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Home My WebLink AboutEM44 Harmon Tuthill HouseBUILDING-STRUCTURE INVENTORY FORM DIVISION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVA nON NEW YORK STATE PARKS AND RECREA noN ALBANY, NEW YORK (SI8) 474·0479 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY UNIQUE SITE NO. ---=~~~~~ QUAD ____=-__~~~~~~ SERIES _ -=..::;..:..:,..:....::....:..::._____ __....:..... NEG. NO. YOUR NAME : Town of Southold/SFLIA DATE: September 1987 YOUR ADDRESS : Town Hall, Main Rd ~ TELEPHONE: 516 765 1892 . . Southold, LI, NY 11971 . ORGANIZATION (if any):S0';1thold TownComrnunity Development Office * * IDENTIFICATION L BUILDING NAME (S): Harmon Tuthill hous e 2. COUNTY: Suffolk TOWN/CITY : Southold VILLAGE : East Marion " 3. STREET LOCATION : Main Rd. ,north side, NW corner Fi'ivate Rd. #1 4. OWNERSHIP: a. public 0 h private OJ . 5. PRESENT OWNER : Robert Crag · ADDRESS : Washington st., Green 6. USE: Original: ---==r::....e=s.=i:...:d:....::e:o.::n-'-'c::...:::.e_______ Present : res idenc e /port 7. ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC : Exterior visible from public road: Yes ex . No 0 Interior accessible : Ex.plain private residence DESCRIPTION 8 . BUILDING <i. clapboard KJ . b. 'stone 0 c. brick 0 MATERIAL: e. cobblestone 0 f. shingles !Xl g. stucco 0 other: -'-------- 9. STRUCTURAL a. wood frame with interlocking joints [~ SYSTEM: b . wood frame with light members 0 (if knONn) c . masonry load bearing walls 0 d. me tal (expla in) -::-' _---::--:-:-__-=-_..:....:.-=-.:--:-=--.::.....:....:........:.....:.......__......,.:,,..... e . · other stone foundation 10 . CONDITION : a . excellent KJ b. good 0 c . fair 0 II. INTEGRITY: a. original site ~ b. moved 0 if so,when? c. list ' major alterations and dates (if known): ----:-;:-------~-:: Integrity. is excellent. 12. PHOTO: neg: KK II-30, @ fm SW \ \ ~ -:.. " " " " ~~, " " 14. THREATS TO BUILDING : a. none known G b. zoning D d. developers D ' e . deterioration D f. other: --------------:-.:..:.......c...-------:::=-=S=;7.:-.:.: 15 . RE LATED OUTBUIL DINGS AND PROPERTY: ' a . barn lX.l ~b . carr ia ge house D c. gar age D d . privy D. e. shed D f. greenhouse D g. shop D h. gard~ns D . ·i., landscape fea t ures : ___~.:....=:...-..:.:....=-______..:...!.......:.:.:.:-=-_______~::::::::::=.: j . other : ______--'-_____~-.=.:_:__:-::--::~~~~ 16. SURROUNDINGS OF THE BUILDING (che ck more than one if neces sary) : a. open land :KJ . b . woodland IX] c . scattered buildings CJ d. densely builtcup D 'e. commercial D f. indu strial 0 g. residential ex ',' h . other: ~:-:---------'--~____:"'==7:':--'--~---- 17. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING AND SURROUNDINGS : (Indicate if building or structure is)n an historic district) . . Located on Main Rd. ~ NYS Rt"e. , 25, historic Kings Hwy., , in a medium-low density residential area. This is a prime farming community~ 18. OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BUILDING AND SITE (including interior features if known): It story, 3 bay, side entrance plan, gable roof Greek Revival house with high roof plate. Small 1 story, 3 ~ bay, gable roof wing on west. Clapboards on front fac ade, shingles elsewhere. Amon Tabor entrance with flut ed pilasters and dentils embraces ,a doorway notable for (see continuation sheet)SIGNIFICANCE 19. DA TE OF INITI A L CONSTRUCT I ON :________1_8_3_0_'s_-::---:-_--=-_-7-:::-::-: BUILDER: __~_______________ ~~______~~~~ __~~~~~ ___ 20. HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE: "A very important landmark, high style Greek Revival major components in this historic East scape ." 21. SOURCES: Heckscher Museum, Architecture pp. 15 & 17./Long =I~sl~a-n-d~~~--~~==~~~~~ ning Coordination, 1969, THEME : ), 1965; No.6. Form prepared by Kurt Kahofer,research , I this house has Continuation Sheet EM-44 RZD 18 -its free standing Ionic columns and blue paterae or rosettes on door:;ay jambs. 