This photograph offers an early look at what we know today as the Maidstone hotel at 207 Main Street, across from Town Pond. In the past, this property was frequently confused with the Maidstone Inn, which was built in 1901 near the Maidstone Club and burned down in 1935. The look and ownership of the building have changed several times, and its history is as old as East Hampton itself.
Thomas Osborne (1594-1677) acquired the property from Robert Bond sometime shortly after he arrived in East Hampton from New Haven, Conn., between 1650 and 1660. Here he ran a tannery business, which passed down through six generations of Osborne tanners.
William L.H. Osborn (1817-1881), without the e at the end of his name, is believed to have built the main structure in 1840, and it can still be seen today. Later, the family started opening their home as a lodging place for visiting guests, and the house became known as the Osborn House.
In September of 1905, The East Hampton Star reported that the stables, which are visible behind the left side of the house in the photograph here, burned down. William Osborn's son Burnett Mulford Osborn (1856-1943) ran the hotel for over 32 years before retiring. In 1924 the property was taken over by the Hampton Hotel Corporation. A renovation added a porch and additional rooms for lodging. The main structure was severely damaged when a tree fell on it during the 1938 Hurricane.
The hotel changed hands twice more, the owners including, for many years, Rita Reiswig and her husband, the late Gary Reiswig, before being purchased by its current owner, Jenny Ljungberg, in 2008. The reopening of the Maidstone featured a new look and feel with Scandinavian influences. Today, the Maidstone features modern amenities such as morning yoga, a restaurant serving Swedish cuisine, and distinct red bikes for guests, which can be seen throughout town.
Mayra Scanlon is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library's Long Island Collection.
