Smithtown 'River Hill' house built into slope lists for $990,000
Her husband a Bensonhurst doctor who wanted to fish, Millie Wesotski took notice of a 1960s newspaper advertisement for a set of homes on Long Island's Nissequogue River.
The homes were to be built into sloped land in Smithtown, The New York Times reported in May 1960. Priced at $29,450, the initial model house was the first of a collection of houses called "River Hill."
Today, one of those homes is on the market for $899,990 — a recent reduction from an initial listing price of $990,000. The four-bed, three-bath house sits on a 0.77-acre property within the Smithtown Central School District. Annual taxes on the Whitney Gate property total $17,634.
"My mom saw the story in New York Times and they got down there the next day," said Barbara Wesotski, 60, who spent her childhood living there. "They got the first plot, down at the bottom of the hill."
Wesotski's late parents, Stanley and Millie Wesotski, purchased the home for $35,000, she said. The house has not been sold since.
Advertisements in the early 1960s touted the River Hill house it as "the most glamorous home for the money on Long Island." Credit: Newsday
The home sits on a 0.77-acre property. Credit: Chris Mills
The land across the Nissequogue River from the property's boathouse is Sweetbriar Nature Center. Credit: Chris Mills
Built into a hillside, the home functions like a ranch-style house in that its living spaces are on entry level, Wesotski said. The top floor, accessible through the front door, includes the primary bedroom, two additional bedrooms, kitchen, living room and dining room. The entertaining spaces are downstairs, she said.
The home is warmed by natural gas and baseboard heating, and cooled by central air conditioning. Among modern features are a generator, a brick fireplace converted to gas, in-ground sprinklers, power shutters and a hard-wired home security system.
Outside, a ground-floor slate patio runs the length of the house.
The home functions like a ranch-style house. Credit: Chris Mills
The kitchen. Credit: Chris Mills
Growing up on the river "was like being Tom Sawyer," Wesotski mused. A boat house and canoe launch on the property facilitated trips across the river to explore the woods, she said. Today, the land across the river is Sweetbriar Nature Center.
"Growing up there came with 100 friends built in, because who didn't want to be at that house?" said Wesotski, who lived there with her parents until 1988. She recalled camping, fishing and canoeing to the river's head.
The strip of land along the river is protected by conservation easement, Wesotski said, which means a lower tax rate on that piece of land.
"It's such a close spot to nature," said listing agent Veronica Mannarino, of Douglas Elliman. "The other evening, I was there, and I could hear toads, crickets, you name it, I could hear it."
See more original Newsday ads printed in the 1960s for River Hill
Credit: Newsday
Credit: Newsday
Credit: Newsday
Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.
