PSYCHIC NIGHT AT MEADOW CROFT 2021

JOIN US FOR PSYCHIC NIGHT AT MEADOW CROFT 

Monday, October 25th 2021, from 6:00-10:00 PM

Back by popular demand! This year we’ll have two Psychics, one Tarot Card Reader and one Reiki Healer on-site at Meadow Croft. Join us on Monday, October 25th 2021, from 6:00-10:00 PM for a fun, interactive event! You must make an appointment and secure your time slot.

Prices for sessions are $55 for a 15 minute session and $85 for a 30 minute session, per person.

Please call Mary at 631-495-7238 to schedule appointments with either of the Psychics – Judi or Terry, then return here to pay via PayPal to pay within 24 hours, or your appointment slot will be released.

Call Leanne at 631-235-1702 to schedule an appointment for Reiki with Jaret or Tarot Card reading with Kathleen, then return here to pay via PayPal to pay within 24 hours, or your appointment slot will be released.

Once you reserve your appointment with either Mary or Leanne, you can use this link to pay directly.

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=5S56WSKV6CANS

 

Book Reading Event, Oct. 30th

On Saturday, October 30th at 2:00 on the front porch of Meadow Croft, the Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association in conjunction with the Sayville Historical Society will host a book reading. Excerpts from The Bayman's Daughter written by Sayville author Theresa Dodaro will be shared.

The Bayman's Daughter is a time-slip novel that takes place in the quaint seaside hamlet of Sayville, Long Island which was once the playground of rich and famous families like the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. Parts of the novel are set at Meadow Croft, home of John Ellis Roosevelt.

James Bertsch will host the event and it is open to the public. The author will be there as well and there will be a question and answer session with Ms. Dodaro. This event is rain or shine. Hope you can join us for this fun event!

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October 2021 Newsletter

Last month for house tours!

This is the last month for tours at the historic Meadow Croft estate. We are proud of all of the work we managed to accomplish this season. Come check out the new additions like the historic lighting features, servants quarters, and the auto barn (more info on this below).

Tours run every weekend from 2:00-4:00 so come by now before it's too late!

The Auto Barn

John Ellis Roosevelt was a car enthusiast. The automobile was first invented and perfected in Germany and France in the late 1800s, though Americans quickly came to dominate the automotive industry in the first half of the twentieth century. Mr. Roosevelt quickly acquired an auto and built the auto barn on the property of Meadow Croft to accommodate his new purchase. According to Mr. Roosevelt's obituary, he owned one of the first automobiles in NY.

The auto barn was constructed in 1903. It was built in 3 sections and the final section was built in 1905. Mr. Roosevelt also had a chauffeur to drive him to important business meetings and such. There is a trench on the floor, pitched into the cement, that was used for oil changes. The oil was drained and flowed directly into Brown's River.

Recently, the BBPHA has restored the auto barn to accurately reflect the turn of the century. It also houses Gene Horton's 1916 Maxwell that has been donated to the Association by a generous member of Gene's family. The Maxwell is just an example of a car of that time period and was not owned by the Roosevelt family. Photographs of Mr. Roosevelt racing his cars along with other artifacts can be found upstairs in Meadow Croft, located in Mr. Roosevelt's dressing room. Dusters, coats that helped keep the dust off of clothing while riding in open cars, can be found there as well.

Special thanks to Eric Haesche and Jerry McCloskey for their work on the auto barn this month and creating another excellent visual exhibit at Meadow Croft.

Visitors at Meadow Croft!

Thank you to the Yaphank Historical Society who recently came to Meadow Croft to see the authentic period lighting that has been installed throughout the estate. Meadow Croft also has a grand display of additional lighting fixtures that highlights the transition from kerosene and gas to electric in the early 19th century. Special thanks to Erich Haesche, an expert of historical lighting, that helped guide the BBPHA in purchasing authentic pieces to enhance and restore Meadow Croft to its original glory.

