THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. PORTLAND. JULY 29, 1906.
45
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nan., and is owned by Otis L. Luke. It was rented early In the season to Mr. Rockefeller, and several weeks were consumed in furnlshln. It for occupancy by Mr. Rockefeller and his family.
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ln majcnlficent drawing-room "Mr. Rockefeller will receive those of his friends who seek him out at Beverly larmk. .
$200,000,000 in Country Estates
vening country from Harbor Hill may be
had.
In this proat banqueting hall, when
there is "company" which is almost al
waysthe celebrated and fabulously cost
ly Maekay gold plate is kept on view,
constantly guarded by a man whose sol
duty is to look after its safety. This
service includes eight treat flower vases,
whose value some of us would consider
a fortune. The Louie XV and XVI drawing-rooms,
in series, at Harbor Hill are
also noteworthy apartments.
The place cost about J2.000.0UO. and while
the greater proportion of this amount was
laid Out upon the house itself, no end
of money has been lavished upon the TOO
acres of grounds with which it Is sur
rounded, eay. from 13000CO to H0O.O0O at
least.
To secure so large a block of land many
small farms had to be wiped out and
the farmhouses destroyed, a cemetery
had to be removed and a street or two in
the rural town of Roalyn had to be
closed. To get the desired forest effect
hundreds-of old trees which stood in the
COXTIXUED FROM PAGE 44.
wrong places had to be uprooted, while
hundreds of others had to be planted
full grown.
Incidentally. It ifnay be explained thar
before the creation of the Clarence Mack
ay estate the town of Roslyn Included
among Its inhabitants a nursery man and
a florist named Hicks, a quaker of origin-la-
Hickslte stock. He had never done an
extensive business, simply because his
possible customers were few, but when
he saw what the Mackays purposed in
the way of transplanting full-grown trees
he asked a chance to try his hand and
got it. Today he !e one of the most
skillful men living in' that' branch of
arboriculture, and his business is second
to none.
Morgan's Princely Place.
K. D. Morgan's place, perhaps 100 acres
smaller, rivals Mackay's, and Is consid
ered more remarkable by some who know
them both. Mr. Morgan is the son of the
E. D. Morgan who was Governor of New
York state when the Civil War broke
out. Ha has $150,000,000, and though not
so famous as some others was one of
the early multimillionaire .settlers. He
began buying his' estate there about 30
years ago, when land was cheap, and
built his great gray stone house at once.
It is the oldest of the ultra-costly Long
Island mansions.
Because they were laid out earlier than
the others, his grounds lack the almost
painful look of newness which character
izes some of them. A feature of the place
is the wonderful artesian well, whose flow
is greater than that of any other well on
the island. The Morgan house stands on
the highes of the Wheatley hills: it Js ten
feet higher than Harbor Hill, according to
a special survey made to settle' the claims
of Mr. Mackay. Long Island boasts no
other ground so high, and for this reason
continental origin is claimed for the water
of the famous Morgan well. The Morgan
and Mackay houses are only a mile and
u half apart.
Compared with the houses on the Mac
kay and Morgan esuites the houses on the
two famous Vanderbilt Long Island places
Idle Hour, belonging to the senior Wil
liam K., and the one surrounding Lake
Success, at Mineola,- belonging to the
junior, look like rather ordinary struc
tures. But the Vanderbilt estates have
cost much money and are very interest
ing all the same. They are much larger
than the others. The Idle Hour estate
must cover 3W0 acres, and it take? about
four miles of seel wire to surround the
two estates. Its cost, at S3 a lineal foot,
was about: $43,000. .
There is scarcely, a break in the -barriers
erected about the elder William K.'s
estate, for their purpose is two-fold to
keep- the deer from getting out of the
game preserve, which is so Important a
part of the estate, as well as to keep un
desirable human visitors from getting ln.
But there a break in the fence around
the Willie K., Jr., estate, which 1s not
likely to be closed for some time.
Through this break runs the famous Lakq
Success road, which Willie K.. Jr., wants
abandoned, but which the people of the
town of Mineola and all Nassau County
want kept open.
