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Sag Harbor

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IF YOUR WERE to ask the average American citizen 200 years ago to name the nation's great ports, you'd probably hear Sag Harbor mentioned in the same breath as New York City. That's because one of the first bills passed during the initial session of U.S. Congress was the establishment of New York City and "Sagg-harbour" as the New York State's two official U.S. Ports of Entry. Clearly, things have changed. What was once a thriving center for foreign trade and whaling has become a quaint summer resort village. Yet all is not lost from those glory days. Sag Harbor is still home to a wealth of landmark buildings whose architectural styles trace the development of the town from those earliest years -- witness the cottagelike simplicity of the 1693 House -- through the Georgian, Federalist, Greek Revival, Italianate, Victorian and Beaux Arts styles. Take particular note of the historic Old Whaler's Church, an 1843 Egyptian Revival treasure whose steeple was lost in the Hurricane of 1938.

The Custom House

Why, one might wonder, is the old Customs House of Sag Harbor in a gracious homestead rather than in an official-looking edifice? It's because when Henry Packer Dering was named Sag Harbor's customs master in 1789, he chose to conduct federal business in his comfortable private dwelling. It was under that same roof that he also managed to raise nine children. One child, Henry Thomas Dering, became customs master after his father, so, in all, the Dering family occupied the Customs House for sixty years, until 1849. By that time, Sag Harbor was a major center for the whaling industry.

The Sag Harbor Customs House is a center-hall Colonial with two large rooms on either side and a kitchen in the back. That kitchen offers an idea of life during the 18th Century, with its large cooking hearth and little sitz-tub for sponge bathing.

The Dering name was a prominent one; Shelter Island's Dering Harbor, where the family originally had their home, was named for Henry Packer Dering's father. During the Revolution, while the Derings temporarily took refuge in Connecticut, Henry went to Yale for his education.

Much of the furniture in the house -- like the Newport eight-day clock made by William Claggert -- came from Dering's father's Shelter Island home. Many of the rooms are painted in the original bright colors so popular during Dering's day. Upstairs, bedroom walls are hung with reproduction wallpaper representative of the era. Folks then, it seemed, liked to mix patterns with near-abandon.

Before you leave, close your eyes a moment and try to envision the house as it must have been during Dering's lifetime, when the transaction of major national business and the tumult of nine growing children co-existed under one roof.

The Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum

This building, designed by Minard LeFever of New York City, was erected in 1845 as the private home by Benjamin Huntting, a whaling ship captain and ship-owner. After Huntting's death,the edifice was owned by Mrs. Russell Sage and, after her death, it was bought by the Masonic Lodge. The lodge ultimately decided to deed the building to the town for a Whaling Museum, but they retained privileges to hold meetings upstairs, which they still do.

It's downstairs that you'll be touring -- after entering through the jawbones of a right whale. The first few rooms, to your left, called the Sag Harbor Rooms, showcase an assortment of memorabilia that, collectively, provide a chronicle of the life in the town. There are early paintings of children done by itinerant limners as well as a beautiful 19th Century wedding gown. A collection of the great sailing ships of the world, fashioned out of sterling silver, is particularly interesting.

In an adjoining room, you'll find a replica of an 18th Century kitchen. Check out the early version of a washing machine as well as the old map of Sag Harbor that hangs on the wall. Next, you'll come to a room displaying the implements used by whaling ship captains. Here, you'll find some neat models of schooners, a shield from Borneo and a harpoon gun.

The last room is the most artistically riveting, with its collection of old pianos unlike most. Take time to admire the intricately carved draft piano made in Baltimore in 1868 and the rare Giraffe piano that has only 84 rather than 88 keys.

Sag Harbor Fire Department Museum

Back when our nation was new, Sag Harbor was a town in the forefront of progress. So it shouldn't be surprising that the Sag Harbor Fire Department is the oldest volunteer department in the state. The department was commissioned in 1803 by the State Legislature, and, in 1896, took up residence in this building, built in 1836, which doubled as village hall and Sunday school room. The building remained in active use until the fire department moved its headquarters downtown in 1976. Two years later, on the Sag Harbor Fire Department's 175th anniversary, volunteers restored the building as a museum.

And a quirky and fascinating museum it is -- it houses two antique hand-pulled fire carts, the building's original stove, as well as a lot old equipment, like a bull-horn through which the fire chief shouted directions to his men.

The tours in this special section are abridged from the book "Exploring Long Island with Newsday" by Joan Reminick. To order a copy call 800-400-4112.