Manor St. George or St. George's Manor was a large tract of land purchased by William "Tangier" Smith in the 17th century on Long Island, in central Suffolk County, New York. Parts of the original parcel, which was approximately 64,000 acres (260 km2) of land, are preserved in bits and pieces: 127 acres (0.51 km²) and the main house and buildings are called the Manor of St. George and located in Shirley; 35 acres (0.14 km²) and another house are called the Longwood Estate and located in Ridge; and 35 acres (0.14 km²) became part of the William Floyd Estate.
The Museum Manor of St. George is in a testamentary trust set up underneath the last will and testament of the late Eugenie A.T. Smith. The management of the manor rest with the trustees. The purpose of the private trust is to promote the Smith family history dating back to 1683. The Longwood Estate (sometimes called the Smith Estate) is maintained by the Town of Brookhaven, and the Floyd Estate is maintained by the National Park Service. The hamlet of Manorville also derives its name from Manor St. George. [1]
Manor St. George originally stretched from Carman's River (then called the Connecticut River) in the west to the edge of Southampton Town in the east, and from the Atlantic Ocean in the south to around present-day New York State Route 25 in the north [2].
The patent for Manor St. George was granted to Col. William "Tangier" Smith in 1693 in recognition of Col. Smith's being mayor of Tangier in Africa. Further patents issuing more land were granted in 1697 and annexed to the first patent. Col. Smith already owned a homestead in Setauket, New York, and it was from there that he administered his land early on. An additional patent was also issued to Col. Smith in 1697, the Moriches Patent, but not annexed to Manor St. George. In time, the northwestern section of the estate was known as "the Swamp" or "Longswamp."