H

97 SD 022FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

SITE NO.)6)-oS·-05~\-jjS ~UNIQUEQUAD.~ -,-----,- _SERIES-,.-_,-- _NEG. NO. -,-----,_-,--_

HISTORIC AND NATURAL DISTRICTSINVENTORY FORM

DIVISION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATIONNEW YORK STATE PARKSAND RECREATIONALBANY,NEW YORK (518) 474-0479

8/79DATE: ..,--~

TELEPHONE: 516- 584-5600

YOUR NAME:B. Van Liew, Consultant/ NS Foster

YOUR ADDRESS: Box 416, St James, L. I •

Natural Heritage TrustORGANIZATION (if any): ........=.. _

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1. NAME OF DISTRICT: Heckscher State Park

2. COUNTY: S_u_f_f_ol_k TOWN/CITY: _I_s_l_i=.p VILLAGE: East Islip

3. DESCRIPTION: The Park is situated in a deciduous forest bordered by marshlands, a unecku, creating a separateness suitable for the

multiple Park activities of picnicking, boating, swimming and camping.The Park entrance road, (A State Parkway) is adjacent to heavily populatedSouth Shore towns.

4. SIGNIFICANCE: The Land has been of interest since the 17th C. when WilliamNicoll (1657-1723) bought if from the local Indians in 1683. The familylived here as uLords of theManor u naming it -"Islip Grange" until the 19th C.By the mid 19th C. the area was called "Great Neck", and after severalowners of short duration, James Nea1(e) Plumb purchased in 1872 689 acresfor an estate which was named uDeer Range Farm". During excavation forPlumbs large French mansardic style mansion, silver candlesticks and otheritems were unearthed. They were returned to the surviving Nicoll.

George C. Taylor bought, in 1885, acreage to the west of Plumb'sholdings. He too, built a mansion and many farm buildings in the prevailingstyle of architecuture, quite different from that preferred by the Plumbs.Later the Plumb estate (or parts of it) was bought by George Taylor. Thelarge main residences were cut into sections, as part,: of the Plumb mansion

5. MAP: serve as a commercial building on Main Street, Bay Shore. An a11ee oftrees from the Taylor mansion survives.

DOT. Bay Shore East Quadrangle.1858 - Chace. Islip Township1873 - Beers, Comstock. Atlas of Long Island. Great South Bay.1888 - District.1915 - E. Belcher Hyde. Atlas of the ocean Shore of Suffolk County, Long Island,

Westerly Section. Plate

HP-2

Bailey, Rosalie Fellows. The Nicoll Family and Islip Grange.H6. SOURCES: Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America. 1940.pp.3S-42.Bayles, Richard M. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Suffolk Co•••••1874. Reprint 1962. pp.2l8,2l9.Blakelock, Chester R."The Story of Heckscher State Park" Long Island Forum.vol IV July 1941. pp.159-163. Reprinted in Paul Bailey, ed. L.I. A History ••••N.Y. Vol II pp265-273.Caro, Robert A. The Power Broker. N.Y. Alfred Knopf. 1974. pp. 155,162,146,485.Dyson, Verne, Anecdote & Eve:nts in L.r. History. n.d~(?1968) pp35,36.Hollins, Harry. "Happy Hunting Ground". typescript. 2 pages. n.d. (?19l0).News Item. South Side News. 11/20/1872.

See Attachment.7. THREATS TO AREA: None

BY ZONING 0 BY ROADS 0 BY DEVELOPERS 0

BY DETERIORATION 0

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

OTHER ~:..:..-..:...:.... _

8. LOCAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE AREA:

9. PHOTOS: See AttacheIliehts.

_____________/1

.- .~

H 1

H 2

H 3

H 4

H 5

H 6

HECKSCHER STATE PARK

USAGEDESCRIPTION

Maintenance Building

East Bathhouse

Supt's Quarters

Supt's Garage

Asst. Supt's Quarters

Asst. Supt's Garage

YEAR-CIRCA

1872

1931 (1936)

1885

1934

l872~----- ..._~--,_/

1872

H.~

H 7 Kiddie Play Area Building

H 8 Pump House #1

H 9 Picnic Area #1 -Ref'r e shmen t Stand

H 10 Equipment Barn

H 11 Storage Barn

- H 12 Sign Shop

H 13 Picnic Area #3, Comfort Station

H 14 Picnic Pavilion

H 15 Storage Shed (2)'

H 16 Picnic Area #6, Comfort Station

H 17 Greenhouse Office

H 18 Greenhouse Work Room

H 19 Gre enhous es ( 2)

H 20 Picnic Area #1, Comfort Station

1886

1931

_1933

1885

1885

1885

'-.------- /

1885

--------------1887

1872

1933

1933

1933

1872~.---/

42'3

1800;

9

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8

10

5-

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67

6

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_ To Great River

foRoute 27, 27ASouthern State Parkway

~ 0$'~t; CAMPING'".:z:

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~II Tolls

!"

