Creation Randall will and challenges Snug Harbor was founded through a bequest after the 1801 death of Revolutionary War soldier and ship master Captain
Robert Richard Randall. US Founding Father
Alexander Hamilton and later US Vice President
Daniel D. Tompkins are sometimes credited with having written Randall's will, though the extent of their involvement is disputed. His country manor in what is now
Greenwich Village, Manhattan, was reserved as an institution "aged, decrepit and worn-out sailors", which he called "Sailors' Snug Harbor"; the phrase "snug harbor" referred to a comfortable retreat. The tract, which Randall had acquired in 1790, was assembled from the
land grants of two 17th-century Dutch colonists. and sailors could not receive such benefits until well into the 20th century. Randall's will provided for the establishment of a board of trustees, which included the
mayor of New York City, the president and vice president of the
Marine Society, senior ministers of
Trinity Church and
First Presbyterian Church, the head of the
New York Chamber of Commerce, and some later-abolished government positions. and external gifts were banned. the board of trustees was incorporated on February 6, 1806. In the meantime, the
Manhattan property was leased as a farm. Several challenges to Randall's will were also initiated, delaying further progress. One challenge came from a Stephen Brown, who alleged that Randall had been derelict in his duty as the executor of Brown's grandfather's estate; the trustees did not acknowledge Brown's claim. Another was initiated in 1826 by Anglican Bishop
John Inglis of
Nova Scotia, a distant cousin of Randall's, who claimed he was an heir to Randall's estate. Inglis, one of his cousins, and Brown filed claims against Randall's Manhattan property. Inglis's lawsuit was eventually escalated to the
Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled in favor of the trustees.
New site and first building By the time the will challenges were settled, the once-rural land around the Manhattan site had been developed, and Snug Harbor's trustees decided to maximize profits by renting out the land. They changed the proposed site of the institution to a plot on Staten Island overlooking the Kill Van Kull, The initial site was purchased in May 1831. their assemblage gradually expanded to . Structures such as apartment buildings, department stores, the
campus of New York University, and
Washington Mews were developed on the sites. The institution then looked to develop the first of what was to become five Greek Revival buildings. The trustees began soliciting construction bids after buying the site
Minard Lafever was involved with the original design but departed abruptly, leaving Samuel Thomson & Son to finish the work. Building C was completed in August 1833, initially housing 37 retired sailors. John Whetten was appointed as the institution's first governor that year. Snug Harbor may have been one of the US's first retirement homes, though it was patterned after older institutions abroad, such as the
Greenwich Hospital, London.
Operation }} Tenancy at Snug Harbor was granted only to
US citizens, who had served at least ten years on a foreign vessel or five years in the
United States Navy or on an American
civilian vessel. Residents were generally accepted if they were at least 60 years old or disabled, and sailors with sufficient tenure were accepted regardless of their demographics or rank. The residents were described by 19th-century sources as "inmates", Residents were locally also known as "snugs" While staff addressed all residents as "captain" regardless of their real-world rank, in practice, there was an implicit hierarchy based on residents' real-world ranks and service. There were relatively few rules, other than that residents be well-behaved, keep their rooms tidy, and abide by a
curfew. Outside of curfew hours, residents were welcome to come or go as they pleased, Initially, the only exception was Sunday, when they were required to attend church on-site, though even this was no longer compulsory by the 1890s. It had a dedicated fire department, power plant, and stores. Three meals were served daily in the complex's
mess halls. along with other structures such as a greenhouse,
piggery, and
creamery. Residents grew food and crops such as tobacco and games such as
cribbage,
billiards, and
pinochle. and it employed matrons, who did housework.
1830s to 1870s Starting with John Whetten, and with few exceptions, most of Snug Harbor's governors from 1831 to the 1960s were Marine Society members. Randall's corpse was disinterred from
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in 1834 and reinterred at Snug Harbor, The complex had 85 residents by 1839, This prompted the construction of wings on either side between 1840 and 1842. The same year, to address Whetten's concerns about misdeeds committed by Snug Harbor's more alcoholic residents, Whetten retired in 1844. A purpose-built chapel was constructed on the grounds in 1856; previously, residents had prayed in building C. became the third governor of Snug Harbor in 1867. Under Melville's tenure, the trustees began paying residents to help with chores. He also oversaw the construction of the final two buildings in Temple Row, which were finished in 1879–1880. Melville was a strict disciplinarian, frequently punishing residents who broke the rules by putting them on the "taboo list". Residents on the list were denied their tobacco ration and could not leave the premises. He commissioned
Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design a statue of Randall, Trask also commissioned a church and a music hall, both designed by
Robert W. Gibson. Snug Harbor's Music Hall was finished in July 1892, followed by the Randall Memorial Church the next year. During that decade, the trustees unsuccessfully attempted to obtain tax exemptions. Trask resigned in 1898 following accusations of misconduct, being replaced by Daniel Delehanty. Subsequently, Delehanty instituted several major reforms, including eliminating several rules, hiring additional staff, and expanding the hospital. Snug Harbor had about 1,000 residents at the beginning of the 20th century, many of whom had decades of service as sailors; they occupied rooms with one to five people each. The complex had grown to include numerous buildings, along with forests and the complex's farm. earning about $400,000 annually. It earned an annual surplus of $100,000 from renting out the Manhattan sites By then, many of the residents were nearing or above age 90, and an average of fifty residents died every year. Delehanty banned non-smoking residents from receiving tobacco in 1907, following reports that some residents were illicitly reselling tobacco, and a dispute regarding rental rates for the Manhattan property arose the same year. Delehanty resigned that December and was succeeded by A. J. Newbury. One magazine wrote in 1908 that the institution was no longer using rental income to help the sailors, instead using the funds for real estate investment. Since Randall's will had prohibited the land from being sold, the trustees sought to change the will. The
