Christmas at Meadow Croft

The annual "Christmas at Meadow Croft"

Visit the 1891 John E. Roosevelt estate to see the main house in its winter glory.

First floor rooms will be magnificently decorated with wreaths,

roping, greenery, poinsettias and ribbons.

It will be beautifully decorated by local Flower Houses and Garden and Community Clubs.

Enjoy St. Nicholas, hot chocolate, cookies and music on the grand piano.

Holiday displays and collections will also be on exhibit upstairs.

All decorations will be raffled off.

December 5 & 6, 2009- Saturday and Sunday only

12 noon to 4 pm, both days

Admission $5 adults, $3 for seniors & children 12 and under. (This is not suitable for children under 4 years old.)

Decorations that will be raffled are to be given away at the end of the day on Sunday.

Middle Road and Bayport's Name

In 1834 a road was built through the middle of the farmlands from Sayville to Blue Point and the road was named Middle Road.

At first the Bayport community was called Middle Road Village, but then renamed Southport.

Since there was another village upstate called Southport, the name had to be changed again.

When the Post Office was set up in 1858, the name was changed to Bayport.

Trip to Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

The Bayport Heritage trip and guided tour through Green-Wood Cemetery, brought us to the plot of the Roosevelt family, and the headstone of John Ellis Roosevelt,

the owner of Meadow Croft.

Our guided tour also included the Bourne family mausoleum and other historical sites.

It was a lovely day, and an educational trip into the past.

ASCHS Information

Association of Suffolk County Historical Societies (ASCHS) 

The Association offers special tours and programs for all those interested in the history of the towns, villages, and communities of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.

Upcoming Quarterly Meetings:

(2014)

January 25     Amityville Historical Society

April 26     Rock Hall Museum

July 26      Eastville Community Historical Society

October 25     East Hampton Historical Society

(2015)

January 25     Suffolk County Historical Society

CONTACTS:

Newsletter:  Tom Edmonds (631) 283-2494

President:  Gail Horton (631) 477-0631

Secretary:  Peggy Murphy (631) 765-3598

Upcoming Event: July 21, 2009

Bayport Heritage is hosting a "Thank You to the Community" 

concert at Bayport Memorial Park. 

Dave Schecher and the LI Brass Guild will be on stage in the 

Town of Islip Showmobile...under lights with sound.

Bring folding chairs! See you there!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 7:00 pm

Suffolk County Historical Societies

Suffolk County Historical Societies

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AMAGANSETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 7077 


Amangansett, New York 11930


516-267-3020



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AMITYVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY



170 Broadway 


Amityville, New York 11701


516-598-1486




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BAYPORT- BLUE POINT HERITAGE ASSOCIATION

PO Box 4

Bayport, New York 11705

(631) 472-4625

http://bayportbluepointheritage.org/

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BABYLON VILLAGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PO Box 484

Babylon, NY 11702

http://www.babylonvillagehistoricalsociety.org/

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BAY SHORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

22 Maple Avenue

Bay Shore, NY 11706

(631) 665-1707

http://www.bayshorehistoricalsociety.org

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BELLPORT-BROOKHAVEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY



31 Bellport Lane 


Bellport, New York 11713


516-286-0888




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BOHEMIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 67


Bohemia, New York 11716


516-244-2707



http://www.bohemiahistoricalsocietyny.org/

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BRIDGEHAMPTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Main Street 


Bridgehampton, New York 11932


516-537-1088



http://bridgehamptonhistoricalsociety.org/

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CENTRAL ISLIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY                       

490 Irving Street

Central Islip, NY 11795

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CUTCHOGUE-NEW SUFFOLK HISTORICAL COUNCIL                        

P.O. Box 714

Cutchogue, NY 11935

(631) 734-7122

http://www.cutchoguenewsuffolkhistory.org

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DAVIS TOWN MEETING HOUSE SOCIETY, INC.                        