The most distinctive feature of the es
tate is the beautiful Lake Success. It is
of fresh water and balanced on the top
"of a hill, so to speak, being fed by under
ground springs: the inflow is just enough
to keep the water at a constant level,
and there is no visible outlet. Old Long
Islanders assert and nobody can dispute
them that the water . which keeps the
lake full comes from some Connecticut
source by way or a natural tunnel which
dips beneath the salt waters of the
Sound only to rise at the proper place
and feed the beautiful lakelet. Very
likely its source Is the asme as that of
Morgan's well.
Whether that Is true or not, from the
day he got possession of a part of his
Minola estate Willie-"K., Jr., wanted to
own all the land touching Lake Success,
and though the job was a difficult one,
he Anally succeeded ln buying up the
property. His troubles ln attempting to
close the road, even though It runs across
no land but his own, have become no
torious, injunctions, which he cannot get
dissolved, having been Issued against it;
hence the break in the ateel wire fence.
However, though still open technically,
the road is closed to all Intents and pur
poses. The break in the fence is so clev
erly casual that no one not Intimately
familiar with the location would dream
that here was the famous road. Besides,
while there are no signs forbidding the
traveler to pass through he break, the
"no-trespass ' placards are so Ingeniously
placed that the stranger would surely
hesitate to pass. Once inside, he would
find it hard to travel the public road at
all. for it is In wretched repair, or even to
determine its course, since the owner's
private roads cross and recross at a dozen
places. Consequently, the traffic is al
most nil, and by and by young Vander
bilt hopes this will be allowed by the
courts to be good reason for ordering the
1 higrhway formally closed.
About half of Willie K.. Jr.'s, place is
within the limits of New York City, and
his acres will probably be in demand for
the accommodation of the growing city
much earlier than most other Long Island
estates. As he has . the . domblned Fair
and Vanderbilt millions behind him. and
as both he and Mrs. Vanderbilt are very
fond of the estate, it is likely to with
stand the pressure for a long time to
come.
North, of this estate the lone of the
country places is very nearly unbroken
clear to the Sound. To the south there is
a rather wide stretch of territory not oc
cupied by any of the new landed gentry.
To the south of this unoccupied strip
there are still other estates, which reach
nearly or quite to the shore. One of these,
orf the low ground, but not touching the
shore. Is occupied by the O. H. P. Bel
monts, and through It runs the famous
Meadow Brook, a sluggish stream, which,
however, has been so treated as to add
to the attractiveness of the place.
The history of Idle Hour, the elder Will
iam K.'s estate, Js fairly familiar to news
paper readers. It was there that Con
suelo. the present -Duchess of Marlbor
ough, was reared by her mother, the pres
ent Mrs. Belmont. The frame house orig
inally built upon the place burned down
a few years ago. while William K.. Jr..
and his bride were enjoying their honey
moon there. The present house is costly
and fireproof, built approximately in the
form of a carpenter's square, with wings
of equal size 'and with outlying buildings
so disposed as to- give a very desirable,
peaceful, cloister-like effect. While the
house at Idle Hour does not equal Har
bor Hill, the estate as a ' whole excels
Mackay8, and has cost Mr. Vanderbilt
$3,000,000. . -
The estates 6t the two brothers. Harry
Payne Whitney, who married Gertrude
Vanderbilt, and Payne Whitney, who mar
ried Helen - Hay, are interesting. Harry
Payne's is in the' town of Westbury, near
Mackay's Harbor Hill. A feature of the
house is the completeness and spacious
ness of the nurseries in which -the young
Whitneys play, and a feature of the life
there Is the children's unrestricted free
dom of "all out doors." Payne Whitney's
place, at Manhassett, resembles Willie K..
Jr.'s, ln that It surrounds a beautiful lake
scooped out by Nature's hand, and not by
the aid of. plows and scrapers and Italian
laborers.
William C. Whitney, father of the broth
ers, was an early investor on Long Island,
and the estate he created is famous, espe
cially for its stables, which cover five
acres of ground.