Erich will be available on the first weekend of October to answer any questions guests may have as tours are open every weekend through the month of October. Thank you to the Yaphank Historical Society for stopping by and we hope you enjoyed your tour!

In memoriam

A generous donation to the BBPHA has been made in the names of Gary Loker, former husband of docent Linda Loker, and Dennis Elliot. Thank you to the generous donors in memory of these two community members.

In Celebration!

On September 5, family and friends gathered at Meadow Croft to celebrate the life of our wonderful Blue Point historian, Gene Horton. Gene’s husband Erich did a magnificent job setting up the event. Gene’s books, a photo album, and his boater, the hat he always wore when giving tours of Meadow Croft, were on display. Of course, Erich had Blue Point’s own Flo’s cater the party (would Gene have wanted it any other way?!). It was a wonderful day to celebrate a great historian and an even better man.

At the end of his book, Blue Point Remembered, Gene wrote, “To preserve our past is to enrich our future.” Family, friends, former students, neighbors, and our community are all the more rich for having had Gene Horton in our lives. Thank you, Gene.

The BBP P-H-A-N-T-O-M-S

These articles were first printed in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette and written by Gene Horton. They are reprinted with permission.

October 2009

Our High School has a very interesting name for its athletic teams: The Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms. The dictionary defines a "phantom" as an "apparition, a specter, an illusion, ghost-like, a dream image.'" With Halloween this month, ghosts and phantoms fit right in.

The Bayport-Blue Point Library has a collection of our high school's "Stepping Stone" yearbooks. So, I began to leaf through them in chronological order, especially the "Athletics" section, looking for the key team word, "Phantoms." Originally, the teams were just know as "Bayport HIgh School" team before consolidation with Blue Point. The 1953 Bayport HIgh School 'Stepping Stone' yearbook is the first yearbook to use the team word "phantom." And it wasn't until 1970 that the word, "PHANTOM" appeared on the shirts of the varsity basketball team yearbook photo.

In February 18th 1999 issue of the 'Suffolk County NEWS,' Marie Weiss wrote an article about how the Bayport-Blue Point teams got their name "Phantom:"

Bayport-Blue Point's team name has a most interesting history. According to Cara DeSimone, reference librarian at the village's public library, there used to be a ghost in the high school tower. "It was said that the tower was haunted," she noted.

My interest peaked. I followed a trail that included talking with Charlie Bogel, his daughter, Barbara Ackermann, Florence Olsen and Dave Brewer. Those discussions led to another theory which was presented by Don Porter. He contacted Tim Mazzei and they determined that the name originated in the late 1930's when the second team (junior varsity) did better than the first team (varsity). Someone made the comment "Where did these kids come from?' and the reply came back, 'Are they a bunch of phantoms?'

Mr. Porter noted that the name Phantoms was not allowed to be used at the time. They were to be called the Bayport High School Basketball Team. Any more theories/stories about how the PHANTOMS got their name??? Let us know....

Upcoming Events

Christmas at Meadow Croft: This year, Christmas at Meadow Croft will be on December 4th and 5th 2021. The theme is Dashing through the Snow and Leanne Berg, our event chair is asking for help with this year's display. We had a wonderful group who came into MC to help decorate however, The Neighbors and Gardeners of Bayport Blue Point unfortunately disbanded this year and we are looking for another group, business or community organization who would be willing to volunteer their time and materials to help with this request. If you are interested you can reach out to Leanne at 631-235-1702.

Historic Autumn House Tour: Unfortunately this year, we were not able to properly plan for the Autumn House Tour due to restrictions and guidelines as a result of the pandemic. We are beginning our planning NOW for 2022. If you have a historic, unusual or architecturally significant home in the Bayport Blue Point community and would consider allowing us to showcase your home in October of 2022, please give us a call. This has always been a great event for our organizations as well as the community and we would like to bring it back but WE NEED YOUR HELP! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call us at 631-472-4625.

