Of all the work Linda and Harrison Hunt did as historians around Nassau County, they said, William Cullen Bryant’s life and home is one they’re still most fascinated and passionate about.
“The more we found out about him, the more impressed we got,” Harrison Hunt said. “I mean, he really was revered during his time and we felt like he should get more attention.”
Harrison, who worked 16 years as supervisor of historic sites in Nassau County before retiring in 2008, is co-publishing a pictorial book with his wife on Bryant’s life and his Cedarmere estate on Bryant Avenue in Roslyn Harbor.
The 128-page book is being published by Arcadia Publishing, a photo book publisher well known for publishing literature written by local writers and historians.
The book, ‘William Cullen Bryant’s Estates’ will be released for sale on March 28 and a release event will be held with a book signing on April 6 at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Roslyn from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“In general, we are very pleased with the quality in the book,” Harrison said.
The book opens with several chapters diving into the history of several of the buildings in Cedarmere years before its purchase by Bryant dating back as far as 1843 through 1887.
With more than 200 never-before-seen vintage photographs and prints, the story of Cedarmere’s buildings, grounds, residents, and famous visitors will be told.
Bryant made his fortune as a partial owner of the New York Evening Post, which served as the precursor to the New York Post, after starting at the newspaper as a writer and working his way into the editor-in-chief role by the late 1820s.
In 1843, Bryant purchased 40 acres of property in what is now known as Roslyn Harbor, and by the time he died in 1878 the property had expanded to approximately 200 acres.
Toward the end of his life, Bryant helped fund and establish what is now called Bryant Library, then called ‘The Hall,’ was a leading proponent for the creation of Central Park, and was a founding member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After his death, Bryant’s property was split between his two daughters.
Half the estate was eventually sold and turned into a housing development in the 1950s, while the other half was gradually sold down to approximately seven acres and became county property in 1975.
Bryant, who ultimately owned almost 200 acres containing 13 houses, created what may be the first of Long Island’s Gold Coast estates.
Two years after Harrison was hired in 1992, the county planned to celebrate Bryant’s bicentennial and Harrison convinced the Parks Commission to open Bryant’s estates to the public.
“I worked from the spring to November of 1994 to get it open,” Harrison said.
Linda who at the time was studying for to get her postgraduate degree in library science volunteered to assist the opening.
She was later hired part time as lead staff member to give tours and open facilities, a work she did for several years.
Over the next years, the property was vandalized and left unkept according to Harrison.
Harrison said the Cedarmere building today has become an office space.
“One wing has been converted to an apartment and main building being rented as office space,” he said.
Harrison and Linda continue to advocate for the renovation and opening of Cedarmere long after their work with the county.
