A 97-YEAR-OLD HAINES FALLS FIRE AWAKENED MEMORIES Stamford paper-August 1927-Deer Park

It told about a night-time fire in Haines Falls that destroyed the barn on the Deer Park property which had cost $10,000 to build (almost $30,000 today). It said the property was purchased about 1905 from the owner, Dr. Simon Zweighaft, a famous physician from Philadelphia, by Princess Elizabeth Lwoff-Parlaghy, a Hungarian artist and painter of note and protégé of Kaiser Wilhelm and other royalty. 

The writer said that years ago carriages would pass by Deer Park and be in awe when viewing the fountains of pink-lined shells on each side of the entrance on the manicured property. They would see Dr. Zweighaf’s deer, imported from the mid-west, and Europe, and make inquiries about the owners. Visitors loved seeing the deer through the 10-foot-high fencing adjacent to the Mountain House Road. (It was often written that much of the mountaintop’s wildlife had been chased out of the area during the tannery days). 

In 1887 Dr. Zweighaf built his 17-room Deer Park, after spending 7 or 8 summers at local resorts. Each summer he and his wife, Sophie, would open Deer Park to the locals to enjoy the 3-mile enclosed carriage roads and view the deer. Dr. and Mrs. Zweighaf took pride in their grounds and enjoyed having their neighbors visit two days a week, appreciating the work of their 12 groundskeepers. (Dr. Simon Zweighaf died in 1907 at the age of 66. He died within a year of losing his wife Sophia, and son, Dr. Bernard Zweighaf.

Then came the Princess! The writer said that the property caught the fancy of Princess Lwoff-Parlaghy, an artist who had painted the portraits of many of the world-famous: King Edward of England, King Albert of Belgium, Kaiser Wilhelm, Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas A. Edison, and many others. The Princess had wealth and enjoyed living at Deer Park for about 15 years. 

The article said she died in destitute circumstances at 109 East 39th Street, with $1,000,000 worth of art, antiques, and other furnishings surrounding her. Friends were barred by the Princess’ wishes until the newspapers made the announcement of her death. She was said to have had a beautiful funeral with full rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church and was intoned by the archpriest wearing his robes of silver cloth. The Princess was buried in her court robes of blue and gold and she wore a crown of silver and her twenty-two royal decorations. She was attended to by only two of her faithful servants, neither of whom had been paid a salary for months. 

Sadly, Deer Park was sold at auction. The fire company thought a tossed cigarette might have caused the fire to the barn and with it the tool, ice, and carriage houses. That was all that had remained of the charming and unique architecture. 

(A little said about the Princess-She has been described as a red-haired, beautiful, eccentric pseudo (fake)-princess portrait painter who arrived in New York in 1908. Her motto was, love me, love my dogs, but a paper said it should have been, “Love me, love my dogs, my cat, my guinea pig, my alligators, my owls, my pelican, my money, my snakes, my bear, my falcons, my wolves, my ibis, and my lion bug.” They all lived with her on the 39th floor of her apartment building.) The Princess is an interesting read. 

Thanks for reading. Stay safe, and Happy Easter.

Dede Terns-Thorpe/Town of Hunter Historian.