Sutton Manor (New Rochelle, New York)

'''Sutton Manor''' is a historic residential district in the city of New Rochelle, New York in Westchester County. The community was developed as an upper middle class enclave for families with heads of households employed in New York City. It served as a model for the ideal suburban setting - harmonious architecture and exclusive amenities. It retains its original plan and amenities (boathouse and bathing beach), while the architecture of the homes exhibit the array of stylistic choices available during the early 1900's: Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mediterranean, Arts and Crafts, Bungalow, and Art Moderne. Many of the homes were designed but promintent New York architects of the day including William Liance Cottrell and Chester A. Patterson.

Sutton Manor is also historically significant for its association with a number of persons who were important to the economic and physical development of the region. With its proximity to New York City, many of the residents of were involved in activities of regional, state-wide and even national significance, which instigated frequent mention of the “exclusive Sutton Manor” in The New York Times.

Former residents include: Roland Hughes, Director of the U.S. Budget; Lee Parsons Davis, New York State Supreme Court Justice and District Attorney of Westchester County; and the prominent early Twentieth Century American Artists Coles Phillips and Ernest Albert.

The Manor is located along the New Rochelle waterfront in the southern end of the city. The easterly boundary is marked by Echo Bay. The southern edge of the area is bordered by the city's municipal marina and several maritime based business concerns including a boatyard. Various businesses and former commercial industrial sites lie to the north of the community along the Boston Post Road. Franklin Avenue defines the western edge of the community while the is marked by Echo Bay

History:
At the turn of the 18th century, most of the waterfront acreage in the northeast section of New Rochelle was owned by one of its original settlers, Huguenot Louis Guion. Another of the French refugees, Alexander Allaire, purchased
much of it in 1748.

The lands eventually came into the hands of James Pitcher, Commissary of Musters in the British Army, who owned it until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. For some unknown reason his property was not confiscated and he was able to leave it to his nephew, Thomas Huntington.

The portion of the property that is Sutton Manor, as well as an adjacent “Sealing Wax Manufactory” came into the possession of Thaddeus Davids in the late 1830s. At the time, Davids was the head of one of the largest ink companies in the country.

He built a country home in the middle of the parcel, naming it “Echo Place” to reflect its frontage on Echo Bay. He also bought an island off New Rochelle’s southern shore that still bears his name. Davids had a large family of 12 children born to 3 different wives. His second son, George W. Davids, eventually brought the family business to ruin. The company and Thaddeus Davids, individually, were forced to dispose of all assets, which resulted in the sale of the 20-plus acre Echo Place to George W. Sutton on April 30, 1884. It included a barn north of the house along with two or three other dwellings, at least one of which probably predated the Davids House.

The Development of Sutton Manor:

In 1884 Echo Place was bought by George William Sutton to be enjoyed as a country retreat by his family. After Sutton’s death in 1894, the property was rented out until his heirs decided to develop the property. In 1904, George W. Sutton, Jr. formed the Sutton Manor Realty Company'. The younger Sutton would become an active civic leader in New Rochelle, serving as a New Rochelle alderman, tax assessor, and realty developer.

The 'Sutton Manor Realty Company' selected Lawrence E. Van Etten, a civil engineer and New Rochelle resident, to draw up the subdivision plan of 50 home sites for the property.

Van Etten designed about 100 subdivisions in Westchester County between 1890 and 1950, as well as several golf courses including Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle.