Sylvester Manor | |
![]() The gateway to Sylvester Manor | |
Location | Shelter Island, New York, USA |
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Coordinates | 41°04′49.4″N 72°20′28″W / 41.080389°N 72.34111°W |
Built | c. 1737 [2] |
NRHP reference No. | 15000178 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 28, 2015 |
Sylvester Manor is a historic manor on Shelter Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA.
The land, spanning 8,000 acres on Shelter Island, was acquired by English-born colonist Nathaniel Sylvester in the 17th century. [3] Sylvester and his brother owned two plantations in Barbados and over 200 enslaved Africans. [3] When he died in 1680, the estate and 23 enslaved people were inherited by his descendants. [3]
The manor on the estate was built in 1737 for Nathaniel Sylvester's grandson, Brinley Sylvester. [4] Enslaved Africans and European indentured servants built it. [3] The last enslaved person was freed in 1820. [4] The grounds include a cemetery of unmarked graves for enslaved people. [4]
Later, the manor was inherited by Mary Gardiner Horsford, the wife of renowned Harvard University professor Eben Norton Horsford after her mother brought it back into the family. [5] They entertained often, one of their guests being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. [5] After her death, he married her sister, Phoebe Dayton Gardiner, with whom he had a fifth daughter, Cornelia Horsford. [6]
In recent years, it was the home of heiress Alice Fiske. [4] More recently, it was inherited by an 11th generation descendant, Bennett Konesni. [4] With his uncle, Eben Fiske Ostby, he co-founded the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm [7] with the help of the Peconic Land Trust. [4] [8]
The manor has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 28, 2015. [9]