Southampton - Amid the gentle din of polite banter, the occasional clink of crystal, and the modest melodies of a cittern-toting war-wife re-enactor, a spark of communal fright descends upon the grounds of the Thomas Halsey House, right off North Main Street in Southampton. An explosion sounds, courtesy of the contingent of Revolutionary War soldiers shooting their muskets, sending gaggles of white gloves a-flutter, inciting the half-drunk giggles of linen-clad gentlemen and their pearl-clutching counterparts. A little girl lets slip a joyful shriek, and one gala-goer reemerges from a neighboring bush, having sought shelter from the barrage of gunpowder and smoke.

But history was dust-free and vibrant this past Saturday, July 2 at the Southampton Historical Museum's annual Halsey House Gala, benefiting the institution's maintenance of five properties and wildlife preserve. Guests enjoyed dinner and drinks against a backdrop of pink-stained sunset skies, celebrating the museum's mission of preserving the diverse cultural roots of the East End.

Colette Gilbert, Dylan Martinsen, Kristen Guldi, and Krystian Jamrozek feeling festive in colonial garb. (Thomas McKee)

"We want to promote the history of Southampton," said Board of Trustees member Nancy Depetris. "We want to bring it to life." And the evening's proceedings - including a formal march and ceremonial entrance of the members of the Brigade of the American Revolution - did just that. All that was missing was life-sized representations of the indigenous Shinnecock, to correspond with the miniature army of modern patriots.

"For us, it's a hobby. In reality, we are grown men playing dress-up," said a gracious Bill Hague, proudly wearing a hand-tooled uniform of the 18th century colonial cavalry, complete with a musket at his side to match. Bill, like the other 20-odd men and women adorned in antiquated ornamentation, transported guests to the Battle of Long Island in 1776, reminding Hamptonites in attendance that the East End is more than mere glitterati with black American Express cards. There is a tumultuous history that lingers beneath the sand dunes of Sagaponack, undercutting the enormous modern mansions, Bentley convertibles, and Hermès Birkin bags, which have become the insignia of the contemporary culture of the Hamptons.

The Thomas Halsey House, constructed circa 1648, is one of the oldest historical sites in Suffolk County, serving as the former village center for a fledgling colonial Southampton, built on lands appropriated from the Shinnecock Tribe. Halsey, who settled on the East End in 1640 to escape religious intolerance in Massachusetts, sought the Shinnecock's rolling farmlands in hopes of creating a sustainable lifestyle for himself and his extended family. With an undeniably American entrepreneurial spirit, he harnessed the farming techniques of the native Shinnecock, employing the indigenous population as slave laborers in the early settlement of Southampton.

Faux war hero Bill Hague. (Thomas McKee)

"It is important to have a Shinnecock element represented in the Halsey House," said executive director Tom Edmonds, nodding to the museum's current exhibition on display, "We're Still Here: The Evolution of the Shinnecock Nation, Past and Present." The exhibition, which includes a mural painted by tribe member and co-curator, David Martine, is arranged in the far-side of the house, amidst artifacts of colonial life - décor, farming tools, and a hand loom, among other historical remnants.

"There was a symbiotic relationship between the Shinnecocks and the British colonists - [the Shinnecock] taught them how to use the lands, how to develop a sustainable environment," said Edmond. "If we can recover and protect our history, we can reclaim the sustainable environment that was in place for centuries."

Mayor Mark Epley spoke in agreement, "Part of our responsibility is to make sure the historic aspects of our community stay intact," he offered, proudly recounting the Town of Southampton's longstanding partnership with the historical museum since 1954.

"But history is a story," countered colonial re-enactor, Colette Gilbert. "Do we really know what happened? It's nothing but a puzzle with missing pieces." According to Gilbert, herself a descendant of a transplanted population in British Columbia, speaking through layers of makeup, corsetry, and a graying wig that would rival the most pompous of Louis XIV's acolytes, the mural is "a Band-Aid on a psychic wound that still has not healed."

In an age-old debate of the political correctness of philanthropy and historical reparation, Gilbert's perspective touches the hot buttons of the status quo of the American reservation system.

"I don't think a mural can depict what a person goes through when they're stripped of their culture, their pride, and their sense of belonging in the land they once owned," she concluded.



Though this is an undeniable strand in the fabric of local history, the issue is not a cross for the Southampton Historical Museum to bear alone. Their efforts to maintain the authenticity of the East End have been in place since 1898, and with one of their properties, the Sayre Barn, listed on the 2010 shortlist of the Most Endangered Historical Sites in Suffolk County, increased awareness and support is necessary for continuing their efforts of promoting the past.

"Our mission is to show the breadth and diversity of our culture," said Edmond.

Edmond's sentiment, along with the work of the Southampton Historical Museum staff, offers an optimistic affront to the famous words of Aldous Huxley: "That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons history has to teach."

The Halsey House is open starting July 4th weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Labor Day weekend. Visitors are welcome to make appointments to see the house at other times of the year, but must make an appointment well in advance. Call 631-283-2494 to schedule.