'Rosemary Farm'

'Rosemary Farm', the Roland Ray Conklin estate designed by Wilson Eyre c. 1907 in Lloyd Harbor with Olmsted landscaping. Conklin was a descendant of John Conklin who settled in Huntington c. 1640. Born in Illinois, Conklin operated one of the largest realty firms in Kansas City, Kansas and moved the business to New York in 1893. The business became the North American Trust Company and was appointed the fiscal agent of the United States Government in Cuba. At the turn of the century Conklin helped to develop Cuba being heavily involved in banking, telephone operations, sugar and railroad companies. He also founded and developed Roland Park in Baltimore and Euclid Park in Cleveland. He was a proponent of the motor bus and owned what his obituary in the New York Times called a "motor land yacht". They go on to say "the pictures of the vehicle suggest a Fifth Avenue bus of the next to last model with a roof garden on top. But the homelike equipment of the bus equaled all but the most luxurious of today's trailers." During the Summer of 1915 Conklin, his wife and a handful of friends took this 'motor land yacht' from Huntington to the Panama-Pacific Exposition (Click HERE and HERE for pictures of the Conklins and the bus). In 1917 Conklin held the National Red Cross Pageant on his grounds. Click HERE and HERE for info and pictures on the event. In 1930 the estate was sold to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and remains in their hands. The house was destroyed by fire in 1990. Click HERE to see what's left of 'Rosemary Farm' on google earth.

Click below to see 'Rosemary Farm' intact in a 1953 aerial shot. Pictures from Architectural Record, 1910.

Rosemary Farm Front Gate

The main gate to 'Rosemary Farm', the Roland R. Conklin residence built in 1907 in Lloyd Harbor by Wilson Eyre.  The estate was abandoned five years after the death of Conklin's wife in the mid 1920's.  The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception was built on the site with the mansion serving as a conference center until it burned to the ground in 1992.  Click HERE to see where 'Rosemary Farm' stood on google earth.

Click below to see 'Rosemary Farm' intact and still standing in a 1953 aerial shot.

Rosemary Farm & The National Red Cross Pageant

Rehearsals for the National Red Cross Pageant in 1917 at the Olmsted designed open air theatre at 'Rosemary Farm', the Roland Conklin estate in Lloyd Harbor.  While the silent film is presumed to be lost, the cast included John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore and Douglas Wood.  Click HERE to view the program for the event.  Vogue Magazine wrote about the production on November 15, 1917:

"In the open-air theatre at “Rosemary Farm,” the Long Island estate of Mr. Roland R. Conklin was given, early in October, a most gorgeous pageant, which proved to be, at the same time, one of the most successful of war benefits. This pageant, which consisted of episodes from the history of each of the Allied nations, and the presentation of the case of each Ally before the bar of Truth, Justice, and Liberty, was organized by actors and actresses of the American stage as their contribution to the American Red Cross. It had been long in preparation, and many noted men and women had given generously of their time and effort, --an effort which found its reward, for this single performance brought a net profit of fifty thousand dollars, and the motion picture films which will carry the pageant all over the country will afford an additional income to the Red Cross for some time to come.

The book of the pageant was written by Joseph Lindon Smith, of Boston, and Thomas Wood Stevens, director of dramatic arts at Carnegie Institute and President of the Pageantry Association of America, and the rehearsals were under the personal direction of Mr. Stevens, Daniel Frohman, and B. Iden Payne, while decorators and artists collaborated in the settings and costuming. The result was a pageant of rare beauty and dramatic worth, as well as of historic accuracy and patriotic inspiration.

Of the two parts which composed this pageant, the first was given over to historic episodes in the lives of the Allied nations and presented a glowing and sumptuous picture. The prologue, spoken by Edith Wynne Matthison, dedicated an altar to Peace and was followed by rhythmic dancing by Florence Fleming Noyes and her pupils. A scene from early Flemish days followed, and four famous cities, Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, and Louvain paid their allegiance to Flanders, personated by Ethel Barrymore in the gorgeous costume familiar in Flemish painting.

The Italian scene which followed was succeeded by the scene of the birth of English liberty, as represented by King John signing the Magna Charta, and Medieval Russia was personified by John Barrymore as a tyrant borne upon the shoulders of his serfs. Most dramatic of the events of this first part, however, was the French episode, in which Ina Claire appeared as Jeanne D’Arc riding her white charger and the whole audience sprang to its feet in silent tribute to France.

In the second half of the pageant, called “The Drawing of the Sword,” each nation among the Allies appeared to present its case before the court of Truth, Justice, and Liberty. Serbia entered first and told her story of the opening of the war, to which Truth spoke assent. Belgium followed, and to her aid came England and France, while Russia came to the support of her ally, Serbia. Next, England called upon her overseas colonies, and Japan also, brought her pledge to maintain the cause of liberty on the Pacific. Armenia came to tell her wrongs; and Italy, shaking off the bonds of the Triple Alliance, cast her lot with the defenders of liberty. The grand climax was reached with the entry of America in the person of Marjorie Rambeau."

'Rosemary Farm'

 'Rosemary Farm', the Roland Ray Conklin estate designed by Wilson Eyre c. 1907 in Lloyd Harbor.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Rosemary Farm' which burned down in 1990.

Photos from The Brickbuilder, 1911.

'Rosemary Farm' Interiors

Following yesterday's post on 'Rosemary Farm', the Roland Ray Conklin estate designed by Wilson Eyre c. 1907 in Lloyd Harbor, here are the accompanying interiors from the 1910 Architectural Record spread.

'Rosemary Hall'

'Rosemary Hall', the Foxhall Parker Keene estate designed by Freeman & Hasselman c. 1902 in Old Westbury. Keene was a famous sportsman and polo player (ten-goal) and served as the captain of the American International Polo team in 1913. The Keene stable, Castleton Farm, located in Kentucky was widely known in thoroughbred racing. In 1907 their horses accounted for $400,000 in winnings. Keene never played in the 1913 International match as he had been thrown from his horse in practice and broke his collarbone. He had suffered a similar injury in 1905 when he crashed his car into a telegraph pole during that year's Vanderbilt Cup Race. A 1913 NYTimes article mentions that he had broken his collar bone four times. He had "twice been carried from the polo field for dead. He has had falls as an amateur steeplechase rider, been blown up from an automobile, nearly drowned on a sinking yacht, dragged by runaway horses and bitten by dogs". He retired in 1931 and moved to Canada to live with his sister, passing away in 1941. Click HERE to see 'Rosemary Hall' on google earth and HERE to see what 'Rosemary Hall' looks like today. Postcard from the Gary Lawrance collection.

More on the National Red Cross Pageant

More on the rehearsals of the National Red Cross Pageant at Roland Conklin's 'Rosemary Farm' in 1917.  See below for more on the pageant. 

Actresses Frances Starr and Bijou Fernandez counting money that had been collected.

William Faversham, Julie Opp and sons William Jr. and Phillip.

Joseph Lindon Smith, Albert Herter and Evan Evans.