A Bit of History

I purchased the house from the Estate of Stratton Walling.  Walling - or "Strat" - as his friends and neighbors refer to him, was an actor.  Stratton lived in the house with his life partner, Samuel R. Rolston.   When Sam predeceased him, Stratton continued to live there with Sam's mother, and then by himself when Sam's mother passed away.  Sam had a full life - he died at age 88, in Bangkok, Thailand (where he vacationed in the winter), riding on a motorcycle.  You can check out Stratton's Filmography and Obituary for more background.

Fanny Haines (r), Mehetable Haines (l), of 2nd and 3rd families respectively
(Credit: Bridgehampton Historical Society).

A friend sent me an interesting link a few weeks back from a local blogger who is a preservationist and history buff.  The blogger apparently took an interest in this house when she attended the estate sale, and did a bunch of research on the house.  I was a bit unnerved when I looked at the pictures and realized the blogger had come onto the property and INTO THE HOUSE to take her blog photos.  But, a good friend assures me she is well-intentioned, even if a bit zealous, so the work she put in getting the history is a fair trade off, I guess.  The opinion article Circa-1790 Homestead Survives Largely Intact provides a great history and lineage of ownership, and a really cool period photo of the exterior c. 1860.