Shelter Island home, circa 1750, lists for $15M

Colonial on 23 acres hits market amid surge in East End buying

81-82 South Midway Road (Saunders & Associates Real Estate)
81-82 South Midway Road (Saunders & Associates Real Estate)

In Shelter Island, a 270-year-old wood-shingled Colonial has hit the red-hot East End market, asking $15 million.

The circa 1750 home was built by George Havens, an early Shelter Island settler who named it “Kemah,” a Shinnecock word meaning “in the face of the wind,” according to the listing. The property is on 23 acres, at 81-82 South Midway Road.

It has been renovated and added to over time. That includes a two-story 1,600-square-foot barn built in 1886, a hand-stacked fieldstone garage built in 1918, a water tower and chicken coop.

The grounds include 385 feet on Great Fresh Pond, 5.6 acres of meadow and 596 feet on Peconic Bay. A large berm constructed to protect the freshwater from saltwater intrusion at the pond — and built before the property was developed — still exists.

The 3,000-square-foot home itself has six bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, and a wide brick fireplace.

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Penelope Moore of Saunders & Associates has the listing.

Long Island — and the East End in particular — has seen massive demand over the past year.

In Southampton, a home once owned by fashion designer and Broadway dancer Luba Marks closed last month for $29 million. It had been asking $37 million.

Last year, the most expensive properties sold in the Hamptons were largely in the $30 million to $40 million range, although one topped $84 million. The priciest sale so far this year has been for $60 million.

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