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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty goes prospecting in Long Island and strikes silver then gold.

Broker: Coach Realtors

Agent: Richard Raspantini

Return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. No, this is not an introduction to a TV western. It is the introduction to an eastern – more Sloane Ranger than Lone Ranger. But it is about silver and horses.

In 1857 James Flood sold a San Francisco saloon he owned with a partner and went into business as a stockbroker. Following the discovery of silver in Nevada he began investing in mining stocks. What happened next was an outstanding example of what can be done with a rich seam of ore – in this case the Comstock Lode – and a genius for stock manipulation. Flood piled up millions of dollars as one of the famed Bonanza Kings, and is considered to have been one of the hundred wealthiest Americans. At the time of his death in 1889 he was worth about $30 million. That was then equal to approximately one-four hundredth of the US gross national product.

Heiress to this vast fortune was Flood’s daughter, Mary Emma Flood. With her husband, Theodore Stebbins Sr, they built Pinebourne Farm, a 22.13 acre equestrian estate in Muttontown. Bradley Delehanty designed the 15,000 square foot brick and slate roofed mansion in 1934. He was the New York architect of many stately Long Island mansions.

When you have that sort of money you can live just about anywhere. But in the 1920s and ‘30s the place to be was the north shore of Long Island. This was where the big money was. In many ways it still is. There is a very good reason this area is called the Gold Coast. So the Stebbins took the money from silver and turned it into property gold.

Today, the now re-named White Oak Farm is a working horse farm that includes a 12 stall stable, hay barn, four paddocks and an eighth mile training track.

White Oak Farm still has all the style of its previous life and I am sure old James Flood would have liked the fact that, subject to zoning permissions, there is lots of potential development opportunity to turn a fine profit. That makes a great house and a golden opportunity. Hi Yo Silver!