GREAT SOUTH BAY

I____I I.c.....l. OFFICE

I~ '2, 4

HECKSCHERSTATr: PARKHeckscher State ParkwayEast lsI; p, NewYork

11730

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(;.n;~~W~

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LONG ISLAND STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION

H

HECKSCHER STATE PARK

Park Development

The area subsequently to become the Heckscher State Parkhas been used for recreational purposes for generations. The type ofuse fo11cwssocio1ogica1 patterns, from casual hunting and fishing,to private outdoor recreation, to sports clubs, and now, with the Parkto varied recreational activities by the public.

Land Acquisition.

Negotiations for a state park in this area began in 1924in an attempt to purchase the Taylor estate as a nucleus. Thiswas thwarted for a time by a coalition of wealthy land owners inboth Suffolk and Nassau Counties who objected to the State's incursionsinto what they felt were their land use perogatives.

As the park developed, other perimeter lands were included,many by gift.

04

AttachmentHistoric and Natural Districts Inventory Form

6. Sources:

Photo. Suffolk County News. 10/16/75.Weeks, George L. Jr. Isle of Shellg. Islip, N.Y. 1965.pp298,299.

H

B1akelock, Chester R. "The Story;.JULY 1941 of Heckscher State Park." Long r

Island ~orum.Vol IV. July 1941. ~

: pp 159-163. reprinted in PaulJiilQ .C?::h S '.. f c-LJ} i: Bailey, ed. L.I. A History. \'1:••-u e tory 0 ulecflsc-rceY~Jrate'-'-I~UTl{'-~

H

The Taylor Mansion as i~ Appeared Prior to Demolition in 1933

By Chester ~ BlaJr.tlock who had been so zealouslyguarded unexpectedly ran offand was married to her bi­cycle instructor by a localJustice of the Peace.

This mayor may not havecontributed to George C. Tay­lor's eccentricities. In anyevent he and his companionbecame heavy drinkers. Attimes the winding staircase inthe three-story mansion be-

came hard to navigate so hehad an elevator installed.Other tales relate how he builta log cabin not far from themansion where he kept hisliquor stored and where heslept when he and his com­panicn had had a fight. Stillothers tell how his companionbecame even more eccentricthan old George and how thenormal complement of serv­ants was reduced to a butlerand two maids because shetook to the sport of throwingknives at the rest of them.

This wild gossip which hadkept the locality excited forso long a time came to an endin 1908 when both George C.Taylor and his companiondied within a few days of eachother.

The large estate passed tothree sisters and a brother

of the mansion overlooked abroad canal, starting at thefar edge of the lawn andstretching over half a mile tothe bay. In the canal he kepta yacht for cruising and fish­ing in bay and ocean. In fact

N EVER in the history ofthe State of New York

has the acquisition of land for Executive Secretarypark purposes had such far- Long Island State Park Commission

reaching results as did theestablishment of HeckscherState Park at East Islip.

It was the subject of actionsin every possible court fromthe County Court of SuffolkCounty to the Supreme Courtof the United States and in­volved twenty-five separateappellate proceedings.

It was the cause of a specialsummer session of the statelegislature.

It held up the expenditureof park funds throughout theentire state for nearly a year.

It was instrumental inchanging the route of a park­way more than thirty milesaway.

It was the subject of massmeetings, printed pamphlets,newspaper campaigns andfinally, it was even indirectly

- responsible for the making ofa new political figure.

The property involved inthe controversy having thesefar-reaching results was for­merly the George C. Taylorestate of 1500 acres on theGreat South Bay in the Town everything was apparentlyof Islip. It was wild and perfect for the normal life ofpicturesque property with a a country gentleman.wild and picturesque history. But George C. Taylor's life

George C. Taylor, who as- at his Islip estate was farsembled this large tract had from what the good people ofbeen an unusual and eccentric the local community consid­man of considerable means. ered normal. He isolatedIn 1886 he built there a large himself on the estate with aand ornate country home. He common-law wife. Their

-H~~rdl~~~~te~u:lo~~.... :£~r~i~:~ t~g~~f~a~:aSg~~~~lJs.see~h~~If b:?cX!!"'"__~tl1~:iri:YJ:>g,rJls. hired special tutors and in­i, gt§_!2.DhgJl§§;§"~f!J}Jljl!l~rl~r:~.. for structors for her and when

