Wednesday, December 5, 2012

'Land of Clover' Outbuildings

 The gardener's cottage, racing stable and trainers houses at 'Land of Clover', the Lathrop Brown estate designed by Peabody, Wilson & Brown c. 1912 in Smithtown.  Click HERE for more on 'Land of Clover'.  Click HERE to see the buildings on bing.


Photos from Architecture, 1914.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was the home of an extraordinary horse..SNOWMAN see link
http://www.elizabethletts.com/eighty-dollar-champion/
great story!!!
BT

The Down East Dilettante said...

How amazing is the horseshoe shape stable? This really is one of the most interesting of the Long Island estates

Anonymous said...

That 3 minute clip I put up yesterday really shows the outbuildings well, great charm, and you can see the kids riding through the horseshoe stable, it's so cool. Then at about 2:30, some exterior/interior shots of the main brick house are pretty neat.

-F.

Kellsboro Jack said...

By the way the estate's name - Land of Clover - comes from a steeplechase horse owned by Lathrop Brown's father-in-law.

Brown married Helen Hooper of Cambridge Massachusetts. Her father Robert C. Hooper raced his horses under the name of "Mr. Chamblet".

One of the most noted runners of his stable was Land of Clover:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20C12F73B5F13718DDDAC0994DE405B848CF1D3

Kellsboro Jack said...

The tale of Snowman has always been a great one. Long before the 80-dollar champion book Walt Disney did the movie "The Horse with the Flying Tail" on Snowman.

Land of Clover (the horse) had to be euthanized [July 1906] after being hit by a reckless chauffeur employed by a 'who's who' Boston North Shore family. It resulted in a well covered trial of the driver:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19060730&id=UY8-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=81kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4869,3815019

In regards to the wealth of Lathrop Brown and his wife (the former Helen Ames Hooper), she brought at least $1 million to the marriage.

She having been named an heir to such money from her grandmother, Sarah L. Ames, but not without legal challenge

http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/203/203mass50.html

With Land of Clover, here are the National Historic Register filing:

http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8720

Zach L. said...

Thanks KJ. I always appreciate the equestrian related info you provide. I was entirely unaware of the origin of the name but had always thought it odd for an estate. Now knowing it came from a horse...well it makes much more sense.

Mr. Chamblet sounds like a recurring character in a SNL sketch.

Kellsboro Jack said...

A large correction (for those who care) I cited the Disney film of 'The Horse With the Flying Tail' as being on Snowman which was incorrect. That was another showjumper with a hard-luck, unexpected tail who rose to Olympic gold - Nautical. Not Snowman.

Zach, I fully concur on the oddity with having a nom de plume with racing under the owner of "Mr. Chamblets". SNL indeed up with there with Tunsis the Cat.

l'il gay boy said...

In the interest of clarity, it's Toonces, The Driving Cat (the cat who drives off cliffs), a personal fave:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x5-38LJ8N4

I'd rather pictured Mr. Chamblets as an earlier version of John Beresford Tipton...

;-)

Kellsboro Jack said...

LGB - I stand corrected on Toonces spelling and I'm sure if he wasn't recovering from the vehicular accident he would've corrected me, too ;>

As for "Mr. Chamblets" I think I shall start using that as my faux name for restaurant reservations.

"Name, sir?"

"Why its Mr. Chamblets"

It's either that or C.K. Dexter Haven works.