The Place, The People, The Spirits
The Place
World renowned architect Clarence Luce designed this tan stucco Huntington Harbor estate for George McKesson Brown sometime between 1910 and 1911. Inspired by two castles in the South of France it was lovingly referred to as the McKesson-Brown Estate, after its’ owner.
Originally this 54 acre estate included all the land from the water at Huntington Harbor to Southdown Road. It had a cottage for servants and stables for horses, an ice house and a boat house.
The side of the house still has intact the brick carriage entrance.
The 80,000 square foot estate boasted 40 rooms, 7 fireplaces – no two alike, a wine cellar, and an indoor swimming pool. It is also said to be one of the first estates to have a crude central air system. The patio originally had imported tile on the floor but that has been replaced with plank flooring. It was also lavishly decorated but none of the originally furniture is present.
Mr. McKesson-Brown lost the estate during the Depression. It was bought by the Brothers of Sacred Heart and turned into a private all boy’s school. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart renamed the estate Coindre Hall.
The boys slept on the second floor . Also on the second floor was an infirmary and a chapel. Additionally on the second floor was an outside brick bridge that allowed the brave to venture from one part of the estate to the other via an outdoor route. The first floor was their dining area and their library.
This all boys school was in existence from 1939 until 1971. For a short time, beginning in 1981, the Eagle Hill School, Inc. of Greenwich CT leased the property. Suffolk County Parks has now acquired the property and it is open for tours to the public as well as for former events such as proms and weddings. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The People
The history of the people is correct to the best of my knowledge. If anyone has anything they can add please do.
The owner was George McKesson Brown. His father George Bruce-Brown, a wealthy real estate magnate and printing manufacturer, had been married twice. His first wife, Virginia Greenway McKesson was the heir to the McKesson Chemical Company in Connecticut. She died the same year George was born. His father then married Ruth Loney, the heir to the J.P. Lorillard company, the tobacco company that puts out cigarettes such as Newport and Kent. She is also the mother of William Bruce-Brown and David Bruce-Brown, George’s half-brothers. David is the man most noted as the youngest Grand Prix Auto winner in the world. It is also said that David, who died racing a Fiat during time trials for the Vanderbilt Cup, developed his love for racing when George bought a Benz racing car and hired a driver to race it in the Vanderbilt Cup in Long Island.
As for George’s personal life – not much is known. It is said that he did marry but the name of the woman is unknown. What is known is that the woman would not bear children and when they lost their entire fortune in the stock market crash she is said to have killed herself. It is said that during this time period he often sadly referred to the estate as the “No Dough Estate”.
It is also known that George took care of his brother’s child, Virginia Looney, after her parents died in the sinking of the Lusitania. Virginia is said to have been aboard with her parents when a German submarine torpedo hit. Her father helped passengers get into the lifeboats and put his daughter Virginia into the last one – leaving both him and his wife on the sinking ship. Virginia’s lifeboat capsized and everyone was thrown into the water. Despite the suction of the sinking ship she was able to swim to another lifeboat and survived.
The Spirits
Mrs. McKesson Brown is said to have been grief stricken by her inability to have children and by the loss of her family fortune.
In a state of depression she is said to have hanged herself on the top of this circular stairway. People have said they see her still sitting on the sofa overlooking the grounds.
Virginia Loney is said to still walk the halls of this estate. Virginia, by some reports, is said to have visited her Uncle many times and it is here that learned how to swim. If it had not been for this estate and her swimming lessons she would never have survived the sinking of the Lusitania.
