By Sophia Lian
The grand Mayknoll Estate is an 8.2-acre manor located on Glenwood Road in Roslyn Harbor, known both for its historic charm and influential residents and visitors.
Mayknoll was built in 1855 by the Willowmere family for their daughter, Ellen Eliza, and her husband, Robert Stuart, Jr.
Stuart was a midshipman in the U.S. Navy who eventually earned the rank of lieutenant.
In an unfortunate fire while the house was being constructed in 1854, the Victorian-style building burned down. It was rebuilt within a year on the original foundation. It then passed through another set of hands after Stuart died in 1863 during the Civil War.
Ellen Eliza later married Elijah Ward, a former U.S. congressman, judge advocate general of New York State, and Civil War veteran.
She was remembered as having a strong connection to Trinity Church because she was a member of the parish and donated land to the Church’s property. After Ellen Eliza Ward’s death, her children donated the Roslyn Clock Tower in her memory.
By 1895, both Elijah Ward and Ellen Eliza Ward had passed away. A handful of individuals later purchased the house before it was eventually acquired by William J. Casey, one of the best-known owners of the estate.
While working for the Rogers & Wells law firm, Casey became the head of Ronald Reagan’s political campaign and after Reagan’s victory he was appointed to the position of CIA director.
Casey was recognized for his anticommunist political strategies as the CIA director. Casey died as a controversial leader because he was accused of being involved in the Iran-Contra Affair.
The Mayknoll Estate has been passed down through prominent figures such as steamship captains, U.S. Congressmen, and CIA directors.
Beyond the beauty of the waterfront property by Hempstead Harbor, the legacy of the former householders and past of the Mayknoll Estate should also be remembered.
To learn more about Mayknoll’s history, visit the Roslyn Landmark Society’s website at roslynlandmarks.org/profiles. You can also visit the Bryant Library’s Local History Collection at localhistory.bryantlibrary.org/ to explore Roslyn’s historical past further.
Sophia Lian is a Roslyn Landmark Society 2024 Gardiner Young Scholars Program high school intern and part of the new “Young Historians” collaboration between the Roslyn Landmark Society and Blank Slate Media. Special thanks to the Bryant Library’s Local History Collection for providing research assistance.
