Caumsett State Historic Park adds preserve to name

Caumsett State Historic Park Thursday will have an important word added to its official name and a master plan to guide its future.

State parks Commissioner Carol Ash visits the park this afternoon to sign off on the Lloyd Harbor site's first master plan and unveil the new name: Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve. The addition of "preserve" reflects added protections against development contained in the new plan.

"A visit to the Gold Coast estate is like stepping back in time," Ash said, "and the master plan will help preserve this significant part of Long Island's natural and cultural heritage."

The plan recommended more protection for the park because its 1,550 acres have such diverse wildlife, flora, scenic views and historical resources.

The biggest changes, however, will be revamping roads, parking lots and trails, and the creation of a visitor center. The revamp will take 10 to 15 years to implement, if the state can make funding available.

Five parking areas would be upgraded, the entrance road widened to handle two-way traffic, and the exit near the Henry Lloyd House closed. More parking space would be created at the entrance. The entrance booth will move and a new road built from there to the equestrian center. A permit system will be established for launching canoes and kayaks into Long Island Sound.

At the farm complex, a visitor center would be created in a vacant structure, more of the historic gardens and greenhouses restored, and the power and pump house opened as a historical display.

Henry Babcock, president of The Caumsett Foundation, a nonprofit friends group that supports the park and worked on the plan, said "the plan sets forth a vision for the park as a preserve for passive recreation, much as it is now, and as the community has requested that it remain."