Adam-Derby House
Why it's listed
Set on a wooded hillside of about five acres in Oyster Bay, this large asymmetrical house was completed in 1878 for Mrs. S.S. Adam. Architects William A. Potter and Robert H. Robertson designed it during their brief partnership. Its wood exterior combines paneling, clapboards and imbricated shingles, with half-timbered gables, verandahs, a porte-cochere and five corbelled brick chimneys. Inside, eleven fireplaces, carved door surrounds, parquet floors and an open staircase survive, along with original steam radiators and electrified gas fixtures. The house is regarded as an outstanding and largely unaltered example of American Queen Anne design. It later became the home of Ethel Roosevelt Derby, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, who lived there from 1914 until her death. The nomination describes it as the least altered of the Roosevelt summer houses in Oyster Bay and a reminder of the elegant informality of Long Island summer residences in the late nineteenth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an outstanding, largely intact example of American Queen Anne residential design by architects William A. Potter and Robert H. Robertson. It was later home to Ethel Roosevelt Derby, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, and is described as the least altered of the Roosevelt summer houses in Oyster Bay. It also reflects the informal summer house building of late nineteenth-century Long Island.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79001597, listed May 17, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 166 Lexington Ave., Oyster Bay |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | May 17, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001597 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | William Appleton Potter and Robert Henderson Robertson |
| Architectural style | American Queen Anne (transitional Shingle Style) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as unoccupied and vacant at the time of nomination; the form describes the house as largely intact and barely visible from the street. |
| Acreage | 5.4 |
| Coordinates | 40.86733, -73.53420 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79001597.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4678593
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.