1937.
Stella Nowak is in 5th row, 4th from left. 

The summer estate of Robert Elliot Tod across from Split Rock School, c. 1945
Houses currently occupy the site.
(top photo courtesy of Stella Nowak Berg)
Tod supported the Thomas E. Dewey campaign against  FDR in 1944.  Two days after the election, Tod shot and killed himself in his bedroom just as his daughter, Katharine, was approaching his door.  His wife, also Katharine, was in the next room but heard nothing as she was hearing impaired.   Aniela Nowak, wife of the estate's superintendent, Thomas Nowak, (and grandmother of Pam Boslet), was  called upon to clean up afterwards.  
"...Roosevelt was a shoo-in for his fourth term and Tod was practical enough to know that.  The reason we have always been given for his death was the Navy’s refusal to let him serve in WWII.  He had been a highly decorated veteran of WWI and the French government gave him their highest civilian award.  He thought his talents should be put to work in WWII but he was too old.  Supposedly he had just received a letter from some junior clerk in Washington telling him that his services were not required."  Richard Jay Hutto, son-in-law of Anne Martin 
(granddaughter of Robert Elliot Tod).

 Left, Robert Elliot Tod
Right, on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, Mr. Tod holding hand of granddaughter Anne Martin;
wife Katharine and daughter Kay following 
(photos courtesy of Richard Jay Hutto)

Growing up on the Tod Estate, 1922
Aniela Nowak and daughters, Nellie, Caroline, Stella and Agnes
(photo courtesy of Stella Nowak Berg)

 Tod's well, late '20s
On right,  Ethel, Reginald and Eleanor Greenway
(photos courtesy of Lois Ann Greenway Helser)

Left, Nellie Nowak at Tod's pool
Right, George and Stella Nowak Berg
in front of the estate's main house

c. 1938
Tod's Pond and the Martin girls
(photo courtesy of Stella Nowak Berg)

On the Tod estate, c. 1954
Left, Pam Boslet on top of pump house (which handled the overflow
 from the pond and pool);
Center, Pam with cousin Ronnie Berg's cat;
Right, Ronnie Berg with bow and arrow
The Nowak house on the estate is in the background, in center and right pictures.
(photos courtesy of Stella Nowak Berg)

A field on the northern end of Tod's estate, facing east, 1957
    The fence in the background is parallel to and about 1/4 mile west of Split Rock Road.

The Belmont estate was on Burtis Lane. 
  The book is With Cortes the Conqueror, by Virginia Watson, 
The Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia, 1917
and was owned by August Belmont III.
The inscription reads:  "Augie from Dearie Cameron."

Helen Martin on Jigs, John Richard Greenway and Anne Martin at the Belmont 
gatehouse driveway off Split Rock Road, c. 1944
The Martin girls are the daughters of H. B. Martin and Katharine (Kay) Tod Martin 
and granddaughters of Robert E. and Katharine Tod.
(image courtesy of Lois Ann Greenway Helser) 

The Belmont estate's "big house" in the early 2000's

1919 original architectural print of the J. A. Burden house on Muttontown Road
 by Delano and Aldrich, Architects, from the Architectural Review

Woodside, the estate of James Abercrombie Burden on Muttontown Road in the 1920s; now the Woodcrest Country Club 
(courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University)

Left, sketch of Woodside by Chester B. Price, 1922;
Right, The Meadow Brook Hounds at Woodside Acres, Syosset, Long Island, Thanksgiving Day, 1923, painting by Franklin B. Voss

Elliot Service Company Press wire photograph, dated 1924
 The photo is a composite of the Burden Estate and an informal snapshot made before the Prince of Wales' (far right) visit. 

Caption for the above wire photograph:  
 "Prince has golden key to Burden home."

Left, where the Prince of Wales will stay in America, while attending polo matches at Meadowbrook.
Right, The Prince at the Meadowbrook Club
(image on right, Edward J. Smits, Nassau Suburbia, USA, Friends of the Nassau
County Museum, Syosset, New York 11791, 1974)

Left, the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, and later the Duke of Windsor,
chatting with Jerry Frankel, international news photographer, during the Prince's 1924
 visit to the USA when he stayed at the Burden estate;
Right, the caption (dated 1/21/36) taped to the back of the photo
The Prince "as the most photographed man in the world, knew considerable about cameras
and Frankel was astounded by his technical knowledge."

Rear view of the Burden estate c. 1925
Advertisement from Hicks' Nurseries in Westbury

The Burden Estate became known as Woodside Acres after Burden's widow, the former Florence Adele Sloane (a great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt) married Richard M. Tobin, banker, philanthropist and former Minister to Holland.
The image on right shows a half-mile hedged walk.
(photos left and center, courtesy of The Library of Congress,  Prints and Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection:
    left, LC-G612-38696; center, LC-G612-38727)

More images of Mrs. Tobin's gardens
(James M. Fitch & F. F. Rockwell, Treasury of American Gardens,
Harper & Brothers, New York, 1956)

Left, the 14th hole of the Woodcrest Club; Right, the history of the Burden/Tobin Estate and the Woodcrest Country Club 
(Dr. Bill Quirin, Golf Clubs of the MGA, Triumph Books, 1997)

Knollwood, the Charles Hudson estate on Muttontown Road
It became known as the King Zog estate when the former king of Albania 
purchased it in 1951 for $102,800.  He sold it in 1955 without ever living there. 
(courtesy of Warren Conklin)

Postcard of the Hudson estate's gates, postmarked 1911 from Syosset
The sender, a visitor to the area, writes, "This is a rotten hole.  It grows worse every day..."

