Huntover Lodge

For the first twenty years of the 20th Century, Lloyd Griscom spent most of his time in Europe. Firstly as a Diplomat and Ambassador, and then on the staff of General Pershing in World War I for which he attained the unusual distinction among Americans of being knighted by King George V - but being American he was only able to carry the initials "K.C.M.G." after his name and was prevented him from styling himself "Sir Lloyd".

One room here with antique panelling was valued at $30,000 and Griscom had imported it in its entirety from the England he knew and loved - both his marriages had been in England and he travelled there often just for pleasure. Sadly this room along with many rare prints and manuscripts were destroyed in the fire that reduced the house to cinders in 1938. Fortunately, they did manage to remove several valuable first edition books, paintings, antiques and travel mementoes from the lower floor before the fire took hold.

On October 5th, 1938, the Griscoms had been back for a day after returning from Scotland where they had been enjoying some hunting. They were having lunch beside a log fire with six servants in the house when a maid heard a crackling noise on the third floor. Rushing upstairs, the maid found flames bursting through the roof. When the fire engines arrived, they found the water pressure to be so inadequate there was little they could do to save the house. The consensus was that the fire was started either by faulty wiring or by sparks from the fireplace and the overall loss was estimated at $200,000. By 1939, the Griscoms had purchased or built "Marston House" in Oyster Bay with outbuildings and a swimming pool that they leased that June to the riding master Vladimir S. Littauer.