Walk and See

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHOCKED ME when I moved to the country was how much driving one has to do to get anywhere. The other day a friend and I combined yard-saling with a fitness walk, and in the process I noticed several fine old houses on Springs Fireplace Road — four in a row — that I sort of knew were there, but that had more or less escaped my notice as I whizzed by at 50mph.

One’s a mid-19th century farmhouse, above and top. I love the fresh coat of white paint over everything – the clapboards on the lower level and the shingles above, the arched window in the attic, and the restrained gingerbread on the porch.

Then there’s a very plain and unprepossessing cedar-shingled house, above, with an offset front door that looks exceedingly  informal — perhaps it’s not the original front door.  The duck decoys, below, made me smile, as did the purpose-built box to hide the electric meter (I need one of those).

Right next door is another cedar-shingled farmhouse of the late 19th century, below. with blue trim on the fence tying in to the front entry and window lintels. This house deserves better in the way of an entry portico, I think.

A little ways down from that one is a house, below, with painted shingles, dormer windows, a picket fence, and a plaque reading 1839.

There’s a marvelous barn, below, behind it.

Walking. It’s an eye-opener.

Montauk’s Second House

“SECOND HOUSE” IN MONTAUK, out at the tip of Long Island, is so called because it was — you guessed it — the second house built there, when Montauk’s 15,000 acres comprised America’s first cattle ranch. First House, built in 1744, burned down long ago. Second House, now a museum maintained by the Montauk Historical Society, went up in 1797 — the oldest parts of it, anyway.

It served as an inn for travelers, fishermen, and hunters, later as a summer home for a family named Kennedy. I’d driven past it many times but never found it open.

Today I went inside for the first time (it’s open every day but Wednesday in summer) and can report that Second House is filled with furnishings in styles ranging from Colonial to Victorian, along with displays of old tools and framed photographs of local scenes.

There’s also an array of Montauk-abilia, including an arresting portrait of Stephen Talkhouse, below, the legendary 19th century Montauk Indian and Civil War vet said to be able to walk from Montauk to Brooklyn (a distance of 100 miles) in a day.

There’s a fine cottage garden surrounded by a picket fence, and an interesting rockery/herb garden alongside one of the outbuildings.

For the $4 price of admission, it’s definitely something to keep in mind for a rainy day at the beach.