Historic Saltbox For Sale In East Hampton

A mid-18th-century house in East Hampton Village, one of a handful of its signature early saltboxes, is on the market for a little less than $3.6 million.

With its wide-planked floors and exposed timber beams, “it’s a very special kind of house,” according to Jonathan Solomon, an associate broker at Keller Williams in New York City. “It’s more of a charming older house with a lot of character,” said Mr. Solomon, who’s had the listing for a little more than two weeks. “I need to find the kind of buyer who appreciates that.”

East Hampton Village appreciates it, so the home is protected by inclusion in the Main Street Historic District, meaning the village would have to approve changes to the exterior.

Now at 9 Mill Hill Lane, the residence used sit on North Main Street where Talmage Lane is today. It’s named for its earliest known owner, Jonathan Osborn, and was moved in 1926 by a later owner, Gustav Buek, who also owned Home Sweet Home—a humble saltbox, like the Jonathan Osborn House, that became a museum and shrine to John Howard Payne.

At the time of the move, the chimney of the Jonathan Osborn House was rebuilt, the rear of the house was altered, and the roof of an extension was raised. Nevertheless, it still retains a good number of features found in early East Hampton cottages like Home Sweet Home and Congress Hall, said Robert Hefner, the village’s historic preservation consultant.

“We like our saltboxes,” Mr. Hefner said this week. “East Hampton is known for its saltboxes.”

There are four bedrooms in the main house and a guest suite above the garage, all sitting on just less than a third of an acre. The house has two fireplaces and a climate-controlled wine cellar, central air, and a heated pool with a stone waterfall.

“There’s been some interest,” Mr. Solomon said of the listing.