1697 South Shore manor on land purchased from the Secatogue — unmarked enslaved persons' burial plots on grounds, a documented plaque for an unknown Native American woman, shadowy figures at the cemetery.
677 West Montauk Highway, West Bay Shore, NY 11706
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Admission for manor house tours; grounds and gardens free during open hours.
Access
Limited Access
Historic manor house with 18th-century construction; grounds mostly flat but unimproved near cemetery areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1697 · One of Long Island's Oldest Surviving Estates · British Revolutionary War Headquarters Under General Clinton · George Washington Overnight Stay (1790) · Enslaved Persons' Burial Ground on Property · National Register of Historic Places (1976)
The land that became Sagtikos Manor was purchased from the Secatogue people in 1692 by New York City mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who began construction of the original 1.5-story timber-framed structure in 1697. The property passed through the Thompson and Gardiner families — two prominent Long Island dynasties — across the 18th and 19th centuries, with substantial additions expanding the house through the Gilded Age.
During the American Revolution, the British army established its Long Island headquarters at Sagtikos under General Sir Henry Clinton. The manor became a center of Loyalist activity on the South Shore while the war reshaped the surrounding community.
In April 1790, President George Washington documented an overnight stay at the residence in his diary during his tour of Long Island, noting it as 'Squire Thompson's' place. The bedroom where Washington slept remains one of the tour's focal points.
The rear of the manor holds the multi-generational Gardiner-Thompson family cemetery, and near their plots are several unmarked burial sites of formerly enslaved individuals who lived and worked on the property. A plaque on the grounds marks the site of 'Unknown Native American woman, buried here.'
Robert David Lion Gardiner inherited the estate in 1930 and allowed the Sagtikos Manor Historical Society to use the property beginning in 1964. The manor was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It is currently operated as a historic house museum with support from the NYS Council on the Arts and the Preservation League of New York State.
Sources
Sagtikos Manor carries a documented paranormal investigation tradition distinct from generic haunted-house tourism. Paranormal investigator Michael Cardinuto of Long Island Paranormal Investigators has described the manor as the site of his first direct shadow-person sighting — a figure seen moving quickly through the garden. The organization has documented audio evidence at the site, specifically instances where questions asked aloud receive apparent responses, and reported equipment registering unexplained readings with no identifiable cause.
Visitor accounts collected at the manor describe three primary experiences: shadowy figures near or within the Gardiner-Thompson family cemetery; the figure of a Native American woman walking the grounds, consistent with the plaque that marks the burial of an 'Unknown Native American woman' on the property; and unexplained voices, sounds, and mists concentrated around the cemetery and burial areas.
The enslaved persons' burial ground at the rear of the property — unmarked plots adjacent to the family cemetery — carries its own atmospheric weight. The manor's 328-year history of colonial settlement, Revolutionary War occupation, and the lives of enslaved people give the grounds a layered history that regional investigators consistently identify as unusually dense.
The primary published source treating Sagtikos as a paranormal site is the Fire Island News investigation article, which documents Cardinuto's findings. The Long Island Advance provides the historical framing. We treat the paranormal accounts as investigator-reported rather than institutionally verified.
Notable Entities
Guided tour of Sagtikos Manor's colonial-era rooms and Gilded Age addition, including the bedroom where George Washington slept during his 1790 Long Island tour. Docents discuss the manor's 328-year history spanning colonial settlement, Revolutionary War British occupation, and 19th-century family life.
Free self-guided access to the formal gardens, carriage house, and grounds. The Gardiner-Thompson family cemetery and the nearby unmarked burial plots of formerly enslaved individuals are visible on the rear of the property. A plaque marks the site of an unnamed Native American woman.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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