Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve

Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve is situated on a scenic peninsula extending into Long Island Sound and was acquired by New York State in 1961. The Park offers miles of bridle paths, walking, jogging, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and nature trails over acres of woodland, meadows, rock shoreline and salt marsh. The 1,520-acre park covers the former Marshall Field III estate that was developed in the 1920s by the landscaping genius of the Olmsted Brothers and architect John Russell Pope. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Much of the Park is today managed as a nature preserve, with a focus on protecting high-quality bird habitat. It is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. For many years, members of Three Harbors Garden Club have been actively involved with the Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve and the Club itself frequently hosts events on its premises in the Caumsett Classrooms to promote education to the surrounding community.

Caumsett Historic Park Preserve came to a standstill on September 1, 2021 with the arrival of a micro burst, an intense, localized, short-lived storm, caused by Hurricane Ida, the first hurricane to hit the Park in almost a decade. Trees in the southern area of the park were ravaged; over 200 mature trees were lost to the storm, trees that just a little over a year ago towered at 80-90 feet. Trails and buildings that were canopied in greenery and shade for over 100 years are now barren. Many of these trees were in Fredrick Law Olmsted and Marian Cruger Coffin’s original landscape designs for this “Gold Coast” estate. We feel that the replanting of the lost trees is even more important on the tails of last years Olmsted’s 200th birthday celebration.

NYS Parks is working hand-in-hand with GCA this year for I Love My Park Day. They have been meeting internally and then plan to meet with our conservation leadership regarding a Weed Wrangle initiative which will once again include that day. Three Harbors Garden Club received a “Partners For Plants” grant from the Garden Club of America to work with the Caumsett Foundation on a project that will create three small gardens containing a variety of Long Island wildflower species within a 4-acre field for the purpose of attracting pollinators. As part of the grant, we are working with Cornell Cooperative Extension that visited the site this summer and continues to guide us as to the location of gardens, treatment of invasive species and planting strategies.