Not to compare ln luxury with Harbor
Hill; nor with the other places above men
tioned as to size, but still' tine and dis
tinctive, is the estate of Mrs. James P.
Kernochan, on the Merrick road, which
runs north and south through Hempstead.
The house Is a large, square frame struc
ture, painted yellow and standing back
from the road, with no trees or other dis
tracting objects near by.
Mrs. Kernochan is one of the most fa
mous women cross-country riders, and a
great patron of the horse, as nearly all
rich Long Islanders are. She does not go
to such anti-auto lengths as her husband
used to, however; during his lifetime there
was & placard at the entrance to the
estate which read:
NO AUTOMOBILES
ALLOWED
ON THESE GROUNDS.
This sign disappeared iong ago, though
Mrs. Kernochan does not yet drive a
motor car of her own. The Kernochan
kennels are among the finest on the
Sound. '
The estates of several of the Grace fam
ilies are at Great Neck, where the late
William R. Grace was one of the earliest
on the island to establish one. There are
three Grace houses, 'a deer park, a pri
vate turf racetrack and private polo
grounds. Each October a private, race
meeting is held on the track, to which
all the neighbors, poor as well as rich,
are made welcome. The races; all for
running horses, are from a quarter of a
mile to three miles and a half, the latter
being steeplechases.
William Gould Brokaw, not alto
gether unknown to fame, of a sort, has
an estate at Great Neck, which has be
fore now filled newspaper columns oc
casionally by reason of its owner's odd
amusement plan, which Includes a toy
wireless telegraphic outfit, a captive
balloon and the like. He once had a
coat made for himself of leopard skins
that added greatly to his personal
vogue for some time. The Brokaw
place boasts a famous Italian garden,
and Its .stables hold many high-grade
polo ponies. There is a Brokaw race
meeting every Fall, the running being
done on a half-mile private track.
The Pratt estate at Glen Cove, reach
ing "clear around" to Oyster Bay, cov
ers about 1000 acres, and is worth
J3.000.000 or thereabouts. Ic was
founded by the late Charles Pratt, of
the Standard Oil crowd. It Includes
most of Dosoris Island, In Oyster Bay,
on which the estate created by the
late Charles A. Dana is situated. His
son, Paul Dana, occupies ic now. Many
rare trees stand on the Dana place,
and the elder Dana knew the names
and characteristics of them all. W. D.
Guthrie, the corporation lawyer, has
an estate covering half a square mile.
Inland, on Long- Island, which is like
the Dana estate In this regard. Paul
D. Cravath, one of Guthrie's partners,
has an estate near by. which is not so
large. - . -
James Hazen Hyde, the Insurance ex
ile, owned a handsome estate on the
south shore which cost a million, but
owns it no more. Howard Gould's 500
acre estate at Port Washington, where
Castle Gould is now nearlng- comple
tion. Is well known August Belmont's
place is at Hempstead. The house, of
frame. Is simply a remodeled farm
house. .Tames R. Keene. Wall-street
plunger, has also a Long Island country
seat, but more remarkable for Its owner
than for extent of territory, and the
house to, unimpressive. , .
Famous Up-the-Hudson Estates.
While the Long Island group of
country estates is ofcenestMn the news
by reason of the fox hunts and other
spectacular entertainments given
there, the estates, themselves are not
large In area compared with those to be
found in Westchester County and else
where "up the Hudson."
It is there that the Rockefellers, oil
kings, have extended their personal hold
ings so that each has title deeds to sev
eral thousands of acres, John D.'s hold
ings, being the larger. His stone castle
in the Pocantlco Hills stands a mile or
two hack from Irvington, on a table
land where It commands an unrivaled
.view of the Hudson River, its valley
north and south, and a wide stretch of
New Jersey across the noble stream. The
place cost millions, but no one knows
how many. You can get a notion from
the cost of the greenhosfees.' which was
J2SO.000. ' . .
