The Bridgehampton Historical Society is planning on expanding its physical horizons in three year's time in order to fulfill more successfully its mission of documenting and celebrating the history of the town of Bridgehampton.

The Historical Society, currently based in the 1830 William Corwith House on Bridgehampton's Main Street, has partnered with the Southampton township to raise $4.5 million for the restoration of the dilapidated 1840 Nathaniel Rogers House, located on the southeast corner of the five-corner intersection in Bridgehampton. The Rogers House will serve as the main headquarters of the Historical Society, housing its administrative offices, its primary exhibition space, and its digital and tangible archival resources.

According to the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, the Nathaniel Rogers House is "one of the two most important Greek revival structures still in existence on Long Island," rendering the site worthy of restoration and preservation.

"We aim to fill the Rogers House with artifacts that will reveal the scale and wealth that the site reflects," said John Eilertsen, executive director of the Historical Society.

The future site's first floor will contain a digitalized research room, in which students and scholars may investigate computerized archival material, a few rooms holding provisionary exhibits, and a public gift shop. The house's second floor will consist of the administrative offices and concrete archives of the Historical Society.

The William Corwith House today.

Mary Gardner of the Historical Society's administrative staff reported that the William Corwith House, meanwhile, will become the society's secondary site, to be used as a permanent collection facility. The Corwith House will also continue to host certain regular outdoor events, such as the Engine Run, an annual heritage fair.

Eilertsen noted that a primary goal of the restoration project is to "revitalize the famous intersection of Bridgehampton," which has been long neglected since the closing of the Hampton House, a quaint inn that remained in operation until the early 20th century.

The Rogers House, Eilertsen explained, has undergone three physical evolutions in its nearly 200-year lifetime, all of which the Historical Society hopes to commemorate in its future site. The house dates back to 1824, when the original owner Abraham T. Rose constructed a federal-period edifice that was transformed by Nathaniel Rogers in 1840 into a Greek Revival residence.

The House experienced its third life in the 1890s, when the Hedges and Hopping families oversaw extensive interior renovations and minor exterior additions to design the Hampton House Hotel, which became known as the most elegant inn in Bridgehampton. After undergoing considerable damages from the 1938 hurricane, however, the Hampton House quickly lost popularity and eventually shut down in 1949.

Owned and occupied by various inhabitants ever since, the Rogers House was put up for sale in 2003 and soon thereafter claimed by the Historical Society for half a million dollars.

Thus far, the Historical Society has raised a total of over $2.5 million for the restoration and preservation of the Rogers House and property - $1.1 million through state funding and the remainder provided by community fundraising events and the Southampton town's community preservation funds.

The Nathaniel Rogers House, desperately in need of repairs and renovation.

Once the renovation stage has begun, the Society is required by New York State to abide by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeological and Historical Preservation, which has established rules for archeological and historic preservation activities and methods.

Regardless of state guidelines, there is no talk of bulldozing the Rogers House. The crusty, degenerated structure that still stands at the corner intersection is an integral component of the history of Bridgehampton, explained Eilertsen.

"We're in the business of preservation, not demolition," the director added.

While renovating the house's exterior will consist in restoring what is left of the Greek Revival edifice, the interior design will have the grand 1840s period look in some rooms and the more rustic Arts & Crafts period in other rooms.

With regard to the yard space that immediately surrounds the house, the Society wishes to "reflect the aesthetics of gardens of the early to mid-19th century," according to the organization's Nathaniel Rogers House Restoration Plan brochure.

In committing to the stewardship agreement, the Historical Society's current joint mission with the town is to raise another $2 million to be able to fully finance the restoration project.

Eilertsen is very pleased with the influx of community contributions thus far.

On June 22, the Historical Society hosted a fundraising cocktail party to commemorate the life of restauranteur Bobby Van, who passed away late last year from kidney failure. With ticket prices on sale for $100 each and an impressive turnout at the event, the Society netted over $10,000 in proceeds for the Rogers House restoration project.

The Hampton House at the turn of the century.

Gardner, of the Historical Society's administrative staff, is eager to witness the restoration project from the administrative side: "Everyone has looked at the eyesore for years, wondering if anyone was going to do anything with it. Now we're going to reconstruct it Southern style," she said, referring to the 19th-century columned-portico residences in the Greek Revival architectural style Rogers sought to create.

"This is a major capital improvement project that we hope to get good visitation from, and that will allow us to enhance the historical integrity of the intersection and of the Bridgehampton community," said Eilertsen of the restoration project.

According to the restoration plan brochure, the Historical Society "envision[s] the Nathaniel Rogers House becoming a cultural resource for our community, a magnet for scholars, and the home of the Society's outreach programs, lecture series and educational programs for schools throughout the region."

 • The restoration project is scheduled to begin in the fall and is tentatively set to be completed by summer 2011. For more information, visit the Bridgehampton Historical Society's website at www.bridgehamptonhistoricalsociety.org or call the society at 631-537-1088.