The East Hampton Town Board will hold a public hearing this afternoon on the proposed acquisition of nearly 11 acres on Springs-Fireplace Road in Springs using community preservation fund money.
The parcels at 803 and 807 Springs-Fireplace Road, which are partially within the Springs Historic District, make up the Julius D. Parsons Homestead. Owned by Parsons’s descendants, they include an 1880 farmhouse built by Henry Hedges Schellinger for Julius Dayton Parsons, a farmer who also kept the Springs General Store; a two-story barn, also believed to have been constructed in 1880; a small family cemetery, and a small cottage that was moved from the other side of Springs-Fireplace Road, which an 1873 atlas identified as the residence of Henry Mitchell, believed to have been part Native American.
Should the board approve the purchase, the town will pay $5 million for the 10.9 acres. The purpose, according to the notice for public hearing, is the preservation of historic property, open space, and agricultural lands, and recreation.
In a separate public hearing today, the board will consider amending the zoning code to designate the Julius D. Parsons Homestead a historic landmark, although a guidelines manual for the Springs Historic District adopted by the town in 2004 includes the structures and cemetery.
The parcels and structures “make this an exceptional property for recalling the agrarian history of Springs,” according to the proposed legislation. “This property possesses special character, historic and aesthetic interest and value as part of the cultural, economic, and social history of East Hampton, and embodies the distinguishing characteristics of building types, periods, and methods of construction.”
An assessment prepared last year by Robert Hefner, a historic-preservation consultant, states that the 1880 house “conveys a sense of the prosperity derived from the Parsons Fireplace farm and operation of the Springs General Store. This impression is confirmed by the 1880 federal census that lists a servant, Fanny Davis, living in the house with Julius, Mary, and their two children.”
Of the cottage, Mr. Hefner wrote that “if this were the home of Henry Mitchell, it would be very significant. In 1870 seven people were living in the Mitchell house. Their occupations included day laborer, seaman, and domestic servant. Henry Mitchell and three of his sons were day laborers, undoubtedly working on the large Parsons farm nearby at Fireplace and on Gardiner’s Island. The very small residences of American Indians and Blacks in Springs and Freetown, who played an important role in East Hampton’s agrarian and early resort economies, are rare and are fast disappearing.”
“Retaining the buildings, open setting, and agricultural land of the Julius D. Parsons farm is essential to the historic character of the heart of Springs,” he wrote.
Today’s town board meeting starts at 2 p.m.
