The Orange Webb House, the oldest structure on the Oysterponds Historical Society (OHS) campus, was built in the 18th century—most likely around 1790—near Sterling Creek in Greenport. Its early history is difficult to decipher; it may have been constructed earlier and extensively remodeled by the late 18th century.
According to an early Orient diarist, Augustus Griffin, General George Washington purportedly stayed there in 1757 while en route to Boston, although no definitive proof has been found. Originally thought to have functioned as an inn or tavern, the house preserves significant details confirming this use, including three ovens in three separate rooms. In the first part of the 19th century, owner Orange Webb moved the structure by teams of oxen to the north side of the Main Road—just west of the present-day Kontokosta vineyard—where it then served as a farmhouse.
It was sold to the Wiggins family in 1820 and changed ownership several times (including the King and Young families) before OHS co-founder George Latham bought it in 1955 to prevent its demolition and to house his antique collection. He floated it by barge from Greenport to Orient, and later bequeathed it and most of its contents to OHS.
A major renovation in 1991 helped preserve its original molding, and today Webb House is open to the public, with rooms reflecting its late-18th- and early-19th-century heyday and a permanent maritime exhibition on the second floor.
It stands adjacent to Poquatuck Park near 1440 Village Lane in Orient (41° 8.327′ N, 72° 18.219′ W), where a blue historical marker indicates the pathway to the house and park.
