Shelter Island

By Louise Tuthill Green

Take a fascinating journey through the history of Shelter Island, New York with more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it.

In the spring of 1962, Captain Nathaniel Sylvester and his young bride, Grissel Brinley, stepped from their boat onto the narrow shore along Gardiners Creek. Nearby, in a clearing, stood a sturdy house, newly built of white oak timber from the surrounding forest. Shiploads of tiles and chimney bricks from Holland and household furnishings from England and Barbados had arrived during the preceding months. The Sylvesters would make Shelter Island their home.

Shelter Island: A Nostalgic Journey takes us to early homes, churches, and stores, and introduces us to the people who shaped this community. With over two hundred images carefully selected from the archive of the Shelter Island Historical Society, this unprecedented volume will be treasured and enjoyed by resident and visitor alike.

With this striking new pictorial history, local artist and historian Louise Tuthill Green has created a journey into the island's past. During the years that followed the Sylvesters' arrival, many families settled along these tranquil shores. Homesteads were built, farmland was cleared and cultivated, and businesses were established. Many boats sailed the area's sparkling inlets and bays, and guests to the area created a need for grand hotels and gingerbread cottages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 1997
• ISBN: 9781439637234

Louise Tuthill Green

With this striking new pictorial history, local artist and historian Louise Tuthill Green has created a journey into the island's past. During the years that followed the Sylvesters' arrival, many families settled along these tranquil shores. Homesteads were built, farmland was cleared and cultivated, and businesses were established. Many boats sailed the area's sparkling inlets and bays, and guests to the area created a need for grand hotels and gingerbread cottages.

Book preview

heritage

One

The Settlers

Sylvester manor, c. 1940. A sturdy wood-framed house with two large chimneys awaited Captain Sylvester and his household in the spring of 1652.

Sylvester manor, c. 1945. The present manor house was built in 1730 after a fire destroyed the greater part of the original house. Rough-hewn stone steps may be seen at the edge of Gardiner’s Creek. Built by slaves, the landing appears as it did to the Sylvesters over three hundred years ago.

Mary Sylvester (1724–1794). The oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Blackburn depicts the youngest daughter of Brinley Sylvester. Mary Sylvester married the prominent Boston merchant Thomas Dering in Newport, Rhode Island, where she was receiving her education. They moved into the manor house in 1760. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Sylvester Dering, 1916, #16.68.2.)

Nicoll Havens Dering (1865–1869). Daniel Huntington painted a portrait of the young son of Sylvester Dering and Ella Bristol. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Sylvester Dering, 1916, #16.68.5.)

Sylvester manor gardens in the early 1900s. Miss Cornelia Horsford, pictured here beside the 1890s Asa Gray water garden, became proprietor of the manor in 1903. She recreated the early Colonial garden as she imagined it to be and tended the lovely roses and boxwood.

The garden steps, c. 1915. Steps leading from the upper to lower gardens were built at the turn of the century. Perennial borders, a Yellow Garden, and an inviting gazebo have been added to the extensive gardens by Mrs. Andrew Fiske, the thirteenth generation of manor gardeners.

Two

The Growing

Community

Miss Annie’s house in Mashomack, c. 1890. In 1695, William Nicoll bought a large tract of land at Sachem’s Neck from Giles Sylvester. William Nicoll II settled on the island, taking an active roll in organizing the town. In the spring of 1730, he became the first supervisor, governing the town of twenty families. The Victorian mansion built by Miss Annie’s brother, Dr. Samuel Nicoll, was destroyed by fire in 1947. Dr. Nicoll resided in the Bass Creek Manor House. The 2,039-acre Mashomack Preserve is now a part of the Nature Conservancy.

Havens House built in 1743. James Havens, a sea captain and patriot, named his 1,000-acre family farm Heartsease. The white, shingled farmhouse served as a town meeting hall, school, tavern, post office, and store through the years. It became the home of the Shelter Island Historical Society in