"Elderfields"/"Elmsfour" (Flower Hill, New York)

 residence, farmhouse, LIGC - Long Island Gold Coast

The farm and homestead of various prominent area landowning families over the years, one of the oldest surviving structures on Long Island, the earliest section is a farmhouse built by George Hewlett which dates to around 1675. A structure was move onsite from elsewhere in the 18th century from the Thorne family who were relatives of the Hewletts but never moved in. A second structure was moved from Roslyn in 1690 which added the main hallway, kitchen, and west room. The house was gradually expanded over the next 200 years to its current two story Georgian design.

The 185-acre property was sold in 1909 after remaining in family hands for 229 years to Carlos W, Munson {shipping} who renamed the estate "Elderfields" and "Elmsfour". Munson served as president and chairman of the board of Munson Shipping Line and president of Carlos Munson Corp. which operated foreign flag ships. In 1921, he added a mid-19th century house formerly belonging to the Fagan family of Port Washington onto the west side giving the home its current appearance. He also built a studio cottage which was used by his wife for art making. The estate also had a carriage shed, other small utility buildings, and a walled garden.

Munson donated the land that would become St. Francis Hospital, and by the time of his death in 1940, had sold many acres to developers who began to build up Flower Hill. The four acre property was left to Nassau County in 1996 by Henry de Williams. The main house is now adaptively reused as the offices for the Art Guild of Port Washington and is partly used as a Nassau County apartment rental. In 2011, following restoration of power after Hurricane Irene, the main home and caretaker's cottage suffered major fire damage which has since been restored.

cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694co...
books.google.com/books?id=H6sLhey465YC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA22#...
nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071148/1997-01-02/ed...
bklyn.newspapers.com/image/60015771/?terms=carlos%2Bmun...
bklyn.newspapers.com/image/83180382/?terms=carlos%2Bmun...
bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52780948/?terms=carlos%2Bmun...
bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52766548/?terms=colonial%2Be...
www.worldcat.org/title/papers-ca-1685-1916/oclc/7886417...