Ii ~i~6a~~""~J~;;~!'th:t~;tat;~: ~~:ybii~~l~;:;z: c:i~;cl:IO~stocked with deer and game structor from England whobirds. For proper effect he brought with him all availablehad peacocks and a herd of models of English made bi­elks wandering about thetcycles. They also had eo~lawns of the mansion. Inside structed a special bicyclhe displaved seven cupid-like house for storing and repairstatues of himself, supposedly ing the newly acquired equiprepresenting the seven ages mont. The outcome of thesof man. The spacious porches activities was that the girl

159

'---!F'-'1~'-~-------------------

" .LONG ISLAND FORUM

and several of their kin butthe property remained prac­tically unused and unoccupiedfor the next sixteen years.These heirs, about eighteen innumber, formed a corpora­tion, known as the DeerRange Corporation for thepurpose of better handling theestate. It is reported that oneof the first corporate acts wasto settle a reputed milliondollars on George C. Taylor'sdaughter. The corporation ofheirs carried the property atquite some expense and triedwithout success to sell it. Theonly use made of it was byPercy Pyne, 2nd" one of t~

JULY 1941

became alarmed for fear thata park at this location wouldbe detrimental to the neigh­borhood. Many of the Taylorheirs were their friends towhom they made an offer tobuy the estate themselves atthe same price offered by theState. As a result the optionto the State was disapprovedby a majority of tlie heirs overthe protest of the officers. Thecorporation then voted to sellto Messrs. Macy and Have­meyer who obtained title inthe name of the PauchogueLand Corporation. Mr. Macy,who was president of both thenew land company and thecountry, club, informed thePark Commission that he wasstrongly opposed to the estab­lishment of a state park onthe Taylor estate not only be­cause he thought that a publicpark would be objectionableto nearby estate owners, butbecause a park at that locationwould also make it difficult fornew estates to spring up nearenough to the country clubfor it to benefit.

V~(I/Cornrnis rioner Rob erb Moses Speaking From the Porch of ~he Taylor Mansion a~ the Dedice tion Ceremonies Held on June 2,1929

160

Lt. Governor Herbert Lehman and Ex-Governor Alfred E. Smith Officially Receivethe Park From August Heckscher

t,

JULY 1941

An active campaign wasstarted to create sentimentagainst a state park at EastIslip and a combination wasformed between the. Macygroup and the' large estateowners of Nassau Countywhose object was to blockthe proposed Northern StateParkway. This welding ofinterests brought about achange in the parkway routein Nassau County where itnow swings toward the southto avoid the estates in theWheatley Hills section. Thechange was made, however,only after the payment to theState of nearly a quarter of amillion dollars. In lateryears, after the completion ofthe parkway, those whobrought about the changewere sorry that it had beenmade and wished that it wasmore convenient for their use,

The combined oppositionin no way changed the Com­mission's plan to acquirethe Taylor estate and onNovember 4, 1924 when thePark Bond Issue Act was ap­proved at the polls allotting$1,000,000 for park develop­ment on Long Island, the ParkCommission resolved to takethe Taylor estate by eminentdemain. All necessary papersto effectuate the acquisitionWHe prepared for the signa­ture of Alfred E. Smith, theGovernor.

Before Governor Smithsigned the papers he held ahearing in the Hotel Biltmorein New York City at whichthe Long Island State ParkCommission was representedby Robert Moses, JudgeTownsend Scudder, RaymondP. McNulty, George D. Car­rington and H. L Bowlby andat which MJ&,Macy, Mr. Have­meyer and their friends statedtheir objections to the pro­posed park. .:Mr. Havemeyerasked, "Where can a poormillionaire go?" This wentunanswered but when some­one objected to being "over­run with rabble from thecitv", the Governor said,"Why that's me". He thensigned the papers.

Thus began probably themost intensive campaign to

block a public project andhamstring a public body evercarried on in this State. Therepresentatives of the newlyformed corporation, out­spoken in their intentions todo everything in their powerto prevent the -establishmentof the park, proceeded tolaunch their attack along allpossible lines. On December31, 1924, they brought suitagainst the Commission claim­ing that the taking of the landby the method of eminent do­main, known as entry and ap­propriation, had been illegalbecause the legislature hadnot yet made available to the

Commission any of the fundsauthorized by the Park BondIssue referendum. In orderto make this objection holdthey sent eminent counsel toAlbany to urge the legislaturenot to appropriate any fundsout of the Bond Act to be useden Lang Island. Meanwhilepamphlets were printed andarticles appeared in news-

LONG ISLAND FORUM

papers denouncing the actiontaken by the Commission.'Bills were introduced inAlbany to' abolish or cripplethe Commission and to takeaway the power of acquiringland by entry and appropria­tion.