780 Middle Country Road #130

Middle Island, NY 11953

http://www.davistownmeetinghouse.org

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EAST HAMPTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY



101 Main Street


East Hampton, New York 11937


516-324-6850


http://www.easthamptonhistory.org/


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EAST ISLIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 8

East Islip, New York


516-581-1384



http://www.eastislip.org/

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EASTVILLE (Sag Harbor) COMMUNITY Historical Society

 P.O. Box 2036

Sag Harbor, NY 11963-2036

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FRIENDS FOR LONG ISLAND'S HERITAGE

1864 Muttontown Road
Syosset, NY 11791
 (516)571-7600

P.O. Box 144
West Sayville, NY 11796 
(631)854-4971

Friends for Long Island's Heritage operates many museums
and historical sites throughout Long Island.

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FRIENDS FOR LONG ISLAND WIRELESS HISTORY

41 Sayville Blvd.

Sayville, NY 11782

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FRIENDS OF DEER PARK ARCHIVES                        

P.O. 674 Deer Park Avenue

Dix Hills, NY 11746

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FARMINGVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

P.O. Box 311

Farmingville, NY 11738

(631) 698-0396

Email: farmingvillehistoricalsociety@gmail.com

Website: http://farmingvillehistoricalsociety.org/

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GREENLAWN-CENTERPORT HISTORICAL ASSN. AND MUSEUM



31 Broadway 


Box 354 


Greenlawn, New York 11740 


516-754-1180

http://www.greenlawncenterporthistorical.org/

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HAMPTON BAYS HISTORICAL & PRESERVATION SOCIETY

116 West Montauk Hwy


PO Box 588


Hampton Bays NY 11946


631-728-0887


http://www.hamptonbayshistoricalsociety.org



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HUNTINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY



209 Main Street


Huntington, New York 11743


(516) 427-7045 voice


hunthistory@juno.com


http://www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org/


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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ISLIP HAMLET                                    

P.O. Box 601

Islip, NY 11751

http://www.isliphamlethistory.org

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IRISH FAMILY HISTORY FORUM



PO Box 67 


Plainview, New York 11803-0067


516-616-3587


www.ifhf.org

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KETCHAM INN FOUNDATION, INC.

81 Main Street P.O.Box 626

Center Moriches, NY 11934

(631) 878-1776

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ITALIAN GENEALOGICAL GROUP



7 Grayon Drive


Dix Hills, New York 11746

Bethpage Public Library


47 Powell Avenue


Bethpage, New York


http://www.italiangen.org/


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JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONG ISLAND



5 Know Place 


Dix Hills, New York 11746

https://www.jewishgen.org/


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JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONG ISLAND



37 Westcliff Drive


Dix Hills, New York 11746-5627

rsteinig@suffolk.lib.ny.us

Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library


999 Old Country Road


Plainview, New York



http://www.jewishgen.org/jgsli/

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LAKE RONKONKOMA HERITAGE ASSOCIATION

4 Cherry Street

Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

 Email: thelakeheritage@aol.com

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LAKE RONKONKOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 2716 


Lake Ronkonkoma, New York 11779 


516-467-3152




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LINDENHURST HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 296 


215 S. Wellwood Ave.


Lindenhurst, New York 11757


516-957-4385

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LLOYD HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Lloyd Harbor Road


Lloyd Harbor, New York 11743 


516-424-6110


http://www.lloydharborhistoricalsociety.org/


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MANORVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

50 North St.

Manorville, NY 11949

(631) 369-2250

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MASTIC PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

P.O. Box 333

Mastic, NY 11950

(631) 504-8222

http://mphistorical.org     

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MATTITUCK-Laurel HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Route 25 at Cardinal Drive


PO Box 766 


Mattituck, New York 11952


516-298-5248

http://www.mlhistoricalsociety.org/


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MILLER PLACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

75 North Country Road


Box 651


N. Country Road


Miller Place, New York 11764

http://mpmshistoricalsociety.org/

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MONTAUK HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Montauk Hwy.

Box 112


Montauk, New York 11954


516-668-5340



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MORICHES BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Chet Swezey & Montauk Hwy.

