New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Southampton Historical Museum

Forgotten Treasures in the Samuel L. Parrish Collection

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Madonna and Child with Bronzes by Tom EdmondsSamuel L. Parrish (1849 – 1932) was a prosperous NYC attorney who summered in Southampton on Long Island. He was born into a wealthy Quaker family in Philadelphia and attended Harvard, where he developed an interest in Italian art. After graduating, Parrish went to Italy for a year studying Classical and Renaissance art.

In 1877 he opened a very successful law practice in the city of New York. He visited friends and family in Southampton during the summer season and traveled to Italy regularly. While there he decided to open an art museum in Southampton. [Read more…] about Forgotten Treasures in the Samuel L. Parrish Collection

Before Central Park: Farms, Businesses, Churches, Wars and Burial Grounds

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before central parkBefore Central Park became a model for city parks worldwide, the land was the site of farms, businesses, churches, wars, and burial grounds – and home to many different kinds of New Yorkers.

In her book Before Central Park, historian emerita of the Central Park Conservancy Sara Cedar Miller chronicles two and half centuries of history, she tells the stories of a secret Revolutionary War meeting of George Washington and his generals, the Dutch taverns in Harlem, the personalities of Seneca Village, the unique Bloomingdale Black community of landowners, and the farm of James Amory now the Mall, Bethesda Terrace, and Sheep Meadow and more. [Read more…] about Before Central Park: Farms, Businesses, Churches, Wars and Burial Grounds

Sibyl’s Dollhouse On Display On Long Island Through December

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Sybil’s Dollhouse courtesy Tom EdmondsBob Tuma found time from piloting his charter fishing boat to build a finely detailed 3-story colonial revival style dollhouse in 1/12th scale with 16 rooms, including 5 bedrooms and a children’s playroom over a two-year period, working in the basement workshop of his Montauk, Long Island home during the 1960s and 70s. [Read more…] about Sibyl’s Dollhouse On Display On Long Island Through December

Port of Missing Men: A Gilded Age Ghost Hunt

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Lounge at the Port of Missing Men c. 1937The Port of Missing Men is one of the last surviving mansions from the Gilded Age whose interior is unchanged since the Roaring Twenties. It was built by H.H. Rogers, Jr. whose father was the wealthiest man in the U.S in 1910.

The estate was created on over 2,000 acres on the Great Peconic Bay as a hunting lodge. It was a place for men to hunt and get away from their families who summered in Southampton, hence the name “Port of Missing Men.” The Rogers family continues to occupy the estate today. It may be the last Gilded Age mansion on Long Island owned by the original family. [Read more…] about Port of Missing Men: A Gilded Age Ghost Hunt