Shelter Island History Museum
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      • May 24-August 30: Havens Market
      • June 28 - October 11: Generations of Shelter Island Impressionists Exhibit
      • July 25: ArtSea Art & Science
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      • August 13: Basket Weaving Workshop
      • August 14: Children's Basket Weaving Workshop
      • August 19: ArtLab Workshop
      • September 6: 3rd NY Regiment Encampment
      • September 27: Oysters 'R' Here Event
      • October 11: Harvest Festival Market
      • November 29: Holiday Farmers Market
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5.  “Heartsease”
By 1673, Capt. Nathaniel Sylvester had emerged as the sole owner of Shelter Island. The Sylvester family was involved in the Atlantic triangle trade and their ships carried rum and sugar cane between Shelter Island, England, and Barbados. They used the white oaks growing on Shelter Island to repair ships and make casks for the rum. Nathaniel Sylvester developed Sylvester Manor, his land was worked by enslaved Africans, indentured or paid Native Americans, and European laborers. The site is now known as Sylvester Manor Educational Farm.

Nathaniel Sylvester died in 1680, and in 1699, the Sylvester family sold  two parcels of their land: 3000 acres to the Nicoll  family (now Mashomack Preserve) and 1000 acres in the center of the island to George Havens of Conanicut Island, Rhode Island.
George Havens’ son, William, built this house in 1742;  William’s son, James, took over the house in 1761. James and his wife,  Elizabeth Bowditch Havens,  named their home “Heartsease”, and it quickly became the center of Shelter Island life. 

(Proceed to the room on your left.)

Picture
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Leadership
    • Partners
    • Our Timeline
    • Annual Reports
    • The Havens House >
      • Construction
      • Renovation
  • Support
    • Donate Now
    • Elizabeth Pedersen Educational Fund
    • Volunteer
  • Online Exhibits
    • History of Shelter Island
    • A Day in the Life
    • Digital Tapestry
    • "The Lords of Menantic" Companion Exhibit
    • "The Prospect of Summer" Companion Exhibit
    • See Their Names Exhibit
    • This Land is YOUR Land
    • The DNA of Shelter Island
    • Voices from the Vault
    • Then & Now
    • Witness the Manhansett
    • Walter Cole Brigham
    • Alan Shields
    • Helena Hernmarck
    • British Woolworks
    • "Connecting from a Quarantine Kitchen"
    • Havens DIMONscape
  • Havens Store
  • HAVENS FARMERS MARKET
  • PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
  • Education
    • The Shelter Island History Project
    • Race, Ethnicity & Class on SI, 1652-2013
  • Living History Project
  • The Collections
    • Digital Collections
    • New York Heritage Digital Collections
    • Donate to the Collections
    • Finding Aids
    • Film Collection
    • House/Building Registry Project
  • From Our Archives
    • The Soap, The Salesman And The Sailor
    • Historic Women of Shelter Island
  • Calendar
    • 2025 Events & Programs >
      • May 24-August 30: Havens Market
      • June 28 - October 11: Generations of Shelter Island Impressionists Exhibit
      • July 25: ArtSea Art & Science
      • July 28-Aug 15: Summer Children's Theater Program
      • August 13: Basket Weaving Workshop
      • August 14: Children's Basket Weaving Workshop
      • August 19: ArtLab Workshop
      • September 6: 3rd NY Regiment Encampment
      • September 27: Oysters 'R' Here Event
      • October 11: Harvest Festival Market
      • November 29: Holiday Farmers Market
  • Contact
  • Directors' Log In