Former East Hampton Riding Club, where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis learned to ride, on sale for $2.29M
Called the Abraham Baker House, the home was built in 1745 and moved to its present location in 1924. Credit: Courtesy Saunders & Associates
The Abraham Baker House, which in a previous incarnation was the East Hampton Riding Club where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis rode in her youth, is on the market for $2.29 million.
Dating back to 1745, the house was purchased in 1924 by the Riding Club of East Hampton, which converted it into the clubhouse, where the then-Jacqueline Bouvier, learned to ride. It served as a riding club until 1943, after which it was converted back into a residence.
Sitting on a .8 acre-lot less than a mile from Two Mile Hollow Beach in East Hampton, the 2,000-square-foot farmhouse has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an original oversized hearth and working fireplace in the great room, original wood floors, a study with vintage wide planked wood paneling, and lockers from the riding club in one of the bedrooms.
The house has original wood floors. Credit: Courtesy Saunders & Associates
As one of only 15 homes to be designated a Special Historic Landmark by the town of East Hampton, the Abraham Baker House can have a second home on the property, says listing agent Jackie Lowey of Saunders & Associates.
In 2017, the town of East Hampton came up with this creative approach to historic preservation for houses that are outside of the historic district, Lowey says. “Land is so valuable in East Hampton that people want to knock down smaller houses.”
Through this special landmark designation, the town allows owners to build a second home for a total allowable square footage of 5,000 square feet for the two buildings. For the Abraham Baker House, a second building can be built to a maximum of 3,000 square feet.
Often, Lowey says, the second home can be used as the main residence and the historic home as a guest house and can include a kitchen.
The house has an original oversized hearth and working fireplace in the great room and original wood floors. Credit: Courtesy Saunders & Associates
“I’ve had people look at it and love it exactly how it is,” says Lowey of the property. “The house is a beautifully maintained example of an 18th century Cape Cod farmhouse with a lot of rich details that are well preserved, and so it has a lot of charm. It also has a really fantastic history, both dating back to the Bakers and when it was purchased and moved to be the clubhouse for the riding club in 1924. It’s very much tied into the beginnings of East Hampton.”
There are lockers from the riding club in one of the bedrooms. Credit: Courtesy Saunders & Associates
For Lowey, representing this house entails more than just getting the sale.
"There are properties with two dwellings in East Hampton, but that's not the norm here," Lowey says. "I think that the property will appeal to someone who is passionate about historic houses."
The property is in the East Hampton school district and has annual taxes of $8,651.
With Lisa Chamoff
