Eastport Revolutionary-era house part of two-for-one listing
This Eastport property, listed for $675,000 as of January 2014, comes with not just one, but two historic homes, including one that dates back to before the Revolutionary War. Credit: Handout
This Eastport property, recently listed for $675,000, comes with not just one, but two historic homes, including one that dates back to before the Revolutionary War.
The front house, a four-bedroom Victorian, was built on the 1-acre property in 1905. In the back sits a wood-shingled Cape built in 1732 that is believed to be the oldest house in Eastport. The older house was originally built on the North Shore, and around 1775 was taken down and reassembled at the corner of North Bay Avenue, near Montauk Highway, by the Tuttle family, before being moved again to its current location in 1891.
Alta Mae Helms purchased the property in the mid-1960s. Helms, an antiques dealer who died last January, enjoyed living in the more historic structure, says her son, Richard Grimminger, who co-owns the property with his sister.
After Helms bought the house, it was completely restored. Wood beams were uncovered and the wide-plank pine floors and paneling were refinished. Grimminger made copies of the original windows. The house also has two large fireplaces.
“When they purchased the back house, it was in shambles,” Grimminger says. “My dad and I restored the whole back house.”
The family lived in the Victorian -- once the home of Pickford Robinson, who wrote a book about Eastport’s history -- until renovations to the older home were complete. They built an addition to the back house in 1988.
Beverly Fontaine with Landmark Realty of Long Island is listing the property.
