A view of Gardiners Island from the south reveals the manor house roof and an old windmill. The family's ownership has survived Indian wars, pillaging pirates, the Revolution, the Civil War and two World Wars. It has survived the income tax, the inheritance tax, the Depression and bitter feuds.
Costs go up every year, too.
Today, Gardiners Island is the oldest family-owned estate of its kind in America, dating to the reign of Charles I of England. The 3,000-acre island holds a vast wealth of history. It has the largest stand of white oak in the Northeast, as well as rare birds, Indian artifacts, and one of the oldest wood-frame structures in New York State. Robert David Lion Gardiner, the current lord of the manor, as each generation of Gardiners who have looked after the island have called themselves, is pessimistic. He is 86 years old, and has no children.