Rogers Mansion - Southampton

William was born in England around 1606 and immigrated to Connecticut in 1640, relocating to Southampton by 1644 where he built Rogers Mansion. William Rogers moved west to join the English settlement in Huntington, leaving his Southampton property to his son Obadiah. The house remained in the Rogers family for several generations. 

Although the first house built on the lot no longer survives intact, Rogers Mansion incorporates timbers from an earlier structure, possibly representing elements of the original house. Besides the old timbers incorporated into the Rogers Mansion, a separate 18th-century structure was attached to the east side of the house, creating a rear wing. 

In 1842, Captain Albert Rogers inherited the property from his mother Phebe Sayre Rogers. Albert was a successful whaler who commissioned the Greek Revival-style renovation of family's old house in 1843 to give it a more fashionable look for the time. 

Albert's widow, Cordelia Halsey Rogers, inherited the house after his death. At some point during her ownership, between 1873 and 1889, Cordelia sold the eastern half of the property allowing for the creation of Oak Street and Walnut Street. The sale established the 1.7-acre lot which the house currently occupies. 

Cordelia and Albert's three children were the last of the Rogers family to own the property. They sold it to Dr. John Nugent two years after Cordelia's death. Nugent purchased the Rogers Mansion in 1889 for his young family, making a few additions to expand the living space, including fashionable enclosed porches. He also added the Nugent Carriage House which still stands today just west of the mansion. 

In the fall of 1899, Nugent sold the property to Samuel L. Parrish. Parrish became deeply involved with the local community, helping to build several long-standing institutions, including the Southampton Hospital, Parrish Art Museum, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.  During his ownership, Parrish doubled the footprint of the house. He hired renowned architect Grosvenor Atterbury to redesign the Mansion, moving the house back 100 feet from Main Street in 1926. The interior was also extensively redesigned to better accommodate and more lavishly entertain guests. 

After Parrish’s death in 1932, the house was briefly used by the Red Cross and YMCA. The property was acquired by the Village of Southampton from Parrish's estate in 1943. That same year, Southampton Village entered into a stewardship agreement with the Southampton History Museum.

Source:

“Rogers Mansion: Southampton-History.” Southampton History Museum, www.southamptonhistory.org/our-properties/rogers-mansion. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026. 

Clinton Academy - East Hampton

Clinton Academy in East Hampton was one of the first academies in New York State chartered by the Board of Regents. The academy was constructed in 1784 with funds contributed by local citizens at the request of the Rev. Samuel Buell, the pastor of the East Hampton Presbyterian Church.

It was named for Governor George Clinton, who contributed the original bell that hung in the cupola. The Academy was a co-educational institution preparing young men for college or for careers in seafaring or surveying. Young women were schooled in etiquette, social graces, and household management. A college education was not available to a woman at that time, so Clinton Academy would have been the highest academic level available to a girl living in New York in the 1780’s.

The Academy opened its doors for classes on January 1, 1785. The founders of Clinton Academy were influenced by the intellectual enlightenment in France and designed a curriculum with three basic departments: The Common School Department, the English Academical Department, and the Classical Department.

After the state dissolved the chartered academy system, the building was expanded in 1886 and became known as Clinton Hall. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served at times as a community center, playhouse, town offices, polling station, the original location of Guild Hall and the East Hampton Library, and as offices for the East Hampton Star.

With funding from Mary and Lorenzo E. Woodhouse, Clinton Hall was restored to its late-Georgian style appearance in 1921. The work was performed under the supervision of Architect J. Greenleaf Thorp. The building eventually became the home of the East Hampton Historical Society.

 

Sources:

“Clinton Academy.” East Hampton, easthampton.com/history/clinton-academy/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026

 

“Clinton Academy, 1784.” Historic East Hampton, easthamptonhistory.org/visit-us/clinton-academy/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026