Excursions: A Southampton History Lesson
Last year when I got married, I moved out of New York City to the east end of Long Island, to ...wait for it...The Hamptons.
Recipe Index:
Applesauce
Barbecue Sauce
Beach Plum Jelly
Bluebarb Pie
Blueberry Pancakes
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Edible Flowers
Heirloom Tomatoes
Maple Snow Cones
Marmalade
Mussels in White Wine
Nicoise Salad
Omelettes
Peasant Bread
Pesto/Pistou
Rasberry Rhubarb Crumble
Sea Robins
Stick To Your Ribs Ribs
Swedish Saffron Buns
Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookie
Venison Stew
Vintage Recipes:
Clam Pie
Corned Pork & Cabbage
Mullein
Old East Hampton Cake
Smoked Eel
From The Garden:
Bok Choy Flowers
Lavender Lemonade
Radish Leaves
Zucchini Corn Bread
Excursions:
Beer Tasting
The Big Duck
Camp Hero
Camp Upton
Clambake
Dead Whale
Food Trucks
Hamptons Witch Trial
Historic Southampton
Mecox Cut is Open
Mushroom Picking
Scalloping
Seal Release
Shinnecock Nation
The Witch's Hat
Nature:
Rhododendrons
"The Hamptons". You know, swimming pools, movie stars. Everybody thinks they know the Hamptons, thanks to gossip columns and those magazines that only carry ads and pictures of anonymous people posing at someone else's party. Who are those people?
But I digress. The Hamptons are actually so much more and it's really a shame that most of the world only knows them as the playground of the rich.
The Hamptons are a group of villages and hamlets in the townships of Southampton and East Hampton, which form the South Fork of New York's Long Island. As one of the country's preeminent historical summer colonies, they are still a popular resort area for many, especially New York City residents, with some of the most expensive real estate in the country.
Southampton was settled in 1640 by a group of English Puritans, who sailed from Lynn, Masschusetts and landed at what is now known as Conscience Point.
Southampton is the oldest English settlement in the state of New York and is named after the English Earl of Southampton.
The Shinnecock Indians also call Southampton home. Their reservation, established in 1701, is considered the oldest Native American reservation in the United States. The Shinnecock tribe worked with the early settlers, sharing their knowledge of planting corn, digging clams and scallops from the area bays.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, fishing, farming and duck raising were the predominant industries of Southampton, until the 20th century, when the area began attracting wealthy families, artists and writers from the city.
Rogers Mansion Museum
An organization that is working hard to preserve this history is the Southampton Historical Society. With their museums and Research Center, the SHS is making sure that the South Shore's historic integrity doesn't disappear. The museum began as the Southampton Colonial Society in 1898 and was incorporated in 1910.
Initially the Society collected and exhibited historical artifacts related to the history of Southampton. Then in 1951 they began acquiring and preserving homes, beginning with the Rogers Mansion. After that they acquired the Thomas Halsey Homestead and the Elias Pelletreau Silver Shop, both properties built in the 1600s.
The Southampton Society now includes four historic properties; the Rogers Mansion Museum Complex, the Halsey House, Pelletreau Silver Shop, and Conscience Point, located on North Sea Road.
Old Southampton
The Rogers Mansion Museum Complex now encompasses 12 historic buildings. The main building is the mansion, which was built in 1843 and is filled with furnishings from the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
On the grounds is Old Southampton Village, recreated with historic structures that include a 19th century paint store, a blacksmith's shop, a cobbler's shop, a one-room schoolhouse and a colonial era barn that was used by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
One-Room School House
The Thomas Halsey Homestead is a rare first period house built in 1660. Halsey was one of the original families who bought property from the Shinnecocks in 1640. Filled with 17th and 18th century furnishings, donated by local families, it is believed to be the oldest English-style house in New York State.
The Pelletreau Silver Shop, located on Main Street, is the only trade shop built in the 1600s in America that has been in continuous use ever since. It was originally a dry goods store. Purchased in 1717 by Francis Pelletreau it became a place for him to produce oils and candles from whales. With grandson Elias Pelleteau it became a silver shop that was handed down within the family. Today it is occupied by jeweler Eric Messin, who conducts tours and jewelry making workshops.
Elias Pelletreau Silver Shop
The Conscience Point Historic Site is adjacent to the Conscience Point National Wildlife Refuge with 60 acres of maritime grasslands and miles of nature trails. A monument there pays respect to the pioneers who left Lynn, Massachusetts and landed there to establish Southampton.
Conscience Point National Wildlife Refuge
The museum is open year-round with constantly changing exhibits on local historic topics. There is also a research center along with education programs for children and adults. It has become one of my favorite places to visit when I'm in Southampton. It's like walking back in time right off the street to a quieter and more retrospective time perhaps.
