Sagtikos Manor, the West Bay Shore estate that shares its name with the Sagtikos State Parkway, closes for regular tours until May but opens three more times this year for the holidays: a gift shop weekend after Thanksgiving, photos with Santa on November 28, and two days of decorated house tours on December 5 and 6 built around the founders of the American Revolution.

The house sits at 677 West Montauk Highway, and its history runs back to 1697. George Washington slept there. The British Army used it as a headquarters during the Revolution. And the 42 rooms are still furnished with the family's own pieces, arranged as they were when the last owner moved out in 1963.

The holiday house tour, December 5 and 6

The main event of the season is the Great Patriots of the American Revolution Holiday House Tour, on Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6. The manor will be decorated for the holidays, and the guided tour introduces visitors to figures from the founding era, a theme the Sagtikos Manor Historical Society has carried through its programming this year for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Tours leave every 15 minutes from 10 a.m., with the last tour at 2:30 p.m. on both days. There are no tours between noon and 12:45 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $12 for children ages 6 to 12. The society asks visitors to reserve online in advance and will take walk-ins on the day if space allows. The gift shop, stocked with seasonal items, is open during the tours.

The weekend after Thanksgiving

Before that, the manor's gift shop opens Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, with a basket raffle of themed baskets. Credit cards, cash and checks are accepted. Parking and the entrance to the shop are at the rear of the manor.

On Saturday, November 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Santa is at the manor for photos. Visitors meet one of the elves in front of the house at the 1772 door. Photos cost $5 each and are sent by email, and no reservation is needed.

Three centuries in one house

The manor was built in 1697 by Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the first American-born mayor of New York City, on land purchased from Native Americans in 1692. The society says the name Sagtikos comes from a Native American word meaning head of the hissing snake, after the small stream that runs through the neck of land the house stands on.

Jonathan Thompson of Setauket bought the estate in 1758 for his younger son, Isaac, who married Mary Gardiner of East Hampton in 1772. The couple more than doubled the size of the original house, adding nine rooms. Isaac Thompson served in Islip Town government and later in the New York State Assembly, and generations of the Thompson and Gardiner families kept the property until 2002.

During the Revolutionary War, the manor briefly served as headquarters for the British Army on Long Island. On April 21, 1790, President Washington spent the night there during his tour of Long Island, and he recorded the stay in the diary he kept of the trip. The house was expanded again in 1902.

The estate once covered 1,200 acres. Today it sits on 10 acres with a walled garden, an ice house, a carriage house and the Thompson-Gardiner family cemetery. The garden and grounds are free and open to the public every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Plan your visit

  • Holiday Gift Shop Weekend: Friday, November 27, to Sunday, November 29, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Photos with Santa: Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $5 per photo
  • Great Patriots of the American Revolution Holiday House Tour: December 5 and 6, tours every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (none from noon to 12:45 p.m.); adults $25, seniors $22, children 6 to 12 $12
  • Where: Sagtikos Manor, 677 West Montauk Highway, West Bay Shore
  • Contact: [email protected] or 631-321-6809

Regular manor house tours resume in May 2027.

Sources