Psychic night is back!

On October 25th at the Meadow Croft estate, the BBPHA will host a Psychic Night! We organized this a few years ago and it was a fun, well attended event. As details are being finalized now, please follow our Facebook page to get the latest information about times and pricing.

*Please note: all the latest guidelines from the CDC and DOH will be followed for this event.

The Digitizing Project

Prior to the start of the pandemic, we were undertaking a project to digitize some of our archived materials such as historical documents and photos. Obviously, things slowed down significantly in 2020, but recently we have recharged the project. Digitizing is a process of scanning documents and photos, saving them in a online format and them placing them on the web for the community to view and enjoy.

In a partnership with L.I. University under a Robert Lion Gardiner grant, the BBPHA has submitted all of our newsletters dating back to the first one in 1983. These documents provide a look back in time and details the hard work that the founding members undertook to make the association what it is today. The next item to be digitized and made available is the diary of Libby Homan. Libby Homan lived at Eureka House with her family located on the northeast corner of Oakwood and Middle Roads. As a young adult, LIbby recorded each day's events from 1867 to 1875. This diary is one of our treasured archives. The original, hand-written diary is in our possession given to the Association by a descendent of Ms. Homan. It was painstakingly transcribed into typed text for easy reading. Gene Horton did an investigative read of the text 20 years ago and commented that it is an excellent look back into the real-life events of the day.

The items are not quite ready for viewing. When they are, all members will be notified with the specifics on how to access these items from the web. We are excited to bring these historical documents to the community.

Islip Arts Council Presents: Seasons at Meadow Croft

On Saturday, October 16, 2021, from 10am–4pm, The Islip Arts Council will hold an Art Exhibition at the historic Meadow Croft Estate. All of the art work will reflect the theme of the Roosevelt Estate and the grounds surrounding it. The art displays will be both inside and outside (weather permitting) so we hope you can join us for this special event. Everyone is Invited to attend! A video tour of the exhibition will be available online after the event at the Islip Arts Live Youtube Channel.

Book Reading at Meadow Croft

On Saturday, October 30th at 2:00 on the front porch of Meadow Croft, the Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association in conjunction with the Sayville Historical Society will host a book reading. Excerpts from The Bayman's Daughter written by Sayville author Theresa Dodaro will be shared.

The Bayman's Daughter is a time-slip novel that takes place in the quaint seaside hamlet of Sayville, Long Island which was once the playground of rich and famous families like the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. Parts of the novel are set at Meadow Croft, home of John Ellis Roosevelt.

James Bertsch will host the event and it is open to the public. The author will be there as well and there will be a question and answer session with Ms. Dodaro. This event is rain or shine. Hope you can join us for this fun event!

BBPHA

Facebook @BayportHistory

Last month for tours! Follow us on Social Media!

Meadow Croft Estate, Middle Road, Sayville, NY, USA  

bbphistorical@gmail.com  

631-472-4625 

  BayportBluePointHeritage.org

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September 2021 Newsletter

 

September 2021!

And then the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and Autumn was awaked. – Raquel Franco

Welcome fall! It was a wonderful summer season with free outdoor concerts, tours and our historic boat tour of Fire Island! Thank you to all of those who have attended house tours and learned a little bit about life in early 1900's. Tours will continue every weekend, from 2:00-4:00, until the end of October. If you haven't had the chance to check out Meadow Croft, the summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt, now is the time!

Historic Boat tour of Fire Island....

"Excellent!" "Fantastic!" "Magical!" are just some of the words used by the sold out guest list to describe this year's historic boat tour of Fire Island. The weather was in full cooperation...thank you Mother Nature! and everyone was relaxed and in good spirits. John Amato and Frank Giebfried shared the history of our barrier island paradise as the Sayville ferry made its way from Sunken Forest to Davis Park. Special thanks to Gene Horton, a past member of BBPHA and local historian who wrote the historical text used for this tour.

