History

The latest East Hampton Library Item of the Week is the last will and testament of William Barns (1723-1814) of East Hampton, drafted on March 18, 1809. The Barns, or Barnes, family were among the earliest settlers of East Hampton, and this William was the son of another William Barns (1702-1726) and the former Martha Edwards (1706-1745). 

East Hampton Library Item of the Week: On July 14, 1842, Alexander Gardiner wrote to his mother, Juliana McLachlan Gardiner, in East Hampton, sending news of family and friends, along with business interests. Two years before, his parents whisked his younger sisters off to Washington, D.C., to avoid the scandal that followed his sister Julia (1820-1889), who eventually become First Lady, modeling for a lithograph advertisement.

This year, we're able to observe a few more traditional end-of-the-year celebrations and events like graduation ceremonies. For generations of East Hampton High School seniors, those traditions included a class trip. In this photograph, the East Hampton High School class of 1937 poses in front of the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on April 6, 1937. The travelers are dressed for colder weather, with a couple of young women wearing fur-trimmed coats over their suits and skirts. The young men all wear suits and ties, suggesting it was still rather chilly that April.

The photo seen here offers an early look at the general store on Old Stone Highway in Springs around 1900. The store was built in 1844 by David Dimon Parsons (1811-1882), who had purchased the land from Isaac Edwards for $100.

Gardiner's Island remains private today, owned by members of the same family that has owned it for centuries. However, the prior owner, Robert D.L. Gardiner (1911-2004), often described as the "Last Lord of the Manor," frequently took groups to tour the island. This image is from a collection of Gardiner's Island photos donated to the library that were probably taken in the 1990s based on the tour group's attire, some of the vehicles shown, and the photo technology.

Henri Soule (1903-1966), owner of the famous Le Pavillon restaurant in New York City, owned the Hedges Inn in East Hampton Village from 1954 until 1964, during which he turned it into a well-known and famous restaurant that attracted socialites and celebrities.

This week, Veterans Day honors the sacrifices of all veterans, and this leaflet from the Red Cross, titled "When You Get Home," captures many of the bureaucratic challenges and struggles experienced by our returning veterans, even today.

At 58 Ocean Avenue in East Hampton Village, the Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz House is frequently overshadowed by the often-imitated neighboring Schuyler Quackenbush House, which Eidlitz (1853-1921) designed for his sister Harriet Eidlitz Quackenbush and her husband.

“Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence,” a one-day exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote, will be at the East Hampton Historical Society’s Clinton Academy museum on Saturday.

A restoration and preservation project taking place at Third House at Montauk County Park got a financial boost this week from the Suffolk County Legislature, which approved $500,000 in bond money to help usher the project to completion.

East Hampton Library item of the week: On July 12, 1765, Thomas Dering (1720-1785) created this inventory of his personal effects, along with their value, listed as £700.48.

Fifty years ago this month, the Free Life balloon took off from George Sid Miller's field in Springs to attempt the first trans-Atlantic balloon voyage. The balloon appears in the photograph seen here, from the collection of the Springs Library. Pamela Brown and her husband, Rodney Anderson, hired a balloon pilot, Malcolm Brighton, to navigate the 52-foot-diameter balloon.