About a hundred houses have been de
stroyed to enable the creation - of the
John D. Rockefeller estate, and a lesser
number for the creation of his brother
William's. The house on the latter es
tate, you may remember, waa originally
the home of General and- Commodore
William B. Asplnwall, who made his
fortune In the Panama Railroad, and for
whom the City of Asplnwall, now Colon,
was named. The house contained a hun
dred rooms when William Rockefeller
bought it. Whether he has Increased
their number has not been made pub
lic; he has spent a good deal of money
on it at all events.
When John D. bought his Pocantlco
Hills place and built thereon he planned
to spend most of his Winters there, but
since then he has created his Lakewood.
N. J.. estate, where he likes to spend
the cold weather, because of the milder
climate there. While the - Lakewood
place has cost him a lot of money, it
doesn't rival the Pocantlco Hills estate
in costliness.
None of the other famous east-bank
Hudson River ' estates the late Jay
Gould's, now occupied by Helen Gould;
Whitelaw Reld's Ophlr Farm, established
by Holladay, the famous far Western ex
pressman: Levi P. Morton's Ellerslie.
near Rhlnebeck; John Jacob Astor's, at
Rhlnecliffe; D. O. Mills', at Staatsburg;
Frederick W. Vanderbllt's. at Hyde Park;
Stuyvesant Fish's, at Garrison's and the
rest can compare in extent or cost with
either of the vast Rockefeller estates, but
each represents a large outlay of money
and each has its own peculiar charm.
The Fish estate dates from Colonial
days, and Is the only one of the entire
group that has been in possession of th,e
same family more than tlir; or four gen
erations. Ferncllffe. the Astor place, was
established by the second in line. Most
of the other great places in that region
belonging to families of National reputa
tion, except the Gould estate, are in
habited by the first members of the fam
ilies now occupying them.
J. P. Morgan's estate, Cragston, is
on the west bank of the river at High
land Falls, near West Point, and it is
from there that he makes his famous
daily yachting trips to business in the
warm weather, when in America. One
of the most interestlng'features of the
Morgan slace is, his kennel of collies.
He has been described as the most ex
tensive gentleman breeder of collies
In the' United States, but he gives away
most of the young dogs. -Whoever re
ceives a collie pup from Mocsran may
be sure of his high esteem.
Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry, Antl-Cruelty-to-Chlldren
man and new York
Yacht Club chief, occupies Livingston
Manor, also on the west shore, "handed
down from Colonial times through the
Commodore's wife. It is an extensive '
place, but. the manor house is not of
the million-dollar .variety.
The Famous Greenwich Region.
To the southeast of the great Rock
efeller estates, around Greenwich in
Connecticut, and New Rochelle, in New
York, on the north shore of the sound,
there is another group of estates, the
most spectacular of which, perhaps, is
that of E. C. Benedict, "the President's
friend'' when Cleveland was ' ln the
White House. The present Benedict
house at Indian Harbor is directly - on
the sound, near Greenwich. It cost
$2,000,000 and Is . one of the showiest
places, both inside and but, along the
entire, shore. But when Mr. Benedict
was winning a National reputatlonrby
his cruises , with the President on the
steam yacht Oneida, the Benedict resi
dence was a frame house standing well
back from the shore on the edge of
the village of Greenwich.
It was there that Benedict and H. O.
Havemeyer, who owns an estate there,
had their memorable falling out be
cause the schoolhouse . built- for the
town by Havemeyer shut off part of
Benedict's view. Benedict demanded
that the schoolhouse be cut down by
one story which Havemeyer finally
agreed to.
The estate of C. Oliver Iselln, the
yachtsman, is the largest near New Ro
chelle. and that of H. M. Flagler, Stand
ard Oil man, gives distinction to Oriental
Point. The Iselln estate reaches out Into
the Sound, so that it is surrounded by
water on three sides. The fishermen of
the neighborhood annoy the Iselins dread
fully in carrying on their fishing, but
nothing can be done to stop them. The
Isellns have put up a high wall to shut
out objectionable sights and sounds, 'but
it doesn't help much. rt
The estates of Anson Phelps 3tokes and
the late William Zlegler, the baking pow
der man, who sent a polar expedition
north a few years ago, adorn the Sound
shore at Noroton. Ziegler spent $3,000,000
on his place. .
