"Preserving History: The Jerusha Dewey Cottage - A Storied Past from 1862 to Present”
By: Sophia Lian (A Roslyn Landmark Society High School volunteer)
The Jerusha Dewey Cottage, also later known as the “Leftover Cottage,” is a building originally built in 1862 that was subsequently turned into a guest house. The 19th-century cottage can still be found on the grounds of the Nassau County Museum of Arts in Roslyn, Long Island.
The historical cottage was built by William Cullen Bryant, editor of the New York Evening Post, poet, and political activist, on his Roslyn estate. The initial structure was designed by architect Frederick S. Copley for Byrant’s friend Jerusha Dewey and her brother, Orville Dewey.
General Lloyd Stevens Bryce converted this property into a guesthouse in 1900 when he assumed the minister position to the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The cottage was redesigned in a Gothic style with stilts and a new first floor, gaining attention from prominent visitors including Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
The name 'Leftover Cottage' was coined by the Childs family when they renovated the house before the Fricks moved in during World War II. For six years after the war, the Fricks continued to stay in the cottage before moving away to Clayton.
The cottage was renovated once again by the Roslyn Landmark Society in 2011 as part of its ongoing restoration.
Sources:
- Harrison, Joan, and Mary Ann McCluskey. “Joan Harrison.” Roslyn Landmark Society, October 1, 1969. https://www.roslynlandmarks.org/profiles/jerusha-dewey-cottage/.
- “Historic Gold Coast Mansion.” History of Nassau County Museum of Art | Historic Wedding and Private Event Venue on Long Island. Accessed February 5, 2024. https://www.eventsatartistry.com/history.html.
- “Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn, New York.” Follow My Yellow Brick Road, March 11, 2022. https://followmyyellowbrickroad.com/?page_id=6433.
2 Comments
Excellent article about an important Roslyn building. The Roslyn Landmark Society restored the exterior in 2013, but the interior was left unfinished because of limited funding from The Gerry Trust. This building need now exterior cleaning and finishing the job on the interior. My hope is after the Roslyn Mill and the Cedarmere Mill, led by The Friends of Cedarmere, restorations are complete--that they along with funding from Nassau County will take this project on. .
Sophia, thank you for spotlighting this interesting building. I have one correction to pass along: the building was raised and renovated by William Cullen Bryant's grandson Harold Godwin, who later sold the property to Lloyd Bryce.