The late Judge George H.Furman of Patchogue was thefirst of a long list to hear thelaw suit brought by the newlyformed Pauchogue Land Cor­poration. He granted the cor­poration an order declaringthe seizure by entry and ap- -,propriation illegal.

In the meantime the op­position before the 1925 Leg-

islature resulted in a delay ofthe whole state-wide park pro­gram. A bill appropriatingfunds authorized by the ParkBond Issue referendum ofthe previous November waspassed containing provisionstaking away control of theacquisition of land from thevarious regional park com­missions of which the Long

]61

.,

Air View of the East Beach Area at Heckscher State Park Showing Modern Bathhouseand Game Area Adjacent to Parking Field

JULY 1941

The land corporation con­tended that the award wasinsufficient and that both theHeckscher gift and the secondappropriation of the propertywere invalid. On appeal,however, the judgment wasaffirmed in the Appellate Divi­sion and finally in the Courtof Appeals on July 9, 1928.

A writ of Error was im­mediately sought by the landcorporation. This was deniedby Chief Justice BenjaminN. Cardozo of the Court ofAppeals on September 1, 1928.An attempt was then made tobring the case to the SupremeCourt of the United States onconstitutional grounds. On

January 21, 1929 this courthanded down a decision infavor of the park commissionand denied the application fora writ of certiorari made bythe corporation.

The State Court of Claimsthen determined the amountwhich the state had to pay.Although the Pauchogue LandCorporation paid only $250,·000 for the property in 1924,it alleged that the $262,000contributed by Mr. Heckscherwas grossly inadequate. Inthis new action it was claimedthat the property in 1925 wasworth $1,468,000. The Court

the Commission who were onthe property rimmediately tovacate. A dinner was organ­ized by the jubilant TimberPoint opposition and held atthe Timber Point clubhouseto celebrate the event, but thejudgment was later stayedand on appeal was reversedby the Appellate Courts.

But the taking of theproperty by appropriation forthe second time with Mr.Heckscher's gift gave newimpetus to the battle. Themain trial, marked by intenseinterest and bitter feeling,was heard by Judge JamesDunne at Riverhead. It lastedfor three weeks and was

made notable by the appear­ance as wi tnesses of suchpublic figures as GovernorSmith, August Heckscher,Commissioner Moses, JudgeScudder, Mr. Macy and others.Judge Dunne held that theState had good title to theproperty by reason of thesecond appropriation madeafter the receipt of the giftfrom August Heckscher and ajury awarded the PauchogueLand Corporation the sum ofsix cents as damages sufferedfor the period between thefirst and second appropria­tion.

Island commission was one.Governor Smith vetoed the

bill on April 1, 1925 with theresult that no funds wereavailable for the state-widepark program as authorizedby the previous referendum.He then called a special ses­sion of the legislature forJune 2, 1925 but again at thisextra session the obj ection­able appropriation bill waspassed and again it was ve­toed by the Governor.

The late August Heckscher, .

LONG ISLAND FORUM

long a champIOn of pUblIcrecreation facilities, becameinterested in the controversyand decided to give to theState $262,000 which amountwas the original option priceplus interest so as to enablethe Commission to pay for theproperty. Upon receipt ofthis gift the Commissionagain appropriated the prop­erty on September 25, 1925, inorder to meet the legal objec­tion that it had been withoutfunds in hand at the time theproperty was first taken.

Shortly thereafter theCourt of Appeals sustainedthe Pauchogue Land Corpora­tion and held that the firsttaking of the Taylor estatewas invalid for lack of ac­tually available funds but in­dicated that a reappropriationof the property when moneyswere in hand would cure alldefects, In the meantime anaction to eject the Commissionfrom the property was startedand on the same day that theCourt of Appeals handed downthe above decision, Judge SelahB. Strong called the new ac­tion to trial at Riverheadalthough counsel for the Com­mission was busy at the timein another court. The Presi­dent of {he Commission waspresent to testify but theCommission could not go onwith the tnal in the absenceof counsel and default judg­ments were entered againstRobert Moses, President ofthe Park Commission, JudgeTownsend Scudder and Clif­ford L. Jackson, the otherCommissioners, individuallyfor $22,000. The countysheriff acting on the judgmentserved papers on employees of

162

Il

..JULY 1941

of Claims made an award of$275,000, substantially agree­ing with the contentions ofthe park commission.

