Firming Up For The 350th
There was some uncertainty 50 years ago, as the 300th anniversary of the founding of East Hampton approached, about just when the great event should properly be observed.
Going by the earliest entry in the town records (except for one involving Gardiner's Island), the tercentenary would come the following year, 1948. On the other hand, the 19th-century historian Henry P. Hedges, in his definitive "History of East Hampton," had pronounced the date of settlement to be 1649. If that were so, the ceremonies would have to be put off a year.
Who was right?
A committee of Long Island scholars, combing early documents for the source of the discrepancy, finally sleuthed it out - a typographical mistake in an early state almanac. Later publications had faithfully copied the incorrect date, and generations of East End children were thereafter taught it in classrooms.
Ready To Go
Let it be said straight off that there is no such indecision about the town's 350th anniversary. It will be commemorated in 1998, starting almost as soon as the new year does and continuing to January 1999.
A host of activities, including an inaugural party, a yearlong lecture series, the publication of commemorative books and historical maps, a parade, and a three-month exhibit at Guild Hall and Clinton Academy, are planned.
In addition, just about every one of the town's citizens' committees, veterans' groups, historical societies, school districts, and environmental organizations have projects in the works.
The parade, according to its just-appointed chairman, James Brooks of East Hampton, will be unlike any seen here since 1948.
Pageantry Planned
More of a pageant than a progression, it will feature various colorful characters of yore and lore - Fishhooks Mulford, Goody Garlick, Stephen Talkhouse, Captain Kidd, possibly a mounted contingent of Rough Riders - who will not only march but mingle with the crowd.
On parade day, Oct. 10, the plan is to close Main Street to traffic all day long, offer free guided tours of the street's landmarks, get the windmills working, and use East Hampton Village's new shuttle buses to ferry the onlookers.
At Guild Hall that same day, a major show on old East Hampton, beginning with Montauk Indian artifacts, will open. Furniture, silver, jewelry, letters, wills, account books, paintings, town records and documents, maps, and items both decorative and utilitarian will be among the objects. The earliest colonial material, dating mostly from 1776 to 1800, will be housed across the street at Clinton Academy.
Inaugural Event
If all goes according to plan, the year's events will commence on Jan. 3, 1998, with an all-day open house at Guild Hall. Rumor has it that a film of the 1948 parade, long missing, has been found - the one starring a teenaged Trevor Kelsall wrestling with a greased pig - and if that is true, it will be given several showings.
In addition, artwork by the Moran family will be on view, a school chorus may perform, and Bruce Collins, chairman of the 350th anniversary celebration, will proclaim the commemorative proceedings to be officially under way.
At least once each month throughout the year, there will be a lecture on some aspect of the town's history. The speakers will be a varied lot, including the Connecticut State Historian (East Hampton was part of Connecticut in the 1660s), and their subjects range from the political influence of early Presbyterian ministers to the coming of the Long Island Rail Road.
Top Talks
Paul Goldberger will talk on local architecture, the curator of Del a ware's Winterthur Museum will discuss the Dominy family of clockmakers, and the man who built a replica of the Amistad for Mystic, Conn., Quentin Snedecor, will speak about the mutiny aboard that 19th-century slave ship - also the subject of a soon-to-be-released Steven Spiel berg film.
The collected lectures are to be published as a book in February 1999. The official anniversary volume, "East Hampton: 350 Years," written by Averill Dayton Geus and illustrated with photographs from her collection and those of other old families, is scheduled for publication in October 1998.
A photographic calendar is being issued in January to help people keep track of all the doings; Doreen Niggles of East Hampton is putting it together. In addition, a souvenir map of the town with historic sites highlighted is in preparation. Streetwise, the Amagansett company, will produce it under the supervision of Barbara Borsack.
On Film
Video projects, too, are under way in conjunction with the festivities. The Autumn Project aims to interview and tape some East Hampton residents whose lives and memories go back the longest. Capt. Milton L. Miller Sr., the Springs bayman, was the first to be taped by Julia C. Mead, The Star's news editor, and Kyril Bromley for this undertaking, to be aired on LTV.
Also, Victor Teich has proposed to film a television documentary of the Town, from the "Ice Age to the Present," covering geology and early history and emphasizing the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Genie Henderson would write the film and Eli Wallach would narrate it.
Other plans in the works include a treasure hunt, a theatrical production on the life of John Howard Payne of "Home, Sweet Home" fame, and the raffling of a historic quilt completed this year by Water Mill craftswomen.
Fifty-Two Parts
This newspaper will play its part - 52 parts, to be exact. Each week during the year, The Star will devote a page to the observances, with memoirs from invited contributors, photos of vanished buildings, interviews with the lecturers, features of historic interest, and news of the week's goings-on.
East Hampton Town and Village have provided some support for the anniversary events, but the bulk of it will have to come from individuals and businesses. Thomas A. Twomey, who is in charge of fund-raising, sent out his first letter to prospective underwriters a few weeks ago.
"The purpose of these events," he reminded them, "is to educate young and old alike on the origins of the town so as to inspire future generations to preserve the heritage we have all come to know is so unique. . . . Please help us celebrate the 350-year history of our community - one of the oldest in the country."