9/6 windo'Ns. Cor nice with modillions above frieze with dentils matching the dentils at the entrance. Interior \"loodwork is also exceptional. Niagnif icent mantel in parlor. Entrance doorway by Arnon Tabor. Transom glass is cobalt blue, as are the dots on the door jambs. Note classic Greek Revival door with egg and dart mold ing, and orig inal knob and key plate. neg: KK 11-30 Harmon Tuthill hou se EM-44 East I':larion = • ..... ....., ; ..., 1 i ; -----.....,-; ------.i , ., Herzel photograph Harmon Tuthill house East Marion roof are morc or lcss Greck Revival, while the brackcted cornice presages thc Italianate man ner. This attractively modest old building has been savcd by being made economically viable and presents an admirable example of adaptive use. • • The doorway of the Tuthill-Schaefer House, a one-and-a-half-story Grcek Revival cottage built circa 1840 at East \larion bv Amon Tabor III, carpenter, displa:'s an interesting combin ation of sophisticated and \'emacular details: the moldings of the single vertical door panel and the paterae, or rosettes, ornamenting the door way jambs arc faithful to Greek models, but the Ionic columns are gauchc and "incorrect." The reason for this is clear: Tabor used manufactllrpd stock composition trim for the ornaments but produced thc columns himself. The use of manu facturedctock nrnaments W;J,S already cnmmC,1l \Ii the 1830's. By contrast the handsome doorway of tl~e "Hampton House" with its correct Ionic columns and can'ed door panels in the anthem ion motif is in its entirety a sophisticated com position. A much grander Greek Revival house, "Deepwe lis" at St. J ames, was constructed for Joel L. G. Smith IBn by George Curtis, the builder of the first Presbyterian Church at S'!1ith town. "Deepwells" is similar to the nearby d\lills Pond," built in 1837 from designs by the l'\ew York architect Calvin Pollard, but the later house has somewhat richer trim and a low square cu pola, and its one-storied porch is carried across the whole five-ba\'ed front. Both houses haw low rectangular attic windows set in their en .tablature friezes.'" The tripartite windows abO\'e their entrances echo the Palladian form popular in the preceding federal period. The most familiar form of Greek Revi\'al house, the "telllple-front" type, is exemplified by the Townsend \lallor Inn, altered to its present form, except for modern additions, in 183.5 at Grcenport. lIere' square pins instead of columns are uscd. Tilis, and such details as the continu ous guttae hanel of tl1(' I'ntahlatme, illustrates the EM-44 freedom with which Greek forms were interpret ed. The handsomely proportioned gabled portico is very similar to one at 111 \Vall Street in Hunt ington.21 The free adaptation of Greek forms is even more strikingly apparant in the Benjamin Hunt ting House (now the Suffolk Count:' Whaling \luseum) at Sag Harbor. The house was built in 1845-46, probably from designs b:' the I\'ew York architect \Iinard Lafever." The basic form breaks away from the strict rectangle typical of earlier Greek Hevival work to allow a greater flexibilit:· of plan." Although the columns are accurately based on an ancient Greek precedent, the Chor agic \lonument of Lysicrates in Athens, the acro teria on the roof suggest harpoons and blubber spades, an imaginative reference to the source of the original owner's wealth. The dome-lighted main staircase is a masterpiece of the stair-build er's art.'· The Huntting House is one of the finest and most sumptuous mansions produced by whal ing profits in Suffolk Count)'. The First Presbyterian Church (Old Whalers' Church), built in 1843-44 at Sag Harbor has also been attribu ted to \ I inard Lafever on stv listic evidence, but confirming documentation has not been found.'-· Until the 1937 hurricane, the church had a spectacularly high spire somewhat resembling a telescope set upon a round belfry of Choragic \Ionument of Lysicrates form. The slightl:' projecting shingled square tower and flat roofed flanking pa\'ilions have battered walls de rived from ancient Egyptian forms and mask the plain, rectangular, gable-roofed church behind them. The astonishing eclectic design of this ex traordinarily large and fine church is rumored to have been meant to resemble Solomon's Temple. The Greek He"i\'al interior has both side and rear galleries. a flat coffered ceiling, and an_,. apse painted on the flat wall behind the pulpit.'o The Presbyterian (now \lethodist) Church at l3ellport, built in 18.50, is much more t:'pical of countr:' chmches of its period than is the Sag Ilarhor church of tOWll chmches. The Doric pil asters, full entablature, and relati\'ely low-pitched _ 15 The Archltecture of Suffolk County, Heckscher Museum, 1971. Harmon Tuthill house East Marion THE DIARY OF A COUNTRY NEWSPAPER boards were put on top. The oil from the decaying fish