Peacock Point

The historic country house estate at Peacock Point rests on a promontory overlooking the Long Island Sound. It is situated on the traditional land of the Matinecock, an Algonquian people whose territory stretched from Flushing Bay to the Nissequogue River, including settlements at present-day Glen Cove and Oyster Bay. The point was first mapped in the 1860s as farmland for the Peacock family. It later became the esate of Charles Otis Gates, President of the Royal Baking Powder Company and Professor of English Literature at Adelphi College. Gates commissioned architectural firm Lamb & Rich to design a Dutch-Jacobean country house and service buildings on the grounds in 1902.

Following Gates’s death, Peacock Point was acquired by Henry Pomeroy Davison Sr. in 1910. He purchased the property using his first bonus check from J.P. Morgan & Company, where he had recently started as a senior partner. Henry, his wife Kate Trubee, and their four children, Frederick (known as Trubee), Henry Jr., Alice, and Frances, spent their summers at Peacock Point and were known to host large gatherings for friends and local families. After the original house burned down in 1913, Henry Sr. initiated an ambitious construction project, hiring the firm of Walker & Gillette to design a new main house and outbuildings in the Georgian Revival-style and commissioning the Olmsted Brothers to reimagine the landscape.

The Davison family was deeply committed to patriotic causes during World War I. Henry Sr. chaired the War Council of the American Red Cross, earning a Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions. His son Trubee spearheaded the creation of the Naval Air Reserve, founding the first squadron with several classmates at Yale. The group lived and trained at Peacock Point during the summer of 1916, and their endeavor captured the attention of the press, who dubbed them the “Millionaires’ Unit.” Henry Jr. served alongside Trubee as an ambulance driver in France in 1915 before joining his brother’s pursuit of aviation. Frances and Alice both worked as nurses during the war.

Peacock Point has now served as the home of the Davison family for five generations. While the original main house and its replacement no longer survive, the estate’s remaining buildings preserve the stories of the Davisons and many others who lived and worked there over the course of the last century.

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———. 1921. “H.P. DAVISON HOME; STANDS TRIP WELL; Is Taken 40 Miles to Peacock Point, Near Glen Cove, in Ambulance.” The New York Times, August 30, 1921.

———. 1922. “DAVISON LEAVES $4,500,000 TO SON; Bulk of Estate Goes to Widow Who Will Receive Income for Life. DIVIDED AT HER DEATH Other Three Children Get Remainder in Equal Shares Value of Property Not Known. Left Nothing to Charity. DAVISON LEAVES $4,500,000 TO SON Trust Fund Created. Direction as to Employes. Peacock Point for Son. Handling of Securities. Morgan Statement to Be Accepted.” The New York Times, May 12, 1922.

———. 1927a. “HORSE SHOW ON SUNDAY.” The New York Times, September 4, 1927, sec. Sports.

———. 1927b. “PEACOCK POINT FETE ATTRACTS THRONGS; Society Attends Circus on Mrs. Davison’s Estate to Aid Fight on Cancer. HORSE SHOW ALSO IS HELD Well-Known Women Entertain the Crowds on Midway -- Gymkhana Races Today.” The New York Times, September 13, 1927, sec. Social News.

———. 1927c. “DUCKING STOOL A HIT AT PEACOCK POINT; Debutantes Among Those Who Welcome Ordeal at Charity Fete.” The New York Times, September 14, 1927, sec. Amusements.

———. 1932. “MRS. DAVISON HONORS RED CROSS WORKERS; Gives Tea for 200 at Peacock Point (L.I.) After Chairmen Report on 1931 Roll-Call.” The New York Times, September 21, 1932, sec. Social News.

———. 1934. “MRS. DAVISON HOST TO 50 CRIPPLES; Young Men and Women From Institute Here Hold Outing on Long Island Estate. MAKE TRIP IN 18 BUSES Ball Games, Swimming and Athletic Contests Feature Day at Peacock Point.” The New York Times, August 18, 1934, sec. Social News.

———. 1936. “MRS. DAVISON ENTERTAINS.” The New York Times, June 7, 1936, sec. Social News.

———. 1955. “L. I. CHURCH FAIR SET FOR ESTATE.” The New York Times, July 24, 1955.

———. 1958. “Fair on Sept. 6 Will Be Benefit For L. I. Church.” The New York Times, August 24, 1958.

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