The La Grange Inn of West Islip, located at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Higbie Lane, dates back to 1750. The Higbie family, the original owners, operated the Inn before the founding of our country.
Much of the Inn’s colonial past has become part of local lore, and its architecture lacks splendor. However, the undebatable truth is that it is a symbol of West Islip heritage and collective nostalgia. Vacant for a few years before 2013, the Inn represented a bygone era on a collision course with a 21st-century national franchise, which unleashed the community’s collective grassroots efforts to save the beloved building.
One of the most popular myths claims that George Washington stayed and dined at the Inn during his tour of Long Island in 1790. However, this has been debunked by Washington’s diary, which specifically mentions an overnight stop at Isaac Thompson’s house. The Thompson residence, located a little less than two miles away, is now known as Sagtikos Manor.
According to the Sagtikos Manor Historical Society, Washington may have preferred to stay there instead of at the public inn down the road due to the cleanliness of a private home or because Isaac Thompson, like Washington himself, was a Freemason. The Inn’s only potential claim to fame in revolutionary history is the possibility that American war hero Marquis de Lafayette may have dined and stayed there after the inn was renamed in honor of the General’s French hometown. This event is thought to have occurred in 1824 when Lafayette was in New York City on an all-expense-paid tour of the United States, courtesy of President James Monroe.
After the renaming, Samuel Higbie, the proprietor and conductor of the stagecoach route between New York City and Patchogue, designated the Inn as a stop. The property remained in the Higbie family until 1918, when it was sold to Eugene Freund.
The La Grange rose to historical prominence in the mid-20th century as the chosen venue for Robert Moses to finalize large-scale developments that opened up the region for post-war suburbia and beyond. The Inn hosted numerous high-profile visits from U.S. President Richard Nixon and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. It was frequented by actor Bob Keeshan, renowned for his role as Captain Kangaroo. Uwe Paulsen, who worked his way up from the kitchen, became one of the last owners, acquiring the Inn in 1968 and operating it as a restaurant until 2001. It then transitioned to become a catering hall.
In 2008, Walgreens proposed a buyout of the property around La Grange, which would demolish the building for the new pharmacy. In the early stages of the town planning meetings, locals expressed concerns about the lack of regard for the historic building, so all proposed development ceased.
In late 2013, First Hartford Realty Corporation submitted an application for a 16,000-square-foot CVS at the location of the now-closed Inn. Preparing for a prolonged battle, local community members organized the La Grange Inn Task Force and West Islip Association to preserve the 260-year-old structure.
Before its closure, La Grange Inn was the longest-operating restaurant on Long Island, serving centuries of patrons. During community meetings, dozens of residents shared memories of sweet sixteens, marriage receptions, birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrated life events, which followed demands to keep these special memories encapsulated through preserving the Inn.
Local historian Todd Berkun, creator of the preservationist website Place That Is No More, stated, “With so much recently lost, is this the right time to purposely take more? La Grange, with its marvelous past, could be just waiting for someone with a vivid imagination and a few dollars to turn it into something truly beautiful for a lasting future.”
In an attempt to compromise with the community, CVS offered to pay the estimated $500,000 to $1,200,000 for moving and restoring the section of the building that dates back to the mid-1800s while demolishing the 20th-century additions. In this arrangement, CVS would maintain ownership of the La Grange, but the Town of Islip would protect the building by designating its use as only a museum.
“I remember the walkthrough of the finished building and saw the hardwood inlay floors, wainscoting, and tray ceiling and said to myself, ‘my god, it looks like a museum,’” stated President of West Islip Historical Society, Lynn Luttenberger.
For West Islip’s Lori Holland, the preservation brought back memories.
“One of my fondest memories was getting dressed up and my grandmother taking us to La Grange as a treat,” she recalled. “I remember having my first Shirley Temple with my grandmother here.”
Of the 13 original rooms, 11 have been preserved. Each of the three stories is reinforced with steel beams. The West Islip Historical Society Museum is located on the first floor.
“La Grange was the cornerstone of West Islip,” said Luttenberger. “It has represented the identity of the area for generations. CVS preserving this property was not only them wanting to give back to a community, but them becoming part of the community.”