It was a glorious sunset as the ferry docked at Davis Park so our guests could enjoy some time at the Casino Bar & Grill. A full moon, also know as a Blue Moon or a Sturgeon Moon, was on full display as we made our way back to Sayville. It was a great night on the Great South Bay!

Thank you!

Thank you to Erich Haesche who recently donated a hitching post and installed it at the front of Meadow Croft. I'm sure President Roosevelt used a similar one to tie up his horse when he visited Meadow Croft in 1903! Thank you Erich!

 

 

Did you know????

It is said that the builder of Meadow Croft, Boss Strong, purposefully placed one of the spindles on the railing of the main staircase at Meadow Croft upside down. Mr. Strong claimed that this act was his trademark. His belief was that only God made things that were perfect!

Come to Meadow Croft for a tour this weekend, only now through October to check it out!

Meadow Croft Sparkles!

Since the Roosevelts haven’t had any servants for several decades now, you may be wondering how the silver in the dining room stays so brilliant. For years, Sheila Rettaliata has kept our silverware cleaned, polished, and shining for Meadow Croft visitors. This is quite an undertaking, as there are multiple place settings, candlesticks, serving platters, tea sets, soup tureens, and many more (even a pickle jar!). The BBPHA would like to thank Sheila for all the work she does and her generosity of time. Keep on shining, Sheila!

Upcoming events....

Christmas at Meadow Croft: This year, Christmas at Meadow Croft will be on December 4th and 5th 2021. The theme is Dashing through the Snow and Leanne Berg, our event chair is asking for help with this year's display. We had a wonderful group who came into MC to help decorate however, The Neighbors and Gardeners of Bayport Blue Point unfortunately disbanded this year and we are looking for another group, business or community organization who would be willing to volunteer their time and materials to help with this request. If you are interested you can reach out to Leanne at 631-235-1702.

Historic Autumn House Tour: Unfortunately this year, we were not able to properly plan for the Autumn House Tour due to restrictions and guidelines as a result of the pandemic. We are beginning our planning NOW for 2022. If you have a historic, unusual or architecturally significant home in the Bayport Blue Point community and would consider allowing us to showcase your home in October of 2022, please give us a call. This has always been a great event for our organizations as well as the community and we would like to bring it back but WE NEED YOUR HELP! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call us at 631-472-4625.

Summer Hotels of Blue Point: The Monterey

These articles were first printed in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette and written by Gene Horton. They are reprinted with permission.

December 2013

A hundred years ago, The Monterey was one of the largest summer hotels in Blue Point. It opened in 1913 and was located on the northwest corner of Middle Road and Arthur Avenue in Blue Point. No trace remains of it today except for a small stretch of the front walkway and the fire hydrant which you can see in the old postcard photo. Private homes, built post-World War 2, are located on this site today.

When this hotel opened in 1913, it was named the Hotel Imperial. Albert Zapfe was the proprietor. But when the US went to war with Imperial Germany in 1917, the name of this hotel was changed to The Monterey.

The Monterey had over 100 guest rooms. It was a four story, wood-shingled structure with wide screened-in and open porches. Like other area hotels, The Monterey was only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Monterey had a large ballroom in its east wing that was regarded as one of the beautiful ballrooms in this area. It was beautifully decorated and was the site of may summer exhibition dances and contests. Before Our Lady of the Snow Church was built in 1917, Sunday Mass was offered in The Monterey's ballroom.

The Monterey eventually went the way of so many other local summer hotels and boarding houses in this area. It was damaged by fire in 1928 and was eventually dismantled in 1943.

 

 

 

Islip Arts Council Presents: Seasons of Meadow Croft

On Saturday, October 16, 2021, from 10am–4pm, The Islip Arts Council will hold an Art Exhibition at the historic Meadow Croft Estate. All of the art work will reflect the theme of the Roosevelt Estate and the grounds surrounding it. The art displays will be both inside and outside (weather permitting) so we hope you can join us for this special event. Everyone is Invited to attend! A video tour of the exhibition will be available online after the event at the Islip Arts Live Youtube Channel.