floated to the surface and ·was skimmed off by hand. They later adopted the practice of boiling the fish, which was a quicker and much better process, rendering more and richer oil. Later they installed a small steam boiler by which the fish were cooked by steam. Their factory was supplied by the fish caugh t off Orient and East Marion. In those days the fish scrap was spread by hand on open wooden racks to dry in the sun. After conducting their plan tat Cheq uit Po in t, Shelter . Island, near the present location of the Shelter Island Yacht Club, for about two years, they purchased a site at White Hill, Shelter Island, and erected a new factory. Before this plant was completed, however, they sold al1 of the equipment to a Colonel Morgan from Connecticu t, who moved it to Groton, Conn ., this being the first fish factory in the State of Connecticut. The same autumn they built another factory at White Hill, Shelter Island. By this tim~H a ,;l1 0 n "I'll thi!l ,1l1d his brother , Maxon Tuthill, of East arion had erected a second fish factory at White Hill. About the same time , Captain Benjamin Tallman of Portsmouth, R .I., invented the purse seine for the catching of qsh in deep water. This ·same style purse seine with some slight improvements is still in use today in the menhaden fishing industry. The first man to use a purse seine in Peconic Bay was Captain David Smith in the year 1852 . While in the past years Greenport had been in terested in fitting out whale ships, a younger class of fishennen were growing up who were vitally interested in the catching of menhaden for fish oil and fertilizer. A t the same time the farmers were finding that the practice of spreading dead fish on their fields for fertilizer often caused sickness among their livestock and so the use of dried fish scrap as fertilizer ElVI-44 •,. i f". Corwin, Elsie. Greenport, Yesterday and Today, 1972. 215 Harmon Tuthill house EM-44East Marion Photo courusy oj Mrs. A. Halsty Brown Tuthill-Schafer House The community of East Marion lies a bou t two miles east of Green port in a rich farming district, stretching along the main road which runs to the extremity of the peninsula. One of the often mentioned "points of interest" in this north fork village is the Har mon Tuthill (Tuthill-Schafer) house, which is pictured here. The travel guide published by the Long Island Association of Commerce and Industry describes it as "The House with the Amon Taber Doorway, directly opposite the Baptish Church," and explains that "Taber was a wood-worker famous for his carvings." ~The doorway is one of several beautiful entrances in the neighborhood designed and built by Amon Taber III (or "Tabor", as some spell it) . However this doorway is especially remembered for its two verticle rows of blue dots. A one-and-a half story wood-built "half-house" of the side-entrance plan, this post-colonial building is also notable for some interesting interior woodwork, heavy and deeply carved-unusual for such a small house. Amon Taber III was a local carpenter who some times used themes of fish and shell-fish and, upon occasion built kitchens with scuppers like a ship. He was the third of that name to reside in Orien t, according to local historians, his ancestor having settled there in the first half of the r8th cen tury. The Tuthill family progenitor, Henry, was one of the founders of Southold Town. From him Harmon Tuthill was 6th in descent. Harmon was , in his early years, the master of a vessel, subse quently retiring to his fine farm. He was a man "of large means and excellent character" and was a deacon of the East Marion Baptish Church. His son, Harmon Jr., had a son George, who presumably inherited the property and left it to his only child , Emma Tuthill Schafer. The house is now owned by Mr. Robert Long of Greenport. June 1968 6 ·7 i!t~~' .. Preservation Notes, 8PLIA ------ BUILDING-STRUCTURE INVENTORY FORM DIVISION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVA nON NEW YORK STATE PARKS AND RECREA nON ALBANY, NEW YORK (51 x) 474-0479 . , ( . YOUR NAME: Ralph Williams; John Dorman YOUR ADDRESS: POB 165, Orient, N.Y. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY UNIQUE SITE NO. _______ QUAD ___________________ SERIES __________ NEG. NO . DATE: ____~Ma~r~c~h~1~6~,-L1~9R4~ TELEPHONE : _--L3~23..c.-:::...