PO Box 31


Center Moriches, New York 11934 


516-878-1776



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NARROW BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

P.O. Box 317

Mastic Beach, NY 11951

https://www.NarrowBayHistorical.com

Email: narrowbayhs@optimum.net

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NEW YORK FOLKLORE SOCIETY

P.O. Box 764


Schenectady, NY 12301


518/346-7008



nyfs@nyfolklore.org

http://www.nyfolklore.org/

For folklore collected by scholars and lay people throughout the state. 



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NORTHPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO box 545

215 Main Street 


Northport, New York 11768


516-757-9859


http://northporthistorical.org/


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OYSTER BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

20 Summit St.


P.O. Box 297


Oyster Bay, New York 11771


(516) 676-7077


http://www.oysterbayhistorical.org/


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OYSTERPONDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Village Lane 


PO Box 70 


Orient, New York 11957


516-323-2480


http://www.oysterpondshistoricalsociety.org/


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PORT JEFFERSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY



115 Prospect Street


Box 586


Port Jefferson, New York 11777


516-473-2665



http://www.portjeffhistorical.org/

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PUERTO RICAN-HISPANIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY



25 Ralph Avenue


Brentwood, New York 11717



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QUOGUE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PO BOX 1207

Quogue, NY 11959

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 ROCKY POINT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PO Box 1720

Rocky Point, NY 11778

http://www.rockypointhistoricalsociety.org/

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SAG HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 1709 


Sag Harbor, New York 11963


516-725-5092


http://www.sagharborhistoricalsociety.org/


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SAGTIKOS MANOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY

P.O. Box 5344

Bay Shore, NY 11706

(631) 854-0939

http://www.sagtikosmanor.org/
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SAYVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 41 


39 Edwards Street


Sayville, New York 11782

516-563-0186

http://www.sayville.com/historicalsociety/

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SHELTER ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY



PO Box 847-24


North Ferry Road 


Shelter Island, New York 11964 


631-749-0025

sihissoc@optonline.net

http://shelterislandhistory.org/

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SMITHTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

5 North Country Rd.

PO BOX 69

SMITHTOWN, NY 11787

http://www.smithtownny.gov/

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SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION
OF LONG ISLAND ANTIQUITIES (SPLIA)

161 Main Street


P.O. Box 148


Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724


(631)692-4664


http://www.splia.org/


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SOUTHAMPTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY



17 Meeting House Lane


Southampton, New York 11968


516-283-2494



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SOUTHOLD HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Main Road & Maple Lane

P.O. Box 1


Southold, New York 11971


516-765-5500

http://www.southoldhistoricalsociety.org/

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STIRLING HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Main Street

PO Box 590


Greenport, New York 


516-477-0099



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STONY BROOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Box 802


Stony Brook, New York 11790 



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SUFFOLK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY



300 W. Main Street


Riverhead, New York 11901 


(516)-727-2881
(631)727-2881

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THREE VILLAGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY



 
93 North Country Road
Setauket, NY 11733

(631) 751-3730

www.tvhs.org

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WADING RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY



North Country Road 


Wading River, New York 11792


516-929-4082



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WATER MILL MUSEUM

P. O. Box 63           

Water Mill, NY 11976

 Email: info@watermillmuseum.org 

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WESTHAMPTON BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PO Box 686

Westhampton Beach, NY 11978

631-288-1139

whbhistorical@optonline.net

http://www.whbhistorical.org/

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WILLIAM K. VANDERBILT 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Box 433


Oakdale, New York 11769



(631) 567-2277

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YAPHANK HISTORICAL SOCIETY



Yaphank Avenue and Main Street


PO Box 111

Yaphank, New York 11980


516-924-3401



http://www.yaphankhistorical.org/

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History of Meadow Croft

This brief history of Meadow Croft 

was prepared by Mr. Donald Weinhart,

 the founder of the Bayport Heritage Association.

