Gracewood (Centre Island, New York)

Originally built for John Taylor Sherman head of Sherman & Sons, cotton and lace merchants and importers. Sherman was the father of Charles Austin Sherman (Minne-wawa) and father-in-law of George Dupont Pratt (Killenworth). Original house destroyed by fire in October of 1903 and subsequently rebuilt by Sherman. The property was subdivided in the 1980's at which time the carriage house was converted into a separate home. In 2012 the carriage house was demolished to make way for a new house.

The Shermans sold Gracewood to Frederick Gorham Clark Lyon, President of Gas Consumers Association and a prominent yachtsman.

After Lyon's death in 1945, Gracewood was subsequently home to George E. Roosevelt a banker, yachtsman and great nephew to Theodore Roosevelt. He was the fifth generation in direct succession to head the family investment banking firm of Roosevelt & Son since its founding in 1797.

An avid yachtsman, Roosevelt was the former Commodore of both the Seawanhaka Corninthian and New York Yacht Clubs. He was a member of the Rainbow Syndicate that defended the Americas Cup in 1934. The black 60 foot schooner "Mistress" was Mr. Roosevelt's special delight winning prizes in blue water races to Bermuda and across the Atlantic.