DAN'S PAPERS, September 17, 2010 Page 31 www.danshamptons.com
David Rattiner
Susan Galardi
Southampton Historical Society
Restoring Structures, Preserving History
Sayre Barn
Nathaniel Rogers House
Thomas Moran House
By Judy S. Klinghoffer The Thomas Moran House in East Hampton isn’t easy to find even though it’s right on Main Street, across from the pond. It’s tucked behind a stand of trees, a graceful Queen Anne style, looking every day of its 116 years. Vines have chewed through the shingles, and the weather has taken its toll. It may be neglected, but the Thomas Moran house hasn’t been forgotten. It is one of three historic South Fork buildings currently in the process of being restored. All three buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. With luck, and some creative fundraising, they will be rehabilitated and given a new lease on life. The Sayre Barn in Southampton dates from 1738. The Nathaniel Rogers House in Bridgehampton was purchased and remodeled by Rogers before he moved in around 1840. The Thomas Moran
House was built by Moran, one of the world’s great painters, and his wife in 1884. These three buildings represent a significant chunk of East End history in two respects that still remain important to the area—agriculture and art. Moran was a landscape painter of the Hudson River School. Accompanying a survey team out West to Yellowstone in 1871, the British-born Moran captured the spare beauty of the terrain. His work is credited with helping to inspire Congress to establish the National Park System. With his wife, Mary Nimmo Moran, also a landscape painter, Moran settled on East Hampton as the location for home he and his family called “The Studio.” Moran built his Queen Anne style home/studio with 20 foot high ceilings right on Main Street, a stone’s throw from Town Pond. Here the Morans often entertained other artists in their beautiful garden.
In 1990, the house, which was now the property of Elizabeth Lamb, was given to the Guild Hall. Lamb continued to live there until her death in 2004. Two years later, a new non-profit entity was created, the Thomas Moran Trust, to raise the necessary funds to restore the house. Four million dollars has already been raised, including a matching grant arrangement from the National Parks Service, with an estimated additional $4 million needed. The Trust hopes to begin renovations within the year and has calculated that the process will take roughly two years to complete. Although the future use of the building is still to be determined, one possibility is an artist-in-residence program. In contrast, the Sayre Barn in Southampton is a modest building. Situated next to the (continued on page 34)
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