During the years these legalfireworks 'were taking placeand the consequent indecisivestatus of the new park, thePark Commission acquiredBelmont Lake State Park andestablished its administrationheadquarters there with fundsfinally made available by theLegislature in 1926. Thesefunds, incidentally were ap­propriated as authorized bythe earlier Park Bond Issuereferendum and in the exactmanner that had been origin­ally recommended by GovernorSmith to the regular andspecial sessions of the 1925legislature.

Formidable opposition wasthus defeated but the battlehad been a real one which hadbeen closely followed by thepress. The attendant publi­city obtained by Mr. Macy nodoubt was responsible to alarge degree for bringing hisname before the public andfor his subsequent role instate and local politics. Eversince his defeat in the Pau­chogue case, Mr. Macy showedgenerous cooperation and in­terest in plans for furtheringthe state park program onLong Island and especially theextension of the parkwaysystem in Suffolk County.

On June 2, 1929 with thecontroversy over the acquisi­tion 'Of the Taylor estateclosed, the name of the parkwas changed from Deer RangeState Park to Heckscher StatePark at appropriate cere­monies attended' by AugustHeckscher, Lt.-Governor Her­bert H. Lehman, Ex-GovernorSmith and- other state andlocal officials.

. The speeches made on thisoccasion were delivered fromthe front porch of George C.Taylor's mansion to an as­sembled crowd of severalthousand people.

In 1933 the old mansion wasd -'-'-TITft;cr-"-'~'~-'~~~'---':"----'-"".§m9..l!;Lj:~."~,,.•NJLIQD..Ke.r.ne,eded

as an administration office its"'nuge "rooms'with'''W'OO(rc'~-rv­ings;gas'IIgli'fchandeHers and

,'<·,,',">...,"'.,'......'"_·"·M'''-,~'''·:,,',··''',·'''·,,··_w''"·_·,.""",,.,,~"-< •.._"'.'-,..,....;,,--"-_......__.,.-

stat!ltL'.Y.EXe fOllI)Ji.1l§.ele.§.§..i.Q.tJ)ark..J2QXJ.~§~.§".End_tillL~i>S tly_to maintain. On~.e....is...a

Targeooi:i1d'e'rwith a bronzeplaque reading:

HECK SCHER STATE PARKA GIFT FROM

AUGUST HECKSCHERTO THE PEOPLE

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Many ot.her changes havebeen made since the estatewas last used by George Tay­lor. The bicycle house wherehis yourigaaugIiterIrrSt mether bicycle instructor wasmoved to~hex...front andIlasoeen usedfor-1he' pastfifte-en years as a refreshmentstand at th~ west beach area.LIkeWIse the bathhouse at thISarea was originally. a boathouse on the canal. A newruQ,il~r.ILJi.;athliQJJlJ~_~­structed in 1931 at the eastbe:ach"area"'wTth"~'a:ccommoda­tions for 1700 bathers. Thelog cabin used for liquorstorage and "nights out" byold George remains in thepark. !!I'§.Eillll carriaae baghas been converted mto a.,•.•··.,.'''''.'.'''•.i:''-·'..~·'ll""" ~--"-"" ..--,-_."., ..'.iY~~f~tIg;rou'I)~!-"MJ*e-Q~~R;lSa1"iTS3.t1':1fe' pony ring werepart of the original pig pen.The old dairy barns are nowusooasagarage'a-na maclUnesfio'-:""~T1le"'Tayro-rsrables'stHlhOU~ horses which may behired for riding on extensivebridle paths throughout thepark.

The elks are gone but manyof the 325,000 persons whovisit the park each year toenjoy bathing, picnicking,riding, hiking, or games haveseen a peacock or two, pheas­ants, ducks and some of theherd of 200 wild deer that

8f ASCIT£made at Islip by

Suffolk County BimascoHot and Cold Plant Mixed, Asphaltic

Paving Mixtures, Cold Patch, Joint

Filler, Crushed Stone

Telephone Bay Shore 1375

LONG ISLAND FOlWM

live a sheltered life withinthis 1500-acre park.

August Heckscher died onApril 26, 1941 at the age of92 but in the words of formerGovernor Smith "HeckscherState Park will remain as amonument to his public spiritand generosity as long as theState endures."

Upon Mr. Heckscher's deaththe Long Island State ParkCommission consisting ofRebert Moses, Clifford L.Jackson and Herbert BayardSwope. adopted the foIlowingresolution:

WHEREAS, August Heckschercourageously intervened ill a smtagainst the State by selfish privateinterests and by a generous andtimely gift of $262,000 made pos­sible the establishment of Heck-

. scher State Park at East Islip,Long Island, and

WHEREAS, August Heckscher'sdeath on April 26, 1941 terminateda long career distinguished by thisand many other beneficences andcountless evidences of public spirit,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE ITRESOLVE-D, that the Long IslandState Park Commission hereby ex­presses to Mrs. Heckscher its pro­found sympathy and renews itsassurance of the lasting gratitudeof the People of the state of NewYork for August Heckscher's con­tributions to their welfare.

