History of and the Phipps Estate and Old Westbury Gardens

The Beginnings: From Cobbler’s Son to Partner in Carnegie Steel

In 1845, Henry Phipps Sr., a cobbler from Shropshire, England, moved with his wife and three sons to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now part of Pittsburgh. His youngest son, Henry Phipps, Jr. (1839-1930) (Photo pg. 13), was a neighbor and childhood friend of Andrew Carnegie, whose mother would bind the shoes made by Henry’s father. The children would often gather in the back room of the cobbler shop (Photo pg. 12) and talk about their future. These boyhood dreams were fulfilled by the rising fortunes of Carnegie Steel Company (Photo pg. 17), of which Henry Phipps, was a partner. Their success was celebrated in a return “in style” to Carnegie’s childhood home in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1881 with his mother seated next to him and Henry Phipps by her side.

Jay and Margarita Phipps and Westbury House

In 1870, Henry Phipps married Annie Shaffer and in 1874, John Shaffer Phipps (Jay) was born, their oldest son and second of five children.

After attending Yale and completing Harvard Law School (Photo pg. 65), Jay married Margarita (Dita) Grace, (Photo Back Cover) a member of the Grace Shipping Line family. After the sale in 1901 of the Carnegie Steel Company, Henry Phipps retired and in 1904, he turned the management of the family finances over to Jay. During this time, Jay approved London designer George Abraham Crawley’s drawings of plans for a new home on 175 acres he had recently purchased in Westbury, Long Island. After the birth of their first child, Ben, in 1904, construction of Westbury House began. At the same time, the grounds and roads were laid out and allées and formal gardens were planted.

The Estate Era: Family Life in Westbury

In March, 1907, Jay, Dita, Ben, one-year-old Hubert and newborn Peggie moved into Westbury House. CALLOUT 1: “I was born on November 17, 1906. I was brought to Westbury when I was about two months old and I have lived here ever since. Westbury House and I are twins, both having come into existence in the same year.” Peggie Phipps Boegner1 By 1910, the family was completed with the birth of Michael. (Photo pgs. 114-115)

With their growing family of three sons and a daughter, life at Westbury House was active. There were costume parties, rose covered sandboxes, swings, dogs and ponies, log cabins and a half-timbered thatched cottage with bright flowery borders. A tenth birthday gift for their daughter, the miniature cottage became a favorite place for children’s parties.”2 At times, life at Westbury House seemed to revolve around horses and sports – there were polo fields and the youngest son, Michael, became a 10 goal player and a member of the United State Polo Team in the International games.

“Westbury House was home to all of us. Though we went to Palm Beach every winter and spent part of the summer in England, Scotland, Canada, or New England, it was at Westbury that we had our roots and grew up.” Peggie Phipps Boegner

At the close of the 1950s, the deaths of both Dita and Jay within a year’s span abruptly altered the course of life at Westbury House. Earlier, on a day in June 1956, during her mother’s illness, daughter “Peggie” (Mrs. Etienne Boegner) was overcome by the realization that all of this loveliness and the joy it brought the family might be lost forever. With the encouragement of her husband and the generosity of her brothers a way was found to establish “Old Westbury Gardens” – a place to appreciate a glimpse of days past and one to enrich the lives of future generations.

Thus on xx, 1959 Old Westbury Gardens was officially opened for visitors to experience one of the few remaining intact country house and gardens from Long Island’s estate era.