These architectural blueprints show the house designed by the architect John Custis Lawrence (1867-1944) for “Mrs. Burnet M. Osborne.” So, who was this lady and why was her name on the plans? Burnet M. (Burt) Osborne (1856-1943) married Annie Phillips (1862-1921) in 1889. During her lifetime, it was unusual for a married woman to appear as a property owner unless she was widowed, which prompted my curiosity.
Upon investigation, it became clear Burt outlived Annie, making this ownership even more unusual. Based on East Hampton Star rental listings, the two probably never lived in this house, which they hired Thomas E. Babcock to build on Terbell Lane in 1904. Instead, they lived at the Osborne House, later known as the Maidstone Arms inn, and operated the hotel during their marriage. Only in the final year of Annie’s life, in 1920, did they retire from running it because of her failing health, building themselves an adjacent residence overlooking the South End Burying Ground on Main Street.
In addition to the hotel, Burt ran a local real estate agency and spent time in New York City drumming up visitors for East Hampton. Annie helped him extensively with the real estate business, which catered to the summer colony.
Included in these plans are the front, side, and rear elevations of the house along with plans for the first, second, and attic floors. The front elevation features a gambrel roof over a dormer, with a second-story sleeping porch over the front entry porch. Both porches feature rounded edges and square columns; postcards show a cover of ivy.
Samuel Quenten Brown rented the house for the first several summers after it was built, and later tenants included George W. Kemp, Dr. Hugh Young, and P.J. Smith. In its listings, The Star continually referred to the house on Terbell Lane as “Mrs. B.M. Osborne’s house,” and the same label appears on postcards. This label speaks to her impressive business acumen, suggesting she owned and operated this investment property on her own.
—
Andrea Meyer, a librarian and archivist, is the head of the Long Island Collection.
