This store or shop is closely related to the Prosper King
House. For many years it was located adjacent to the King House and its history
is tied to the King Family. It appears as “King Store” on an 1896 Hyde Map.
Historian, Winifred Penny, indicates that this building was in existence prior
to 1896 and owned by Barney Smith. The structure has not yet been examined
professionally by an architectural historian and we need to obtain a more exact
date for its construction.
Based on information provided by Myron Lyzon King,
great-grandson of Prosper King, the Lyzon Hat Shop was originally a general
store operated by his grandfather, Elisha King. In approximately 1910 the store
had a fire which partially demolished the building. From fabric that survived
the fire in the store, Elisha’s son, Walter Howard King, began designing hats.
Walter was born and raised in Good Ground; he commuted to
Patchogue to attend high school. Later, he attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,
NY where he studied commercial art and window dressing. After Walter’s mother
became ill, he returned to Good Ground to take care of her. With his design
talents and his wife, Helen’s, millinery skills they soon had a profitable
business, “Lyzon Hats.”
Initially, Walter and Helen worked out of the front porch on
the Prosper King House. By 1920 they rebuilt the burned structure next door
adding a second story and a large work shop in the rear. The work shop
originally came from the World War I Camp Upton, Brookhaven, NY where the
building served as the camp theater. Over the years, the work shop was allowed
to deteriorate to the extent that the Town of Southampton required its
demolition as an unsafe structure in 2006.
At this time, the Hampton Bays Historical & Preservation
Society while actively restoring the Prosper King House recognized the
importance of saving the Lyzon Hat Shop as well. With the consent of the
developer, Bryan Whalen, the hat shop was lifted and moved about thirty feet to
the east where it is now sited next door to the King House.
The Lyzon Hat Shop Restoration
Lyzon Hat Shop 2006
Demolition of Lyzon Hat work shop
(Camp Upton Theater) 10/25/2006
Lyzon with work shop removed
Lyzon elevated on skids
and ready to be moved
Walter developed a large following for his hats after he made
a trip to Paris to enter a fashion show. The US Ambassador to France
complemented Walter in saying that Lyzon brought American style to Paris. After
Walter’s return to Hampton Bays his clients included the well to do of
Southampton society as well as European royalty.
To accommodate his patrons, Walter placed card tables on
the front lawn of the shop so that all of the chauffeurs could entertain
themselves while their ladies were having hats created . The historical society
has amassed a collection of Lyzon Hats that we plan to exhibit when the shop is
restored. At present, plans have not been finalized for its location or use.