FOURTH

Long IslandAn rique Fair

at the

WaltWhitmanBirthplaceHuntington, L. I.

September 14 to 21Admission, 25 Cents

Long Island's Largest

Antique Event

FURNITUREMAD(; TO ORD(;R

Repairing Refinishing

THE WORKSHOP13 Second Avenue Bay Shore

16~

162 A DrC6

The mind leapeThe state's

Syracuse, Troy,enough. So was

But the SUrefused to giveYork anywherePalisades and Eold mansions 01

private philantltract on the Getsize, donated b

16t of sky. To t\manicured grass-several foursoiwith the caddie:a yellow legal 11

the property, anbathhouses for t

still others to 0'

trees and whereyoungsters could

The mind 1Shore? Soon, th:there "vas stridi:shoes and, usuahand a yeUQ}'(Jetown avacantei\. -_._--. ./

through'its thouand he assumedended, he foundwas actually beinstant of a nan

The road t

along the middlfarmers, but M<scenery was anparkway througbegan to pore 0\

routes. He saw (Phipps, Whitnehe saw in his J

the magnificentand by hedges I

And the pi

'\2"~': ;<'~&

'Caro, Power BrokerKnopf. N.Y. 1974. p.162. H

THE InSE TO POWER

properties, the one at Wantagh, ran all the way down to the Great South Bay,another road---connceting with the road leading out from New York-­could be built south down to the bay without the necessity of any purchaseor condemnation at all. Once it reached the bay, it would be directly oppositeJones Beach. And since the bay. was so shallow, it ought to be easy toconstruct a causeway from the end of the road to the beach. "That wasthe idea behind Jones Beach and the Southern State Parkway," Moses wouldrecall years later. "I thought of it all in a moment."

As he thought about the road, he thought about the Bronx River Park­way. Although it hadn't yet been opened, the newspapers were full ofstories about it. With the exception of a three-mile stretch of the Fenwayin Boston and, of course, the transverse roads in Central Park, the parkwaywould be the first highway in the country to eliminate traffic lights andintersecting traffic by lifting all crossroads above it. The bridges that carriedthe crossroads would be faced with stone to blend in with the scenery, andthe bordering right-of-way would be completely landscaped. Newspapers were.predicting that it would be the most beautiful road in America. A roadthrough the Long Island water-supply properties, Moses realized, would, onthat portion of it which traversed the properties, be lined with the beautifultrees he had seen. The north-south road running from it to the bay wouldbe lined with frees its entire length, and the causeway across the waterwould cross the bay panorama. The roads he was thinking of, he realized,could be more beautiful than the Bronx River Parkway.

The line he had drawn on the map through the water-supply propertiesseemed to point like an arrow into Long Island's South Shore. Lookinebeyond its point, the easternmost of the properties, Moses saw a series 0'[

promontories jutting out into the Great South Bay. He recalled that thepromontories were supposed to be beautiful. And on weekends now, Moseshad himself driven east.

!:~E:l,.t1l's',,;;~~b.~~~!,~~..s~~~~~~JE~<;?,~~~~_werS£ri~ltce,§t~!E.~<,~,1lU~~J,t1.§1i£.h~...n2.11s££.,iUE~i~~_<2tEro2erty f~nced ~~!Li?u Iovergrown with underbrush and weeds and apparently deserted. A realestate agent told him that it had belonged to an eccentric old millionairenamed Taylor and, when he died, had been purchased by a group of wealthymen who allowed it to grow wild because they used it as a game preserve,

There may have been caretakers on th~ TaxIQLPst~1§, but Moses didn'tsee them when he returned to it. Tramping through the brush and the \\'00(1\,

frightening groups of deer, startling coveys of pheasants, he came to aof out-buildings, all deserted and all except one, which had been turned into ;\hunting lodge, crumbling. Looming over them was an old mansion.peeling, with broken windows. In front of the mansion'wasalongof uncut, waving grass that had evidently once been an imposing 1;1\\

Beyond it was white sand and then the dark blue-gray of the bay. ;wl!beyond the bay, just a line on the horizon, the dunes of Fire Island.the trees, the grass and the water was the gentle breeze which Mo'-(.'slearned from the baymen invariably cooled the bay shore every dayabout eleven o'clock in the morning until near sundown. Overhead W,H

154 A Dream: 155

'_c--..• ~

it was: fun, the

arates ithe Sandsd qlow!n, curvingantl became thecull by sidewalks)WI~, wound up­is,watching theh town, but thisicked it on sue­i a quarter. TheerageSunday to:e .pi 3,2.4 miles.

