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Parker Homestead in Southampton

The Parker Homestead in Southampton Village, built circa 1925, is on the market for the first time ever! Built in the architectural style known as American Foursquare, this charming 2½ story home was originally owned by Maryanna and Peter Zabriski, who raised their six children there. Mary, one of their children, was three years old at the time the house was built. When Mary got older she would walk with her friends to the Polish Hall around the corner where they hosted parties, or mixers. The sailors stationed in Montauk during WWII would go by train to Southampton and vice versa for these social gatherings. Charles “Chuck” Parker was in the Navy during WWII and was stationed in Montauk. Mary and Charles met at one of these social mixers, fell in love, got married and had four daughters who were all raised in this house. Charles died in 1992. When Mary died last September at the age of 93, her four daughters decided to put the house up for sale, 91 years after their grandparents first set foot in the home!

This American Foursquare style house known for its very boxy architectural style of four rooms on the top floor over four rooms on the bottom and a pyramid hipped roof peaked in the center with a dormer is symbolic of the period from 1890-1930. The American Foursquare or “Prairie Box” shared many features with the Prairie architecture pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900s. The Parker house features the first floor with a living room with a brick fireplace, dining room with a bay window, eat-in kitchen with a walk-in pantry, mudroom and half bath. Upstairs are four bedrooms, a bath, and stairs leading up to the unfinished attic. There is also a full basement. A rocking chair covered front porch stretching the entire width of the house and an ivy-covered detached 2-car garage are especially delightful. The .33 acres are professionally landscaped and hedged on this quaint Southampton Village street close to the town and beach. This 1,660 sq.ft. architectural charmer is listed at $1,900,000.

The house retains many of the original materials and decor from 1925. It has the original copper plumbing, the original moldings, original oak floors, and glass doorknobs. The walls are plaster not sheetrock. The original cast iron kitchen sink is built into the wall. There is a built-in ironing board. There are ceiling fans throughout the house and gas heat. Vinyl siding covers the original cedar shakes. The tool shed in the back was once a chicken coop. The deep lot is big enough to add a pool.

The house is full of history and tells a story of an American family from the time of Prohibition to the Depression Era and WWII, to the baby boomer generation and the millennials. Mary’s mother took in laundry in order to stay home with the six children, while her father was a caretaker for Rose de Rose, a wealthy eccentric woman who had an estate on Hill Street. Also, for additional income, Mary’s father made gin and/or vodka in the basement during Prohibition! When the children asked about what was now the defunct copper distillery, their parents told them a white lie, that long ago they used to make their own ice cream. That’s what all the copper tubing was for. This unique home belongs to a nostalgic time in American history and architecture.

Joan Tutt of Seashell Real Estate in Southampton, celebrating its 35th anniversary in business, is marketing this charming Southampton Village home. Mary and Charles Parker’s four daughters: Judy, Linda, Patty, and Carol have engaged an experienced local family business to sell their precious family homestead! Joan is so very pleased to represent this property, as it enters the market for the first time in 91 years!

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