West of the, Hudson and north of the
diagonal boundary line between New York
and New Jersey, in the Ramapo Hills,
Thomas F. Ryan, insurance, rapid transit
and tobacco Croesus, has an estate of WOO .
acres, which has been christened Monte
bello, where the family, of the Roman
Catholic faith, worships ln a private
chapel on the estate.
B. H. Harriman, the minister's son who
now controls the Southern Pacific Rail
road and Is performing prodigies in help
ing put San Francisco on its feet. Is get
ting together, near Tuxedo, at Arden,- in
Orange County, an enormous estate. It
probably covers 20.000 acres, most of
which is mountain territory, though he
has 700 or .800 acres of highly fertile
farm land. It Is supposed to be his am-'
bltion to own the largest country estate
ln America, eventually. There he has his
trotting track, his skating ponds and
every facility for outdoor amusement you
well could imagine, and there he is now
Mdlng a house on a hill with a wonder
ful view to the west, at a cost of a mil
lion or more.
The Tuxedo Park places are hardly to
be termed country estates, but the park,
as a whole is not to be left out-of
account in this story. It is several miles
square; It was founded by the first Pierrei
Lorillard. and it has been a factor - of!
importance in the growth of the move-i
ment away from town among the millions
aires of New York. It Is distinctive iti.
that most of its residents live within It
borders the year around. This is not so,
of the majority among the rich of the
metropolis.
Further south, across the line in New" 1
Jersey, there are half a hundred note
worthy estates, perhaps more. H. Mc
Kay Twombly's Florham Park, near1
Morrlstown. cost $2,000,000. Twombly's es
tate includes much beautiful farming1
nd.
So does George Gould's estate at Lake
wood, still further south, though not in
any such degree. Gptild's estate Is now
the most thoroughly developed along the
gardening and tree-culture lines, they
say, in all this - country. It was not
planned to be thus distinctive, but its de
velopment Just naturally evolved that
way. A feature of the place is the plne
tum, or grove of pines. Mr. Gould likes
grass to grow beneath his pines, and
pine needles, even more than pine shade,
kill grass, being positively poisonous : to
it, hence a regular force has to keep Busy
constantly raking the plnetum free- of
pine needles.
Up Greenwood Lake way, ln the north
western part of New Jersey, the Coopers
and the Hewitts, descendants of Peter
Cooper and Abram 8. Hewitt, own thou
sands of acres. The main estate Is termed
Rlngwood, and upon it stands an old red
stone building, used as a blacksmith's
forge ln Revolutionary days and much
frequented then by the officers of the
Continental Army when their horses
needed Shoeing. It is known as the Wash
ington forge because of certain legends
concerning the shoeing of Washington's
horse there legends which there is every
reason to believe are true.
The estate festablishd by the late Theo
dore A. Havemeyer is ln New Jersey, too, '
on the edge of the Ramapo Hills, at Mah
wah. The famous old Lorillard estate is
now well-nigh forgotten. The great to
bacco millionaire's estate In New Jersey
today Is that of James B. Duke, at pres
ent in process of development.
This leaves unmentloned the famous
places in low-lying Monmouth County,
New Jersey, hundreds of them worth
many millions. For all their value and
beauty and the many square miles which
they cover, few of them are large enougn
to size up with the great estates "up the
Hudson." ln the highlands of Southern
New York and Northern New Jersey,
and on Long Island. Copyright, 1906, by
Dexter Marshall.) . .
In the-Dinlng-Car.
Puck.
English Tourist Walter, this steak Is
deucedly tough, y'know.
Walter Got teh be. sah, in ordeh teh
pass trj guv-ment "spection! Yp' prob'ly
am unaware, sah, dat since de Packln'
town 'sposures. tendehness in a beef am
coneidehed a sign ob physical weakness!