'Fort Hill House', originally an 1878 Queen Anne designed by the short lived firm of McKim, Mead & Bigelow for Anne Coleman Alden, was significantly altered in 1900 when William John Matheson had Boring and Tilton convert the house into a Tudor. Matheson was an industrialist and financier and was at one time the chairman of the board of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Upon his death in 1930 the house was inherited by his daughter and son in law, who hired Ellen Biddle Shipman and the Olmsted Brothers to design landscaping. Click HERE to see 'Fort Hill' on google earth.
Click below to see 'Fort Hill' in a 1953 aerial shot. Photos from the Library of Congress.
Click below to see 'Fort Hill' in a 1953 aerial shot. Photos from the Library of Congress.
5 comments:
This is my house!!!!!! its so cool to see all these pictures from before the restoration. ENJOY
When the Olsens were caretakers, I got to stay there- in the early 70's and it was before the restoration as well. It was magic. The owner, "Mousie" Woods, in her 90s, was in a home. She'd gone to Paris in the 20s. The attic was full of Lo
uis Vuitton luggage- the REAL thing- first edition!
Spent my early youth visiting each summer. Climbing huge beach trees, playing hide and go seek throughout fort hill and her extensive gardens are merely a few of my favorite memories. Lovely to see the old pictures.
My Grandfathers father and Grandfather were the grounds keepers (gardeners) of the estate through the 1800's until the 1920's. We used to drive up there every Easter just to view the gardens and hear the stories of the old estate. Nice when you can track your ancestors to significant stories of Long Island. My Great Grandfather even had a flower named after him that he created for the family gardens.
Grandfather and Great Grandfather were the head gardeners, nice! Do you have any pictures of the gardens? And could you identify the flower on the property?
I hope you see this comment and respond :)
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