New York Supreme Court ruled in 1912 that the trustees could sell the Manhattan land; disputes over the ruling continued until 1914, when the state's high court, the
New York Court of Appeals, upheld the sale. New stained glass windows were installed at Randall Memorial Church in 1915. The trustees hired Louis Jallade that year to design a new recreation building, which opened in 1917 as the Great Hall. when George Ernest Beckwith was appointed in his place. The trustees loosened the bylaws during Beckwith's tenure. Snug Harbor continued to host events for its residents, many of whom were elderly. The complex had 30 buildings across . The institution's holdings were valued at $20 million enough to sustain it despite the
Great Depression. The number of residents began to decline in the mid-20th century due to several factors. additionally, revenues from the Manhattan properties decreased, and resources were diverted after the outbreak of World War II. The
New York City Board of Estimate ultimately accepted the land donation in 1943. The city government also considered taking over Snug Harbor, particularly the Randall Memorial Church, but the city's corporation counsel determined that Randall's will prohibited such a gift. The
American entry into World War II prompted many residents to enter or re-enter the armed forces. Flynn served as the institution's governor until 1947, and he was succeeded by Henry R. Patterson. Mayor
William O'Dwyer announced his intention to leave the board of trustees in 1949, receiving judicial approval. Also in 1949, the state attorney general sued the trustees after finding that residents were being charged fees; the suit was dropped when the fees were ended. Snug Harbor was in financial difficulty by 1950, with about 375 remaining residents. the first major change to the campus since World War I. The trustees announced plans in 1951 to demolish the Randall Memorial Church. Despite proposals to save the chapel, it was demolished in 1952. The complex's farm, the only one surviving on Staten Island's North Shore in the 1940s, was leased to developers who built apartments there. Patterson retired in 1952, and his successor, Charles Baldwin, promised not to make further changes or sell property. After Baldwin died in early 1955, Frank Hickok served as interim governor until William C. Twigg was appointed permanently in 1956. By that decade, Snug Harbor was struggling financially; rental income from the Manhattan sites was insufficient to finance even a renovation of the Staten Island buildings. Though the trustees initially disagreed on whether to transfer many management duties to a new director's position, they eventually employed a succession of directors. and art shows. The institution still operated with few rules, though they did start charging fees for items to raise money. and the next year he was replaced by Sidney Trew. By then, younger sailors were increasingly living with their families, and retirement benefits had reduced demand by so much that each remaining resident had their own room. including constructing an apartment building on some vacant land. the proposal did not proceed due to financial difficulties. which the leases in Manhattan could not cover. The complex admitted its first female resident in 1965, The trustees also contemplated allowing married couples to live at the complex, which previously had been restricted to men without spouses. The new structures would replace dormitory buildings A, B, D, and E, which had been cited for building-code violations. Snug Harbor's trustees generally opposed the four dormitories' designations, which the Board of Estimate ratified that December. In 1966, Snug Harbor's trustees asked the court for permission to charge fees and admit sailors' wives for the first time. New York Attorney General
Louis J. Lefkowitz endorsed admitting women but initially opposed the planned rental fees; he later approved the fees. The institution began charging rent in May 1967, and residents unsuccessfully sued to stop it. The ruling effectively voided the designation, allowing redevelopment to resume, but the LPC sued to have the designation restored. The Cultural Arts Council made a competing proposal in December 1967, which called for the buildings to be converted into a cultural center. Separately, Lefkowitz sued the trustees on allegations of "mismanagement and waste"; the suit was dropped for a lack of evidence. but Snug Harbor trustees dropped their plans to demolish some buildings. Trew resigned the same year, and Leo Kraszeski took over, quickly being promoted to Snug Harbor's directorship.
1970s proposals and sales By the 1970s, the
New York State Department of Health found that Snug Harbor's infirmary building did not meet modern building codes. The trustees were losing money operating the Staten Island campus—wished to move into one of the buildings. The trustees asked the Manhattan
surrogate's court for permission to sell the existing site and relocate to
Sea Level, North Carolina, which the trustees chose after considering several other sites in the
American South. Lefkowitz opposed the move, accusing the trustees of neglecting the site, and many of the 170 remaining residents also lodged objections. The builder
Sigmund Sommer offered to buy of the remaining land in February 1972, with plans to develop 21 buildings there. The city-owned site was designated as parkland the next month. The city finalized the purchase of its portion of the site that September, and the Manhattan surrogate's court approved the Snug Harbor trustees' relocation in November. Following objections to Sommer's plans, the city announced plans to acquire his land as well, and the Board of Estimate designated Sommer's site as parkland in August 1973. which paid for Sommer's land. or $9.7 million. The sailors' home remained open temporarily, despite multiple inspections that discovered violations of health codes, as the construction of the Sea Level facility had been delayed. Officials from the city government and the retirement home also argued over who should repair the buildings, some of which were unusable. The
1975 New York City fiscal crisis left the city government unable to finance even minor maintenance; it eventually managed to procure $82,000 for emergency repairs in mid-1976. By that decade, the complex regularly hosted parties and other events. having dwindled to about 100 or 200 people. The institution's expenses had increased to $9,000 annually per resident. they, too, left in September 1976. Kraszeski remained with the relocated institution until 1986. The original institution considered returning to building C in the late 1990s, shuttering its remaining retirement-home operations. This did not occur, The retirement home continued to operate until 2019, when it closed permanently due to damage from
Hurricane Florence and
Hurricane Dorian. The original board of trustees, known formally as '''Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor in the City of New York''', still exists and is headquartered in Manhattan. The Sailors' Snug Harbor Archives are preserved at the Stephen B. Luce Library at the
State University of New York's
Maritime College. == Use as cultural center ==