If you are interested in submitting an entry, please see the information below.

BBPHA

Facebook @BayportHistory

Follow us on Social Media!

Meadow Croft Estate, Middle Road, Sayville, NY, USA 

  bbphistorical@gmail.com  

631-472-4625  

BayportBluePointHeritage.org

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August 2021 Newsletter

Summertime....

"Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." —Henry James

All of us at the BBPHA are hoping you are enjoying your summer....fresh air, sunshine, beach and pool days, barbeques and outdoor activities with friends and family. We are so lucky to live on such a beautiful Island and enjoy all that our communities have to offer.

Thank you to the many families who attended the two FREE summer concerts sponsored by the BBPHA. Special thanks to Nina Etcetera and The Flat Leavers. Wonderful shows on beautiful nights! Thanks to Dave Harenberg who arranged these concerts for our Association.

General Membership meetings: Once the library has fully moved into their new location, General Membership meetings can be scheduled. Should be October or November. More info in next month's newsletter.

Great news: HIstoric Boat Tour is back on for this year! Check out the details below! Planning is also happening for Christmas at Meadow Croft 2021, which will be held the first weekend in December. Save the date now! Welcome August!

Historic Boat Tour of the Great South Bay

The Great South Bay is not only a beautiful part of our communities summer fun but it has significant and historic homes located on the bay as well as a tremendous history to share! The BBPHA is happy and proud to once again offer this tour for our communities.

The cruise will be on August 24th (Rain date August 31st) and will leave from the Sayville Fire Island ferry terminal at 6:00 PM and head out to the bay. You must be on the ferry by 5:45 to check in.

The cruise will begin from the Sayville Ferry dock on Brown's River. We will cruise out to the bay as John Amato and Frank Geibfried team up to highlight the historic sites along the shore on Fire Island; from Sailor's Haven to Davis Park. At approximately 7:15, the boat will dock at Davis Park and our guests are invited to come to The Casino for drinks and a limited menu will be available for us. (This is optional if you choose as it is not covered in the cost of the trip) This menu will include salads, sandwiches, grill items and appetizers as well. An area will be reserved for our group and it is a short walk across the boardwalk to this restaurant. The ferry will leave Davis Park at 8:30 and we will head back to Brown's River under a beautiful full moon and dock at 9:30. Cocktails and food at The Casino are on your own. You are allowed to bring some snacks/food in a cooler on the ferry (no alcohol). Cruisers will park at the Sayville Ferry freight parking lot free of charge.

The cost of this event is $40.00 per person and payments can be made on our webpage via PayPal or Credit Card. Or for a direct link to purchase tickets, click here. Reservations will be made on a first come first serve basis until we reach maximum capacity.

In the event of rain, this trip will have a rain date of August 31st. Looking forward to a wonderful historic night on the Great South Bay!

Thank you's!

Special thanks to so many friends and volunteers of our organization!

Chevron Corporation: Thank you for the generous $500.00 donation to our Association! Chevron has been a consistent corporate donor for many years. Your generous contribution is greatly appreciated!

Jenny Harenberg: Thank you for setting up and maintaining our webpage. We appreciate all of the volunteer work you do for our Association! The webpage can be viewed here.

Erich Haesche: Erich has donated his time, expertise and many authentic lighting fixtures to Meadow Croft. There is currently an incredible display showcased throughout the historic home that can be viewed while on tour each weekend (tours are 2:00-4:00 every Saturday and Sunday through October). Erich will also be available the first Sunday of the month to personally answer any questions guests have about these incredible additions to Meadow Croft. Thank you!

