Arty family mansion: Work continues, book out this summer

Along a road lined with sweeping views of Oyster Bay in Mill Neck, Jamie and Frantz Arty accidentally found their home.

In 2017, the couple had been searching for a place to call their own for "quite some time," Jamie Arty said. The Artys were looking at another property in the area, and pulled into a random driveway to re-route their GPS. They looked up at the house before them, and noticed a for sale sign.

"And the rest is history," said Arty, now 43.

That's true in more ways than one. While restoring the property, which totals 6½ acres, Jamie Arty began to uncover its storied past. The mansion was built in 1834, and needed two years of work before the family could move in, she said.

When we first got here, it was extremely beaten up... There were ticks and snakes everywhere, and everywhere you stepped, there was poison ivy.

— Jamie Arty

"When we first got here, it was extremely beaten up," Arty said. "Everything was overgrown and just very wild. There were ticks and snakes everywhere, and everywhere you stepped, there was poison ivy."

The couple, their three children (their oldest, now 10, and twins, now 8) plus Frantz Arty's parents lived in the cottage on site while their main house was a work in progress. In the process, Jamie Arty learned that her property was once owned by Chancellor William Townsend McCoun, a noted attorney, judge and abolitionist during the mid-1800s. He was also "a patron of the arts and a friend of many artists," according to The New York Historical website.

The history of the property inspired Arty to write a book about its roots and restoration, along with the real estate landscape of Long Island through the years. The book, titled "The Chancellor's Mansion," is available for pre-order and will come out on July 15.

McCoun "was on the right side of history in so many ways," Arty said. "Not only was he adamantly against slavery, he also really tried to fight for human rights … Learning all those things about him makes me like him even more, and really cherish this home he built."

In Arty's research, she also learned of the life of Sophia Moore, a woman of color who worked in the home as a servant for the McCoun family, she said. Her story will also be featured in Arty's book.

"We found out a lot of cool information about her," she said. "How she was able to make her way to the McCoun family, and how integrated she was within the family."

Now, the house blends modern elegance with its classic architecture. Lighting fixtures dripping with crystals line the ceiling in the main living area, with art and splashes of color adjacent to the home's original curved staircase, moulding and doors.

Two weeks after the couple purchased the house, the portico collapsed, Arty said. They are are now in the process of finishing their wraparound porch — the front railing will be painted sage green, Frantz Arty added. They're also installing some new flooring throughout the house.

"I've been more of a casual bystander, just getting the work done," Frantz Arty said with a laugh. "Jamie's the real one putting in all the work."

One of the most significant restorations to come involves a staircase believed to have belonged to Sophia Moore, Arty said. The Greek revival-style home contains two staircases: one the McCoun family would have used, and a separate one in the back of the home for Moore. 

It's such an important part of the house, and [the restoration] has to be done very intentionally.

— Jamie Arty, on a back staircase used by Sophia Moore

"The back staircase goes all the way down from the lower level, which is now known as the basement, all the way up to the top level of the house," Arty said. "How it's situated, it's kind of out of sight, out of mind. They didn't really want servants to be seen." Moore's bedroom would have been on the third floor, she added.

Preserving Moore's history in the home has always been important to the Artys. Her staircase is "the one part of the house we have not really touched yet because it's such an important part of the house, and it has to be done very intentionally," Arty said.

Arty's book will intertwine her family's personal story and hardships with the history of her home, now filled with the laughter and running footsteps of her three happy children and their puppy, Chancey (short for Chancellor).

"Readers can expect to go on a very interesting journey with us, on the whole process of looking for a home while trying to raise little children, and learning about the history of home," Arty said.

Watch: Newsday toured the home in 2021

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.