Description
No piece of oceanfront property on Long Island surpasses Shadmoor’s striking beauty and panoramic views. With spectacular fluted sand and clay bluffs that plunge dramatically down to the Atlantic, Shadmoor’s trails have been enjoyed since the time of the Montauketts.
At one time, the area was inhabited by farmers who purchased the land from the Native Americans to use as common pasture for their livestock. Shadmoor was still a grassland at the turn of the 20th century when it became Camp Wycoff, where Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, returning from the Spanish American War of 1898, were quarantined as they battled malaria and other tropical diseases.
Over the years, most of the grassland has grown into a dense maritime heathland dotted with wetlands, including several small ponds that are important habitat for both migrating and nesting birds. During World War II, Shadmoor was used as a coastal artillery fire control station, and two historic bunkers remain there today.
In 2000, the land was acquired by New York State, Suffolk County, and the Town of East Hampton, with a conservation easement over a portion of the property held by The Nature Conservancy.