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The Flanders community could soon be getting another shot in the arm as efforts to revitalize the hamlet, which many agree started with the relocation of the iconic Big Duck back to its original home last October, are continuing.
Charles Bellows, chairman of Southampton Town’s Historic Districts and Landmarks Board, is working on plans to designate a portion of Flanders Road, also known as Route 24, as a “Heritage Area.” Unlike an historic district, which places restrictions on properties that fall within it, a heritage area acknowledges that an area contains significant value without the placement of limitations on the rights of property owners. In other words, heritage areas contain buildings and properties with historical significance, though the label does very little to prevent structures in the area from being torn down or renovated.
Mr. Bellows attended last week’s monthly meeting of the Friends of the Big Duck, a not-for-profit group of community activists dedicated to preserving and promoting the image, location and structure of the Big Duck, which had been previously located near Sears Bellows County Park on the Flanders/Hampton Bays border.
A member of the town’s Landmarks Board for the past 15 years, and its chairman for the last four, Mr. Bellows said he began working to revitalize the hamlet in 2002, when he met with then Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney. “It began with the decision to return the Big Duck to Flanders,” Mr. Bellows said.
Just last month, the 13-acre parcel surrounding the Big Duck was added to the New York State Register of Historic Sites. The Big Duck structure itself was already listed on both the state and national historic registries, but the land was not. With the inclusion of the property on the state registry, the national listing will soon follow, according to Zachary Studenroth, a local preservation expert hired by the town to secure the designation.
Chris Sheldon, president of Friends of the Big Duck, said he was encouraged by the prospect of designating a section of Flanders as a heritage area.
“It will instill pride,” Mr. Sheldon said. “This is a working community. It will be nice for the people who live and work here to wake up and see that their community has achieved that recognition.”
According to Mr. Bellows, the nine member Landmarks Board is in the process of identifying and mapping all of the historic and cultural resources in the Flanders area. Once that work is complete, Mr. Bellows will present the findings to the Southampton Town Board. Mr. Bellows said that report could be ready by the end of this year or shortly after.
The hamlets of Water Mill and Eastport have already received such designation by the Town Board and Mr. Bellows said the Landmarks Board is also working to achieve the same for the hamlet of Quiogue. Those communities feature signs announcing to visitors that they are heritage areas.
“I’m excited about this work,” Mr. Bellows said. “Flanders is a wonderfully historic area.”
Tentative plans have the Flanders Heritage Area running from the Big Duck site to the Brewster House, located at 1380 Flanders Road, just west of Long Neck Road. According to Mr. Bellows, the Brewster House is a four-story, 28-room structure that sits on 1.8 acres. The home, which pre-dates the Civil War, is currently for sale at a list price of $750,000.
Mr. Sheldon said his organization is interested in purchasing the property in order to preserve it. “It’s quite a jewel,” he said. “We’d really like to secure it and keep it from falling down.”
Mr. Sheldon said his group might petition the town to acquire the Brewster House using money from the Community Preservation Fund. “A structure that old is worth preserving,” Mr. Sheldon said, adding the structure behind the Brewster House might date back to the 1700s.
Mr. Bellows explained that the proposed heritage area corridor contains many historic structures worthy of preservation. One such structure is the Benjamin House, located near the intersection of Pleasure Drive and Flanders Road. Already listed as a national landmark, the Benjamin House belonged to James Benjamin, one of the first settlers in Southampton Town.
“We have a lot of work in front of us,” Mr. Bellows said. “But we’re really trying to bolster the area.”
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