Old Mastic House

The Old Mastic House at the center of the William Floyd Estate

NPS/Sucena

The manor house, called “Old Mastic” or “the Old House” by Floyd family, was built around 1724 for William Floyd’s father, Nicoll. Richard Floyd I, Nicoll’s grandfather, immigrated to Setauket, NY around 1667 from Brecknockshire, Wales. He became one of the early colonists on Long Island and one of the largest landholders in the Town of Brookhaven.  

Enslaved, indentured, and free labor were employed in the construction of the house, just as they were for the clearing of the fields and roads. It was, to begin, a small, but substantial 6 room starter home. But, as the family grew and needs changed, each generation put their mark on the home, whether this was by adding new rooms or changing the function of already established spaces. 

William Floyd inherited the home, wealth, and status of the family when he was just 20 years old. Roughly a month after proclaiming his support for independence in July 1776, William Floyd and his family were forced to flee their estate as British forces moved to occupy the grounds. Redcoats quartered in the Old Mastic House for the duration of the Revolutionary War as Long Island remained a royalist stronghold. According to family lore, “Unka Steve” an enslaved man from Barbados was entrusted with staying behind to observe and report on the occupation of the estate.  

In 1783, Floyd returned to the estate with his family and began the work to restore the estate which was in disrepair after its occupation by the British. Floyd’s 1792 portrait shows the updated and expanded home, with a new main hall and parlor as well as east and west service wings. When Thomas Jefferson and James Madison visited Floyd in 1791, they would have seen a stately manor house and a thriving productive farm. 

William Floyd left the estate to his son Nicoll in 1803 when he moved with his second wife and two young daughters to Westernville, NY. The home remained in the family for many generations.