This country farmhouse with spectacular water views and landscaping done by the Olmstead Brothers was first inhabited by Director Milislav Demerec, the plant geneticist turned Drosophila specialist. From 1941 to 1960, Milislav Demerec served as the director of both the Biological Laboratory and the Station for Experimental Evolution. By 1970, these facilities were amalgamated as the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

As stated by M. Demerec in the 1943 Annual Report of The Biological Laboratory, "A tract of land containing about 7 acres was sold to us... on this newly acquired land stands the fine fifteen-room residence known as Airslie..."