Meadow Croft is located on Middle Road in Sayville, New York in the middle of the Suffolk County Sans Souci Lake Nature Preserve which divides Sayville on the west from Bayport on the east. The approach to the estate is among the most haunting and beautiful on Long Island, over a narrow concrete bridge and up a long dirt drive embedded in tall marsh grass. Waving in the wind, this grass beckons the visitor back to the Gold Coast period, for Meadow Croft exists in a remarkable state of preservation evocative of the first third of the twentieth century when it was last occupied. The only outside building which is visible from inside the estate is the adjacent St. Ann's Episcopal Church, its carillon peeling us back to the late nineteenth century when the estate was formed.

The estate occupies a large tract of land dividing the east and west branches of Brown's Creek which flows into the Great South Bay. The main house, facing due south toward this bay, is divided into two sections: two original mid-nineteenth century farmhouses which were used for servants' quarters in the Gold Coast era and a larger, more formal Colonial Revival main block designed by the local architect Isaac H. Green in 1891-1892. The older farmhouse, gable-roofed and clapboarded, include a porch, kitchen, pantry and servants' kitchen, the latter completely paneled in original summer paneling. The Colonial Revival main block, hip-roofed, clapboarded and plastered at the corners, includes a main parlor, dining room, and four bedrooms in addition to a generous foyer and partially finished attic. The full porch extends out to form a porte-cochere over the main entrance. Two bathrooms protrude from the second story of the main house, cantilevered out from the Colonial Revival main block. Installed in 1908, these represent the only important alterations to the original structure. The estate outbuildings include a garage, stable/bam, coach house, caretaker's cottage, and poured concrete swimming pool of early twentieth century vintage.

The John E. Roosevelt estate records with outstanding fidelity the origins of Long Island's Gold Coast era in bucolic farmlife and summer resort activity because of its early date, moderate size, remarkable state of preservation, and transitional farmhouse/summerhouse character. Dedicated to the Suffolk County Historic Trust and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington DC, Meadow Croft promises to deliver cultural and educational benefits to Suffolk County citizens and visitors for decades.

Meadow Croft is notable as an early Colonial Revival residence by Isaac Henry Green (1858-1937), one of Long Island's most important Beaux Arts architects and one of Sayville's most notable citizens. Green spent nearly all his life in Sayville where he designed many buildings including the old '88 School house (now destroyed), St. Ann's Episcopal Church, the present clubhouse of the West Sayville Golf Course (the former Hard estate), and the Oystermen's Bank and Trust Company Building in downtown Sayville. He is also credited with the main buildings for the first and second Maidstone Clubs in East Hampton, dating from the 1890's. Green's chief claim to fame on the national scene derives from his pioneering use of the Dutch Revival style beginning in the Hamptons as early as the 1890's. This style is signaled at Meadow Croft in the Dutch double doors of the main foyer which may refer to the Dutch ancestry of the Roosevelt family.

As one of the major Long Island homesteads of the famous Roosevelt family which has figured so prominently in American public life, Meadow Croft carries special historical associations. Three Roosevelts can be associated with the estate: Robert Bamwell Roosevelt (1829-1906) who purchased part of the land on which Meadow Croft sits, his nephew President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) who often visited the property, and Robert's son, a cousin of the President, (John Ellis Roosevelt, 1853-1939), an legal advisor to the President who commissioned the estate in 1891. Robert Bamwell Roosevelt was an important New York State reform politician, United State Congressman from 1871 to 1873, and one of America's earliest conservationists. Meadow Croft's present status as part of the Sans Souci Lake Country Nature preserve perpetuated this well known interest of the Roosevelt family. President Theodore Roosevelt is well-known nationally and internationally as the colorful leader of the "Rough Riders" in the Spanish-American War, Progressive Republican Governor of New York from 1899 to 1900, President of the United States from 1901 to 1908, and Nobel Prize winner in 1906 in the category of Peace. John Ellis Roosevelt was a well- known New York City investment banker and an active contributor to Long Island's social life through his participation in clubs and sports such as cycling and sailing.                         © Donald Weinhart