-5'_'<6""'4.L3___ EM-44 o RG A N I ZA TI ON (i f any): ____--=:.Hi~·~s~tQr=~~·c~~>!!io~n~um=e:.:.:n~t:!::s~C~onun=i~s~s'""i"_'o"_'n_'_______________. -', t. , l * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IDENTIFICA TlON I. BUILDING NAME(S): Harmon Tuthill House 2. COUNTY: Suff"olk TOWN/CITY:_--'S""o"'-!u~t""h~o""'ld~__ V1LLAGE: EaSit Marion ]. STREET LOCATION:_~R~t~e~.~2~5______________________ 4. OWNERSHIP: a. public 0 h private[XJ f 5. PRESENT OWNER: Robert Long ADDRESS: 25 Washington Ave •• Greenport(477-142, 6. USE: Original: 7. ACCESSIBILITY , DESCRIPTION H. BUILDING MATERIAL <). STRUCTURAL SYSTEM: (if kl .HW1l) 10. CONDITION Residence Present : Residence (rented to Joseph Verity) TO PUBLIC Exterior visible from public road: Yes ~ No 0 Interior accessible: Explain By appllllintment a. clapboard . I.iJ b. stone 0 c. brick 0 d. board and batten 0 c. cobblestone 0 r. shingles 0 g. stucco 0 other: a. wood frame with interlocking joints [jj b. wood frame with light members 0., c. masonry load bearing walls 0 d . meta I (ex pia in) ___________________________________ .e. othcr __________~------------~~----~-~=_------~ a. ex'cellent 0 b. good [jj c. fair 0 d . . deteriorated 0 II. INTFCRITY a. original site [Xl b. moved 0 if sO,when? -------------------- c. list major altera\jo~s and dates (if known): 12, PHOTO: .. , .. EM-44 14. THREATS TO BUILDING: a. none known 0 b. zoning 0 c. roads 0 d. developers 0 e. deterioration 0 r. other: In digging cellar, old sect; on bas been lIndermj ned and need I 5.RELArrED OUTBUI LDINGS AND PROPERTY: · -' , .UL. ..1 support. a. barn 1Kl b. carriage house IKl c . garage 0 ,-. . d. privy 0 e.shed ,0 :cr. g(eenhQuse 0 g. shop 0 h. gardens 0 . i. l;iir/i:J~rIriallr,tJI Barn with mortised beams dates from c. 1835. j. other: Carriage house with square-headed Dails dates from c. 1920. 16. SURROUNDINGS OF THE BUILDING (check more than one if necessary): a. open land 00 b. woodland 0 c. scattered buildings [] . l .;1 , d. densely -built·up 0 .e. commercial 0 f. industrial 0 g. residential.O • h. other: 12 acres of farmland behind the bouse. , . 0 , 17. INTFRRELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING AND SURROUNDINGS: (Indicate if building or structure is in an historic district) One of the earliest of the farm houses in the immediate area, many dating from the 19th century, along Route 25 in East Marion. Farmland extends northward to the Sound. 18. OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BUILDING AND SITE (including intt:rior features if known): Ornate front door frames by two Ionic columns with two vertical rows ofcarved rosettes surmountE by double frieze and leaded colored glass transom attributed to Amon Tabor III. Original front pariol has fireplace mantel with carved Doric columns and Greek revival motif I~:J , ornate door frames" with double-quirk molding, random-width floor boards with adze marks, 9 over 6 windows with old glas:: top of chimney has been removed. SIGNIFICANCE 19. OAT E OF IN ITI A L CONSTRUCTION: ____--'c=-:.'---'.1..::::800=_______----'___ ARCHITECT: ___________U:..::nkn=:.::o..:.:.w.:.:n--'______________ BUILDER: ___________..:.:.u~nkn==:.::o..:.:.w.:.:n~__________________ ~O. HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE : Original building was one and a half story wood-built "half house" of side-entrance plan, dating from c. 1800. Smaller half-house west wing was added c. 1835 and original building was extended in rear in Salt-box derivative style during 19th century. Latest extension, i.e., the present kitchen area, probably dates from the 1920's. Original building has following characteristics: studs notched to carry the joists, mortise and tenon with wooden pegs, rabbi ted clapboards, vertical saw marks (indicating mechanical s~w) on roofers and studs, half-lapped wind braces. Pine used throughout -no oak. The Tuthill family progenitor, Henry, was one of the founders of Southold Town. From him Harmon Tuthill was 6th ih descent. Harmon was, in his earlier years, the master of a vessel, . subsequently retirine to his fine farm. He was a man "of large means and excellent character" and was a deacon of the East Marion Baptist Church. His son, Harmon Jr., had a son George, who presumably inherited the property and left it to his only child, Emma Tuthill Schafer. The house is ~~ ~~:Robert Long of Greenport. Sources: Inspection; last paragraph (above) from SPLIA Preservation Notes, Vol. IV, No.2, June 1968 • .. 22. THOlE :