Upcoming events:

Christmas at Meadow Croft: This year, Christmas at Meadow Croft will be on December 4th and 5th 2021. The theme is Dashing through the Snow and Leanne Berg, our event chair is asking for help with this year's display. We had a wonderful group who came into MC to help decorate however, The Neighbors and Gardeners of Bayport Blue Point unfortunately disbanded this year and we are looking for another group, business or community organization who would be willing to volunteer their time and materials to help with this request. If you are interested you can reach out to Leanne at 631-235-1702.

Historic Autumn House Tour: Unfortunately this year, we were not able to properly plan for the Autumn House Tour due to restrictions and guidelines as a result of the pandemic. We are beginning our planning NOW for 2022. If you have a historic, unusual or architecturally significant home in the Bayport Blue Point community and would consider allowing us to showcase your home in October of 2022, please give us a call. This has always been a great event for our organizations as well as the community and we would like to bring it back but WE NEED YOUR HELP! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call us at 631-472-4625.

"Leaving the Dock, Bayport, L.I."

The following was written by Gene Horton and appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette. It is reprinted with permission.

December 2015

This old Bayport postcard was mailed out of the Blue Point post office on August 13, 1908. It was addressed to Mr. Lloyd Britton who was staying at the South Bay House in Blue Point. The South Bay House was one of Blue Point's largest summer boarding houses taking in about 300 guests. The message written on the card says, "Hope you are not stiff after autoing." The card was signed, H.A.Beebe, Sayville, L.I."

This old postcard shows one of the docks located along Bayport's shoreline over a hundred years ago. This was probably the dock at the end of either Seaman Avenue or Snedecor Avenue in Bayport. Pictured is a gaff rigged sloop setting sail onto the Great South Bay, passengers on board.

BBPHA

Facebook @BayportHistory

Visit us at Meadow Croft! Tours every weekend from 2:00-4:00

 

299 Middle Road 

Sayville NY 11782 

  bbphistorical@gmail.com  

631-472-4625  

BayportBluePointHeritage.org

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July 2021 Newsletter

 

Happy Independence Day!

As the world is starting to open back up, and more people become vaccinated, restrictions on events are also being reduced or eliminated and all of us at the BBPHA are thrilled! Our Meadow Croft house tours are happening every weekend from 2-4:00. The many people who have walked through those front doors are amazed at all of the new improvements that have been accomplished during the shut down. I hope you have the chance to come visit and learn what life was like in 1910.

 

We are excited to announce another summer concert in the month of July. (More info below) We also want to thank Nina Et Cetera for a wonderful show in June. Thanks to the many families who came out to watch! Hope to see you at our next FREE concert.

Gene Horton Memorial Scholarship

Congratulations to Michael Pietrantoni, this year's winner of the Gene Horton Memorial Scholarship. Each year the BBPHA gives a $1000.00 scholarship to a graduating senior from BBP HIgh School who plans to major in History in College. We wish Michael all the best as he continues his education.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

So many people contribute either their time or money to help the BBPHA in numerous ways to help fulfill our mission of preserving the heritage of our shared communities. We'd like to acknowledge some of them here:

Peter and Ginny Labusohr: Peter and Ginny visit Meadow Croft daily for a walk with their dog. They have donated and planted flowers in the flower box under the sign at the entrance to Meadow Croft out on Middle Road. They also take the time to water them daily. Thank you for your generous act of kindness!

Jim and Barbara Connell: Jim and Barbara use a budget of $200.00 each year to purchase supplies, materials and vegetables for the community garden. Many times, the total for all of the items needed exceeds the budgeted amount. Jim and Barbara generously donate the additional materials needed to make a successful and well stocked garden. All for a good cause, The Sayville Food Pantry. Come check it out!

Dave Harenberg: Dave, a former board member, books all of the summer concerts for us. He also deals with the town in obtaining the permits and expenses that the BBPHA incurs to provide free concerts to the community. Thank you Dave for all of your hard work!