1924 ad for Indiana Limestone featuring the Hudson estate
(image courtesy of Steven Becker)

Meadow Brook hounds leaving Knollwood, late 1920s 
(Edward J. Smits, Nassau Suburbia, USA, Friends of the Nassau
County Museum, Syosset, New York 11791, 1974)

Old dairy utensil engraved "Knollwood Farm, Syosset LI"
"The metal object under Knollwood Estate is a cap pick used for removing the paper caps 
from the old milk bottles."  Michael Katsar
(image courtesy of Larry Chernow)

Entrance to King Zog's Estate, summer 2006
(image courtesy of Michael Mark)

Willock Estate Railroad, 1950's
The William Willock estate was on Muttontown Road.
Mr. Willock maintained his private railroad there and was always glad to give visitors a tour.
(images courtesy of Gregg Mahlkov.
See the Links section for more information)

Fairleigh
George S. Brewster Estate, Muttontown
1914 Georgian-style mansion
William McAuliffe, caretaker
Now the Hoffman Center
Nature Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary
  (image courtesy of Maureen McAuliffe Smith)

The Sunken Orchard "music room" and 25 acres became in 1951 
The Playhouse, country home of
William "Billy" Woodward Jr., financier, industrialist and owner of the famed 
racehorse, Nashua, and Ann Crowell Woodward, former Powers model and radio entertainer.
On October 30, 1955, Ann killed Billy in a tragic accident, thinking she was shooting at a prowler.
The Playhouse is now owned by The Society of St. Pius V.

David K. E. Bruce estate on Southwoods Road at Jericho Turnpike,
now the Oyster Bay Town Golf Course 
(courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University)

David K. E. Bruce estate, formal garden and garden 
(courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University)

Ailsa Mellon Bruce (Mrs. David K. E. Bruce)
Portrait by Philip Alexius de Laszlo, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, National Gallery of Art
For a larger version, please go to the National Gallery of Art web site.  See Links.  

Left, the 4th hole of the Oyster Bay Town Golf Course;
Right, some history of the Bruce estate and the course 
(Dr. Bill Quirin, Golf Clubs of the MGA, Triumph Books, 1997)

Little Ipswich, c. 1943, home of Chalmers and Ruby Ross Wood on Syosset-Woodbury Road
Chalmers Wood was a stockbroker and member of the exclusive Knickerbocker Club.
   Ruby Ross Wood was the noted interior designer.
Mr. Wood's  son (from his first marriage to Katherine Turnbull), Chalmers Benedict Wood,
 served in the U.S. State Department in the Kennedy administration. 
As of 2003, although long gone, Little Ipswich was still on the post office list of places using zip code 11791.

Estate of Ogden Livingston Mills, United States Treasurer
The estate is now the Woodbury Country Club.
 (courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University)

Hark Away, the home of Mrs. Elisabeth T. Babcock in Woodbury 
(photo courtesy of Hal Muskat)

 The interior of the Babcock estate c. 1927

Betty Babcock, The Expandable Pig, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1949
The inscription to Robin Boslet reads: 
 "To Robin with the affectionate regard of 'Pig' and Betty Babcock Feb. 19, 1950"

 Elisabeth T. Babcock and her biography 
(Hark Away:  The Estate of Elisabeth T. Babcock of Woodbury, Long Island, Skinner Bolton, MA, 1985)

 Left, cover of Hark Away, the Estate of Elisabeth T. Babcock 
Right, the "Livingston Table", a classical revival rosewood and mahogany card table,
c. 1815, passed down to Mrs. Babcock through her family 
(Hark Away:  The Estate of Elisabeth T. Babcock of Woodbury, Long Island, Skinner Bolton, MA, 1985)

 Contents of Hark Away, at auction in November 1985 
(Hark Away:  The Estate of Elisabeth T. Babcock of Woodbury, Long Island, Skinner Bolton, MA, 1985)

Letter from Mrs. Babcock to Robert Boslet, 1963

 The Henry Rogers Winthrop estate
Juneau Boulevard off Jericho Turnpike
While the mansion, left, was destroyed by fire in 1964, the Tennis House (right) remains today at the Gates of Woodbury
The estate was around the corner from Hark Away.
H. R. Winthrop's wife was Alice Woodward Babcock, who may have been related to Elisabeth Babcock's husband.
(image of the mansion, courtesy of Elliott Thau)

Left, the Boccafola home on Woodbury Farms (on the Edward Tinker estate, Jericho Turnpike) 
This 1959 photo shows James and Donald Boccafola on the Farmall tractor.
The house is now the site of a handball and basketball court
in the Syosset-Woodbury Community Park.
Right, Alfred Boccafola's chauffer's license, c. late '50s
Mr. Boccafola was the superintendent of Woodbury Farms.
(images courtesy of Joyce Boccafola Michels)

Tinker's Pond, May 2002 
(photos courtesy of Bob Zito)

A portion of the Tinker estate became the Syosset-Woodbury Community Center

Otto Hermann Kahn
1867—1934
(DN-0089252, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society)

(above images of Oheka, courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University)