East Hampton rushes to save “historic” shack before project starts

A group of East Hampton residents and town officials hope to rescue a 400-square-foot farm shack sitting on a recently sold piece of Strong family farm land, according to the Southampton Press.

The Strong family housed migrant farm workers in the shack on Wainscott Hollow Road and its become locally known as “The Little House,” but it has been unused for decades. The Strong family recently sold the property and a development plan calls for the shack to be demolished in May.

However, this is not a case of locals suddenly adopting a property as a treasure in order to stop a project. Rather, they want to move the dilapidated structure, which they consider to be of historic value.

Luckily for them, the new owners — Eve and Josh Wiener — are “quite happy” to donate the shack and have it moved, according to East Hampton Town Councilwoman Sylvia Overby.

“The question is, where are we going to take it?” she said.

Preservationists have suggested a handful of sites, including Rick Del Mastro Memorial Park, the Wainscott School, and a Beach Lane parcel owned by the Peconic Land Trust.

[Southampton Press] — Dennis Lynch