Corporate & Generous Donors:

Joshua Carcione - $100, 2021 (Owner of LendSaas and Managing Member of SmartyApp LLC.)

Bryn Elliott - $100, 2020 - (Douglass Elliman Real Estate Agent)

Martin Lavelle - $100, 2020 (M.W Lavelle Painting Inc )

John O'Hare - $100, 2021

Richard and Angela Stelling - $100, 2020

Christopher Moore - $100, 2020

Jennifer Zaun - $100, 2020

Thank you all for your generosity and efforts! Much appreciated!

Summer Solstice Walking Tour

For over a decade, local historian and friend Gene Horton guided us on the evening stroll that marks the beginning of summer. Before we lost him, Gene expressed his wish for this tradition to continue, and it’s an honor to carry on in his memory.

This year's summer solstice walking tour found us in Bayport for the first time! The tour was on Sunday, June 20, and was led by BBPHA’s Frank Giebfried. We strolled down South Ocean Avenue to the Great South Bay and returned by way of South Fairview Avenue. Along the way, we discussed the summer homes of the businessmen, investors, artists, and scoundrels who once occupied this beautiful part of our hamlet. The tour included the grand estates of J.W. Meeks, Charles Post, Judge Martin Manton, Charles Stoppani, “The” Allen and many others. Frank would like to thank the many homeowners who allowed the group to explore their historic properties and the Bayport-Blue Point Library for sponsoring the program.

If you missed the tour, just check it out below to take a virtual stroll through this part of historic Bayport. Thanks to Assistant Library Director Wendy Bennett for putting the video together!

Free Summer Concert!

Join us on July 22nd from 6:00-8:00 for another FREE Summer Concert at Bayport Memorial Park. Featured this month are The FlatLeavers. Bring lawn chairs, refreshments and bug spray to enhance your experience. Dancing is encouraged! A show for the whole family!

The Hallett House; Blue Point Ave.

The following was written by Gene Horton and appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette. It is reprinted with permission.

July 2002

Going down Blue Point Avenue, you will notice a small street between Danes St. and Middle Rd. called HALLETT COURT. That was once the sight of the former HALLETT HOUSE, one of Blue Point's biggest summer boarding houses, popular between 1900 and the 1930's. The Hallett House was developed by John Hallett around 1890. He died in 1912 and is buried in Blue Point Cemetery. HIs son-in-law, John Roe Snedecor, continued to run and expand the Hallett House. By 1913, with over 150 bedrooms, the Hallett House was able to accommodate over 300 guests. Evenings, an orchestra provided dinner music and dancing in the spacious dinning room. The dining room itself had over 50 large windows so the guests could look over an expanse of lawn and trees. Inside the Hallett House were two other smaller dining rooms; one for the staff & one for the little children. Three guest cottages were also located on the property.

Between 1900 and the 1930's, summer people flocked here by the LIRR. Blue Point had 10 such summer hotels and boarding houses. Sayville and Patchogue were also popular summer destinations. Once here, the guests enjoyed the clean and healthy air, the calm waters of the Great South Bay and the summer breezes. However, this all started to change around the time of the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The Great Depression doomed our summer tourist trade in Blue Point. The Hallett House and other large summer hotels along LI's south shore were in serious trouble.

In 1930, the Hallett House was sold to Albert A. DiNapoli of NYC and Sayville. He renamed the place the "Bluponia." It was even fitted out with steam heat so it could remain open in the winter....but to no avail. In 1934, after being swept by fire, the former Hallett House was torn down, a sad ending to a glorious history...the end of an era in Blue Point's history. Today, private homes are located on Hallett Court in Blue Point.

Facebook @BayportHistory

Follow us on Social Media to keep up with the latest happenings! Instagram: @bbpheritage

Meadow Croft Estate, Middle Road, Sayville, NY, USA 

  bbphistorical@gmail.com  

631-472-4625  

BayportBluePointHeritage.org

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