Greetings!

The East Hampton Historical Society is pleased to send you the first issue of the 2006 quarterly e-newsletter.

The EHHS is a non-profit organization. The Society serves the residents and visitors of East Hampton by collecting, preserving, presenting and interpreting the material, cultural and economic heritage of the town.

The Society is also the parent organization for a complex of five museums, landmark historic sites of both local and national importance:

- Mulford Farm, c.1680
- Clinton Academy, c.1784
- Town House, c.1731
- Osborn-Jackson House, c.1740
- Marine Museum

We hope that you will find this newsletter of interest, as a member of our community. (Of course, if you do not want to receive the newsletter, please follow the instructions below to unsubscribe.)

In this issue:

Featured Museum - Town House, circa 1731

Unique among Long Island buildings, the Town House is the only existing town government meeting place to survive from the Colonial period on Long Island.

The Town Trustees who met there determined the affairs of the township by collecting taxes, passing local laws, administering public lands, maintaining the church and schoolhouse and hiring the minister and teacher.

The Town House is the earliest surviving one-room schoolhouse on Long Island. Studies were very basic: reading, writing, and enough arithmetic to keep an account book. But the twon house was also used for other activities ...

Read more ... http://easthamptonhistory.org/pages/townhouse.html


Events Calendar Spring 2006

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The Society sponsors a number of educational and entertaining programs and events throughout the year, including a lecture series, tours of the Historic District, the old cemetery and important local houses as well as a number of programs designed specifically for children.

Here are some upcoming events:

Mar 10 Fri 7:00pm : Winter Lecture Series - Three Mile Harbor – a Hub of Industry - By Sylvia Mendelman

Mar 31 Fri 7:00pm: Winter Lecture Series - Congregations and Houses of Worship on the East End - By Hugh King and Bob Hefner

Apr 29 Sat 10:00am: Cemetery Tour with Hugh King

May 27 Sat 10:00am: Cemetery Tour with Hugh King

Jun 24 Sat 10:00am: Cemetery Tour with Hugh King

*** CORRECTION ***

We love summer and wish it lasted 234 days but ... Hugh King's Cemetery Tour is June 24 not June 234.
Sincere apologies.

See details on our Events Calendar http://easthamptonhistory.org/pages/events.html



Holiday House Descriptions

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Our most sucessful winter event has always been the Holiday House Tour. If you missed it, you can now see the houses that were on the tour as well as descriptions of their architectural significance.

Holiday House Tour 2005




Our Wish List

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A cry for help!

Our museums, including the Town House featured in this issue, are in dire need of repairs. It is not only the structural integrity of these historic buildings that is at stake, but also our priceless collections of artifacts on display and in archives that risk devastating damage from a variety of threats.

We have a rotting roof on the Clinton Academy, water damage in the Mulford House due to leakage from a chimney flashing, rotting shingles on the barn, cracked window sashes at the Town House - and the list goes on.

In fact, we have drafted a thorough list of the repairs for which we desperately need funds. It is our Wish List and we hope that you will help us with a donation.

In fact, you can "adopt" a specific project or distribute your contribution towards several projects. Your participation will be publicly acknowleged as a supporter of the East Hampton Historical Society.

Whether you are a full-time resident or a summer visitor - you are here because you love the character of East Hampton.

Help us preserve it! Your history is at stake.

See our appeal

See our Wish List



Little Known Facts - from the Town Crier
From the archives of Hugh King, East Hampton's Town Crier.

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Locked Town House


In the latter part of the 19th century, there was much wrangling and confusion among the various Boards of the East Hampton Town Trustees.

Measures adopted by one Board of Trustees were sometimes rescinded by a subsequent Board.

The 1884 Board began to investigate and prosecute all illegal and improper proceedings of the Board of Trustees of the years 1882 and 1883.

On April 11, 1853 the newly elected East Hampton Town Trustees were to meet at the Town House, but the building was locked and the key had not been turned over to them by the previous Trustees. The meeting was then held at the home of Thomas T. Parsons.

Hmmm ... politics in the Hamptons!



Membership

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The Society is a volunteer organization, and we rely on your support to maintain our collections and to continue the unique year-round historical programs we provide for the people of our home town. We hope that you will join us in our mission to preserve and celebrate our very special heritage!

Membership Information: http://www.easthamptonhistory.org/pages/membership.html

For previous issues of our newsletter, please see our archive.

For more information about the East Hampton Historical Society, please visit our website at: http://www.easthamptonhistory.org

We would be very pleased to hear from you if you have any suggestions for future issues.

Contact us at: news@easthamptonhistory.org

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Richard Barons, Executive Director

Community Relations Committee:
Mary Kay Jaroff
Renee Palmer
Bess Rattray

(c) 2006 East Hampton Historical Society