Several of Oysterponds Historical Society’s historic buildings are open to the public on a regular basis during the summer months and contain compelling exhibitions of contemporary or historical significance featuring noteworthy items culled from OHS’s collections.

 

Starting Saturday, May 24th, exhibition hours will be Fridays & Sundays 2-5pm and Saturdays 11am-5pm. Additionallly, note that staff may be available Monday thru Friday to open the doors and give tours. If interested, please call the office at 631-323-2480 for more information.

 

Admission is free for OHS Members and children and $10 for Non-Members, which grants access to all exhibitions and buildings that are pen to the public.

 

 

Village House

Village House is period-furnished with noteworthy pieces from the OHS collection and shown as a late 19th-century boarding house, demonstrating a significant chapter in its history. Every year new exhibitions are installed on the 2nd floor:

 

In the Family Eye: Landscapes by Freddie & Skip Wachsberger

The artwork of Oysterponds siblings Freddie Wachsberger (b. 1935) and her brother Clyde “Skip” Wachsberger (1945-2011) contain lasting images of the Oysterponds landscape as it looked in the last two decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st.

 

Orient’s Naturalist: Roy Latham’s Life & Journals

A remarkable sampling of legendary naturalist and Orient native-son Roy Latham’s journals (spanning 1902-1978), which not only reflect his deep passion for and appreciation of the flora and fauna of eastern Long Island but also provide a detailed historical snapshot of 20th century Orient and East Marion. A selection of fascinating photographs and specimens from his vast zoological and botanical collections are highlighted.

 

Recent Acquisitions

Features three splendid 19^th-century portraits: Captain Constant Booth (1803-1880), who is thought to have been born in what is now OHS’s Webb House (he is shown holding a telescope which also donated along with the painting). The other two depict Oysterponds sisters Elizabeth Brown Dyer Tuthill and Laura L. Dyer Holmes, both painted in 1842 by 19-year-old William Garl Brown, Jr.  Another significant acquisition is an extraordinary rocking chair once belonging to East Marion artist Charles Henry Miller (1842-1922).

 

Please Be Seated! Small Chairs in the OHS Collection

Guest curator Sarah Olmstead presents a splendid variety of chairs dating from the 18^th century to the present and representing a wide range of decorative styles, including high chairs, rocking chairs, potty chairs, folding chairs etc. Included are several chairs owned by Cynthia, Asenath, and Lucretia Tuthill. These three diminutive sisters, together with their niece and nephew, were little people who were much beloved in Orient and affectionately known in later years as the “Tiny Tuthills.”

 

Byron McClintock: The East End Suite

Features six outstanding prints that comprise the complete set of McClintock’s homage to Orient and its environment. Aside from these pieces, McClintock’s work is held by the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

 

 

 

 

Red Barn

The 19th-century Red Barn was originally constructed as a grain market near the Orient wharf but served many different functions including acting as a seine house for repairing and storing fishing nets. OHS purchased The Red Barn in 1966 and moved it 750 feet to its current location on the OHS campus.  In 2024 it was repurposed as a new exhibition space, home to “The Red Barn Collection,” a permanent multi-media exhibition focused on the storied farming and fishing history of Long Island’s North Fork.

 

 

 

Webb House

The 18th-century Webb House was floated across the bay in 1955 from Greenport to its present location overlooking Poquatuck Park. It now contains period-furnished rooms on the 1st floor and a permanent Maritime Exhibition on the 2nd:

 

 

“Webb House Permanent Maritime Exhibition” – Given the Oysterponds community’s historical connection and proximity to the sea, it is no wonder that OHS’s collection abounds with significant artwork and artifacts that have to do with ships, seafaring, whaling, etc. This Exhibition, on the 2nd floor of Webb House, is a compelling distillation of the many noteworthy maritime-related items in our collection, including 16 of our maritime paintings and seven of our ship models—many recently restored.