19 enough, there.st irad been leftr ni~ate!rialized-­

dd [picnic. Why,9!~,·5 acres of

lbllfs'. When theugli~ the Suffolkeigp.ers off theirey rev~~r seemed) tlJon~ughly, al­in $mi~htown, if:ne:~ tllley could,a~!out the city

rotection of life-

'n.Th~~y turnedir (~ars!, washingon$ Island, they

reto ljne NorthTliere was one

e. Jendho Tum-

satisfied by thethle "Sultan of

se i~o\lith Shore,hci:Chtat South

rth] Shore-c-and\cy,' unimpaired.thei~ f'oarcd that, sjllbdividcd: A ~

Gnr~sl~nd i\1ac)'.

decided to turn it into a private club. The obstacles might have deterred. less determined men. Davies had owned only 23 I acres and most of themwere marshland that was-'covered by water at high tide, so that there wasonly enough solid land for a nine-hole golf course. To make the second nine,they were told, dredges would have to work for a year to haul up sand and fillin the marshland with it. They set the dredges to work..

To design the course, they brought over an Englishman who was themost famous golf-course designer in the world. To help the members withtheir swings, they hired a famous touring professional. They staffed thekitchen with the best chefs they could find. For those members who wantedto sail, they built a large boat basin. And when all was ready, they thoughtof. a name, the Timber Point Club, and opened the club-to exactly onehundred persons.

"You could play golf there on a weekend and if there were twoother golfers on the whole course, you considered the 'place crowded," re­calls Robert Hollins, the son of one of the members. "God, that place wasemptf;";'--c.....,,~#-. ,

And that was exactly how the members wanted it. As they toured themajestic course that sloped down. to the bay, men in caps and knicker­backers and long socks, ladies in long pleated skirts and middy blouses,they considered the lack of people as big an asset as the view. In 1923,Suffolk County established a Mosquito Control Commission and askedvarious members of the club .for contributions. "God, the mosquitoes in thesummer were unbelievable on that golf course," Hollins says. "You'd lookat the fellow you were playing with and theremight be twenty on his face."But most Timber Pointers gave nothing. If the commission got rid of themosquitoes, Mrs. Hollins explained, more "foreigners" might find the SouthShore attractive and try to live there. "I'd rather have the mosquitoes," shetold her friends. . c

To keep the public out was worth any price. When the property ad­joining the Timber Point Club, a r.yoo-acre estate owned by an eccentricold millionaire who had never been one of them, anyway, <:J~orgeC. Taylor,came on the market after his death, the Timber Pointers l~ised $250,000 tobuy it. Then they hired caretakers, stocked it with herds of deer and flocks ofwild pheasant-all for less than ten days of hunting a year and an additionalguarantee that they would never have 'to look over from their golf courseand see on the land adjoining it anyone they didn't know.

, Thanks to the barons and the baymen, the sandy beaches of the SouthShore were as thoroughly closed oIT to New Yorkers as the rocky beachesof the North. Those New Yorkers who could not afford the exorbitant chargesat Long Beach or squeeze into the limited public area of the beach therewere shunted along the South Shore -from village to village until they reachedthe flat, unshaded, bleak potato fields of Suffolk County.

And the shunting on the South Shore was along Merrick Road, anartery as narrow as Northern Boulevard and even more congested, whichcrossed the clogged downtown areas of a dozen South Shore villages andwas intersected at half a hundred locations by the tracks of the Long Island

.. Weeks, George L. Jr. Isle of Shell'8~ys Bros. Islip, N.Y. 1965 p.299 . H

\hckscher State Park

a fewyears of local gossip, Taylor's L'C'""'"c",

his died 8....11d heAfter many

an end in 1908days.

At one Taylor built a log cabin where he stored hissupply of liquor. He slept there after of his with hiscoznznon-Iaw wife.

Of all the state parks on Long Island, none had such a farreaching result as did the establishment of Heckscher State Park.The acquisition of the land the Taylor Estate involved twenty-five

appellate proceedings. Prior to becoming a public park,the area consisted of 1,500 acres.

The estate passed to three sisters and a brother, and for sixteenyears remained unused except by Percy Pyne, II, one of the heirsof the George C. Taylor estate, It was a wild and picturesqueexpanse of land, having an abundance of wildlife, and a herd of elk.

Taylor built an ornate country home L."1 1886. He isolated him­self on the estate with a common-law- wife, Their daughter wasrarely seen but when the bicycle craze was at its height, an. instruc­tor came from England and brought all types of models manufac­tured in England. With the constant attention of the thedaughter unexpectedly ran off and was married by a local justiceof the peace to her bicycle tutor.

