$6.2 M Rehab

 "Historic Houses of NY State, A.G. Smith, Dover Publications, 1997.


This is going to be one long period of delayed gratification!  Many house museums are closed during the winter months.  I understand that.  Heating costs to keep the few cold weather enthusiasts from freezing solid to the floor boards would be astronomical.

But when Sagamore Hill closes on Dec 5 a three year $6.2 million dollar rehab will commence. A much smaller exhibit will be housed in another building on the property.

Sagamore Hill is the 28-room Queen Anne shingle-style mansion in Oyster Bay on Long Island, NY that Teddy Roosevelt built and used as the summer White House during his presidency from 1901-1909.  The home is now part of the National Park Service holdings and has not had any major renovations in more than 50 years.  The electrical, heating, security and fire safety systems will all be upgraded.  A new roof, gutter and drains will be installed.  Exterior work also includes restoration of 78 windows and doors, porches and siding.

To protect the home's contents everything must be packed up, stored and catalogued on a computer spreadsheet.  Workers began this herculean task nine months ago.  There is one particular prize possession not yet protectively shrouded and put away for safe keeping - the 10-foot-elephant tusks inlaid with silver ornamentation.  Any suggestions on the best place to keep these babies for a few years?

Highfield Hall

Flamouth,MA


I'm almost ready to pack up and move to Cape Cod. Not only are there numerous house museums to visit but Highfield Hall has the most interesting events calendar. There's art exhibits, cooking classes, jazz nights, lectures, nature walks and a Holiday Ball.

Highfield Hall is a fascinating place, both it's history and current usage.

When the railroad from Boston and New York transformed Cape Cod from sleepy fishing and farming villages wealthy families began building summer estates to escape the city heat (not so different from today). In 1878 the Beebe's of Boston, heirs to a dry goods fortune, built two Stick-style Queen Anne mansions on a 700 acre property in Falmouth,MA.

For a mere 50 years or so the homes remained in the family but when the last heir passed away the property was sold and began a journey through different owners and uses. Attention to the beauty and possibilities of the estate waxed and waned. For a period the two mansions were used as a hotel and later the estate housed a theater and school. (Reminds me of the inn in White Christmas. The movie with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. But that being the movies the inn was saved before it slid into disrepair. Not the case here.)

The two mansions suffered from years of neglect and vandalism until in 1977 one of the two grand homes, Tanglewood, was demolished. Highfield Hill continued its decline and was nearly razed as well. Eventually it was saved by a local ordinance enacted two days earlier.

I found the preservation story of the home fascinating. Loved the pictures of volunteer supporters doing the dirty work of cleaning up;local government involvement in the 11th hour rescue; and the professional manner in which the house is now run and presented to the public. This extraordinary example of local initiative was recognized with a 2010 Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Society.

The estate now is a vibrant community asset offering public viewing of the mansion, a full calendar of cultural events, and rental availability. The current non-profit owners have achieved their goal as outlined in their strategic plan " to create a new model for an historic house that's not a static display, but a house that is to be used and treasured by the entire community."

While tours of the house must be prearranged and are for groups only, a room just off the entrance has a permanent exhibit with a full history of the family and their estate.

Wish I had taken some notes. Since our September visit the details have slipped my mind. I vaguely remember some melodrama with a father rushing to his suicidal daughter's bedside and the carriage colliding with and killing a local ten year old boy. Even an internet search on that didn't turn up the details.

You can see from the pictures that this house can be a wonderful venue for a wedding "at home" if you don't happen to have a floor plan that can comfortably accommodate hundreds of people.