This Old House Is Brand-New To The Market

Meet an old house with deep roots in the community.

Set on 1 acre on the south end of Deerfield Road in Water Mill, the Victorian-style home is a new real estate arrival, having just hit the market on Saturday, November 28. It once belonged to the Halseys, a longtime farming family on the East End, and the current owners are asking for $3.495 million.

The original part of the house is reputedly 200 years old and considered to be one of the early homes built on the long, windy road. It appears in the background of an old photograph of the Mill Pond ice house, where ice from the pond was stored. The image is stored in the Water Mill Museum, according to James McLauchlen, who with his wife, Kathleen, bought the house from the Halsey Dickinsons and raised their two children there. Mr. McLauchlen is also serving as broker for the property.

Eventually, additions to the home were made. “Somewhere along the line, they added the filigree and turned it into a Victorian,” said Mr. McLauchlen, “We’ve lived there for 45 years, it’s our home. It kind of breaks my heart, but there’s a time for everything.”

Overlooking Tom Halsey’s farm, the house is 4,000 square feet with four bedrooms and 3.5 baths, a formal dining room that can seat 18 or more, a den and a living room with a fireplace. There’s also a card room, where Ms. McLauchlen, a duplicate bridge master, hosts games for the Water Mill Bridge Club. A legal separate guest cottage has one bedroom, one full bath and a kitchen. A swimming pool, four-car barn, and an old water tower complete the package.

Despite the popularity of the card room, family and friends often gravitated to the kitchen. “It’s something we call the ‘keeping room,’ and whenever we had guests, everybody wanted to hang around the kitchen all the time,” said Mr. McLauchlen. “The ‘keeping room’ was the favorite room.”

The couple is building a new home on Shinnecock Bay in Southampton.