Taylor's eccentricities resulted in the constanton the estate, such as seven cupidlike statues of himself representmzthe seven stages of man, He also established apreserve..

controversy over acquisition of the estate

R~\T:giJ St:1tLJ l)a:rk to lIe: ;-~,sc:{i::: c State I~2.~~1= atmonies attendedI.le}l_C'1.f~l!l, 'c; .S,.' - U 'J',

E.D d otb.'="i:'

Deer

,

Al Smith speaking at the Heckscher dedication on the porch ofthe old Taylor Mansion. Moses is framed in pillars at left.

Caro, Robert. The Power BrokerKnopf, N.Y. 1974. Illustration.

484 Driving

, 1Caro, Robert, The Power BrokerKnopf, N.Y. 1974. P 485. H

4H5

h~llha(,Q no respecta¥mif to the dis­

'hd:were [nterested-ns, eilmer. Robert

ved them to argueh~d cihanged, too.

pilnifon:~ were worthlbj]l~ty,legal ability.·liWbnat ability: the

t ptettv sickening,"mel, gu,~st, he wouldiachos,' he used to

siJrr, RIM,' 'Right asr-.i-YO~ know whatek 'around the tables lii~e ~l goddamned

iefl. counsel for theo tl,e ~ doormat formel of his assistants,answer back," and

, t<lldhim what wasre ,~ble to bend overLd1ii a smile." At theba'lk." Moses hiredha~ thirty years.~. the aides he had, Elill Lathams. Billgh~~ut state and city~hei" aides he hired in-tops!'" says Williamonleof the others he;vei~p l~lY lobbies!"on sU'reh men. They

har~ re~~eptive to sug-

;; air aldes-from, in,cejrt oiE public workselJiiliml was brilliant,.,.~tlrle input-fed into~ 'W11rite a book about

government and public and keeping a card 1iit; of impressions, wroteon a card he filed under the name "Robert Moses";

Bob Moses has climbed so high on his own ego, has become so hidebound in hisown arbitrariness, that he has removed himself almost entirely from reality andhas insulated himself within his own individuality.

This difficulty could to some degree have been overcome by sheermental ability. Robert Moses' mind was supple, resourceful. Even with­out input of social and human considerations, it could have deduced someof these considerations simply by thinking about the problems involved.

But Robert Moses no longer had much time to think.Building a state park system had been an immense job, but he had

brought to it not only immense energy but immense ability to disciplinethat energy. He had found time-made time, to be more precise, made it bydevoting to his work the hours when other men play or relax or sleep, orlunch, made it by working fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty hours a day,seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year-he had found time to overseeevery detail of design, to present his architects and engineers with the basicconcepts he wanted followed, to insist during the fleshing out of those con­cepts on a standard of excellence, of boldness and daring far above thatcommon for public works and to inspire the architects and engineers ("Iknow you can do drawbridges. Can you do beautiful drawbridges?") to raisetheir work to that standard. Arid5esides furnishing inspiration, he furnishedideas; many of the most brilliant touches at Jones Beach had been his ideas.He had found time-made time-to infuse the brick and concrete and sand­stone of that park, and of other Long Island parks from' Valley Stream toMontauk-and of other state parks from Palisades to Niagara-with hispersonal genius.

But when Moses expanded his sphere of activity into New York Cityhe did not stop his work on Long Island or in the rest of the state-in 1934,on Long Island alone, he built Bethpage State Park and Bethpage StateParkway; in 1935, he built the Meadowbrook Causeway; in 1936, he builtgreat new bathhouses at Sunken Meadow andI:I~c~~cber~ta!ep'lrIcsaswell •

~~."!~.~..,!!":.~~~~~~E,,§!~!~ ..g~E~,,,aySpur, and during all. these years he wasextending the Northern and Southern state parkways anti building literallyscores of smaller park structures. Instead he simply added to his statepark work, itself enough to tax the strength of even the strongest ofmen, work in the city that was not limited to the direction of 80,000

men in the rebuilding of a huge park system but that also includedthe building of four parkways and three bridges, with each of the bridge­building jobs in itself a job that would have been considered a full-timejob for any other man. It was not possible for him to make for himself anymore time than he had already made. There were no more days in a weekthan seven or weeks in a year than fifty-two, and he was working all thosedays and weeks already. He had already sloughed off all social life and mostfamily life; there was nothing more in his life that could be sloughed oIT:. Hewas already, with his use ofhis limousine as an office and conference room,

...-'1---'--- ------------------......----------~-~-...........~~