Founded in 1994 by a group of residents interested in saving the unique history
of the hamlet of Hampton Bays, the Hampton Bays Historical & Preservation
Society became provisionally chartered as a historical
society by the Department of Education of New York State. Soon after the historical
society became a tax-exempt organization. The Hampton Bays Public Library provided
space in their basement to house the records that were slowly, but steadily donated
by residents. This arrangement ceased when the library embarked on a renovation
project which caused the historical society to begin its search for a structure
of its own . For a period of five years the society’s records were placed in storage.
In 2000 the Town of Southampton purchased a structure on Main Street to provide
headquarters for the Chamber of Commerce and the historical society. This gave the
society the opportunity to bring its records out of storage and to reassess its
holdings. The space allocated to the society was minimal and from the outset the
society was limited in its ability to hold meetings and have volunteers assist in
archiving the holdings. Nevertheless, the society continued to hold monthly meetings
with guest speakers at the library. Membership numbers grew with the regular publication
of a quarterly newsletter. Small grants from the Town and County allowed the society
to purchase a computer and special software with which to catalog its archives.
In 2004 a historic building on Main Street was put up for sale. Title research undertaken
by director, Henry Moeller, showed this house to be built about 1830 by Prosper
King, a member of a prominent Southampton Town family. Members of the society approached
the owners and obtained a promise not to sell the structure until the society had
an opportunity to raise monies to purchase it. All of the local civic organizations
united behind the society in its fundraising efforts. There was a ground-swell of
public sentiment to save the King House.
Prosper King House about 1850
At this time the Town Council voted to
purchase the building and to have the historical society act as stewards for the
restoration of it. The house was purchased in April 2005. The stewardship agreement
between the Town and the historical society explains that the structure will be
used as a historical, educational and cultural center, which may include exhibits
in a museum setting, art galleries and a local history repository library.
The King
House will become the home of the historical society in which state of the art preservation
facilities will insure proper storage of the archives to benefit future generations.
Since its inception, the Society has been the recipient of numerous historic
documents, photographs and maps—many of these have been carefully archived and
are available for researchers to access. Continually seeking to enhance its
collections, the Society welcomes donations of family genealogies, photographs,
biographies, deeds, etc., all relating to the history of the peoples, structures
and sites in the hamlet. You can contact us at (631) 728‑0887 if you have items
to donate.
