The History of West Islip: The Havemeyer Family

Not every notable resident who has contributed to West Islip's early history has had a street named after them in the town.  For example, the Arnold Family, spotlighted in last week's column, have a street named after them in West Babylon. The Havemeyer family, whom we focus on this week, have streets named after them in Commack and Brooklyn.

Henry Havemeyer was a  New York City resident who had a summer home in West Islip. In fact, his estate was actually a farm located just off South Country Road, not far from Colonel Wagstaff's home.

Havemeyer's grandfather, William, emigrated from Germany to Manhattan in 1799 and founded a sugar refinery that led to wealth and fame for his family. The business was passed down to his son, William F. Havemeyer, who was New York City's mayor three different times. He was also heavily involved in the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), and it was rumored he was its largest stockholder at the time of his death in 1874. Because of the LIRR and his political pursuits, Havemeyer passed the sugar business on to his sons.

Henry was his fourth son, and like his father he ventured away from the family business to try new business pursuits of his own. He took over the presidency of the LIRR in 1875 then retired from that post a year later after selling the LIRR in 1876.

Havemeyer was not as successful in his business pursuits as his father. In fact, most of his business ventures were expensive mistakes that lost him much of his own money. His one successful venture was implementing a new ferry route from Hunter's Point Avenue to Jersey City with stops in Brooklyn and Wall Street.

Havemeyer and his wife, Mary Jennie Moller, decided to raise their six children in West Islip. At first they lived in the Stone's Hotel, which is now Captree Island Boat Basin.  After Havemeyer bought it, he supposedly spent over $100,000 to turn it into a palace, building separate buildings for a gym, barn, hen house and servant's quarters. He named the estate the Armory and hosted parties in grand style every chance he could. However, he and his wife quickly grew tired of the lifestyle at the Armory, so it was leased to a new business in Babylon: the Argyle Hotel.

After a few more business failures, Havemeyer bought the property in West Islip near the Wagstaff estate.  Havemeyer used the 160 acres to construct a farm, which he named Sequatogue in honor of the Indian Tribe who first lived in that area. In addition to the main home, the farm also had a carriage house, stables and barns for horses and cattle.  He also planted a fruit orchard, greenhouse and a vegetable garden to feed his family fresh produce year-round. Unfortunately, his time there was short lived, as he died a few years after buying the farm when he was only 48-years-old. 

This week's trivia question: How did the Town of Islip get its name and by whom? Check next week's column for the answer. 

 The answer to last week's question is: A.T. Stewart & Co. was the other large department store in the same era as the Arnold's store.