Summer afternoons of long ago continue to echo in my quiet timbers.  I can still recall the many memories of my ninety summers.

In the 1880’s . . . the Titus family gave me life.  They were descendants of Quaker settlers. For two and a half centuries tillers of this soil, now add thirty years beneath my sheltering eaves.

In 1910, the land, my home is sold.  Movers, marveling at the solid weight of yard-thick walls, dug carefully at my roots, as I moved from north to south of Jericho Pike.  Now, John R. Hill, his wife, Mary, and his son . . . himself a builder of fine homes from Jericho to Old Westbury . . . have come to paint my beams with forty years of life and living.

Day and nights, rains and snows, music, mourning, laughter, singing, promises, plans, hopes, fears, echoing to this very day within my walls.  If you listen you can hear them still . . . Listen.

The Titus House was built in the early 1880’s.  In 1910, John R. Hill purchased the large 18 room house and stable with a twenty acre tract of land from George P. Titus.  The house had been moved from the north to the south side of Jericho Pike as the road was then called.  The house was so substantially constructed that the interior partitions were filled with sand and bricks, the interior woodwork was all heavy walnut.

Mr. Hill subsequently sold 15 acres to the Westbury Rose Company, adjacent, and retained 6 acres with the Manor House. He also added some up to date modifications by having street water run in, new baths as well as a new garage built.

Mr. Hill occupied the Manor House until after World War I when it was sold. However, during the depression years, the home reverted back to Mr. Hill (due to the fact that the then current owner was unable to keep up the taxes and mortgage interest).

Mr.  Hill couldn’t bare to part from the Manor House. So his wife, Edith, his son, Hamilton, with their daughter-in law, Mary, and granddaughters Georgine and Edith all occupied the Manor House.

Later, it was subsequently sold to the Fersan Corporation (August Sandi and his brother-in-law Pierre Ferro) and it was converted into the restaurant known as “Westbury Manor” in 1946.  Mr. Sandi had formerly run the Colony Restaurant in New York City.  The Manor’s clientele was mostly from the United Nations, then located at Sperry’s in Lake Success, and Roosevelt Raceway staff and patrons.

The restaurant was then acquired by Carl Hoppl in 1961, and was run by the Scotto Brothers from 1982 to 2004. In 2005 the Scotto brothers spun off the Westbury Manor, where Vincent, Gino and Jerry Scotto took over sole ownership.

Addendum:  Titus was a descendant of that family that immigrated to the United States from England in 1620.  They were Quakers of whom many were original landowners in Old Westbury, Jericho, and Westbury.  Hill was a builder of many of the mansions of Old Westbury, Brookville, and Jericho, in addition to the Episcopal Church of the Advent on Jericho Turnpike in Westbury where he served as senior warden for 51 years.  During World War I, Hill enlisted in the army and rented the Manor House to Mrs. Robert Bacon (Mr. Robert Bacon served this country as Secretary of State), who used it as a place to stay for the YWCA girls who were doing volunteer work at Camp Mills. 

Westbury Manor invites you to surround yourself in the splendor and elegance of the romantic Victorian era, offering you the perfect setting for your fairytale wedding. This famous mansion has been meticulously restored to capture its original old world charm. Styled in mahogany, cherry, and rose, featuring timeless antiques and heirlooms, Westbury Manor is an estate for all seasons. Set on six acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, enhanced by waterfalls, ponds, and gazebos, the mansion offers a magical setting for an unsurpassed celebration. Your reception at Westbury Manor promises to be the wedding of your dreams, one that will live in your memory for years to come.