The Moriches area used to be comprised of many large estates. According to The Illustrated History of the Moriches Bay Area by Van and Mary Field, the largest in Center Moriches was undoubtedly the Masury Estate located between West Senix (Mud) Creek and the Forge River.
John W. Masury made his fortune manufacturing paint. He invented and patented several paint industry innovations, including a water cooled method for grinding pigments and the familiar lip closure on paint cans (dripless paint can). In the late 1800s, J. W. Masury bought large areas in and around Center Moriches.
First, a summer cottage was built on the Forge River. Later, the land on Masury Point was developed. Formal gardens, pools and an extensive farm which included a large family home, staff homes, barn, stable, hunting lodge, gate house, stable house and windmill to supply all of the buildings with pumped water through underground pipes.
In 1898, after John Masury's death, his widow Grace Masury built another large summer house near the mouth of the West Senix (Mud) Creek facing the Moriches Bay. The house had a separate recreation wing which housed a bowling alley, billiard room, card room, solarium and ballroom. After Grace Masury's death in 1932, the family still used the house as a summer home until the Hurricane of 1938. The main house was ruined and the recreation wing severely damaged. The recreation wing was rebuilt. Today it is owned and maintained by the Holiday Beach Property Owners Association. The building is on the National, State and Town registers of historic sites.