A Village Time Forgot, AND Pink Is Not My (Eye) Color

I think I mentioned a couple of days ago that my husband Howard has been 

dealing with a both-eyes case of viral conjunctivitis, or Pink Eye.

Howard always shares so generously with me.

That's all I'm saying, except that Pink, in this case, is definitely not my color.

And now, today's post.  Don't worry - no pictures of me!  Or either of my eyes.

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There are places you visit that call you back.
Again, and again.

One of those places, for me, is the hamlet of Oysterponds
in Orient, near the very end of Long Island's North Fork.

Things change slowly, if at all, in Oysterponds.

The original 5 families who received their land grants from the

English King in the 1600s and settled the area still live there.

Well, their descendants live there . . . .

Salt air can do a lot to keep you healthy, but it has its limits.

Oysterponds is about a 20-minutes' drive east.
along a beautiful road, from our family beach house.

A tiny village with narrow roads, nearly every house is old.

17th, 18th, 19th century old.

The older houses are small and hug the earth; most are

Cape Cod style.  Like the houses built by the Pilgrims,

these houses were built to withstand the bufferings of ocean winds.

Turncoat Benedict Arnold staged raids

on Patriot controlled Connecticut from Oysterponds.

Peconic Bay nearly surrounds the hamlet.

In the far distance, Long Island's South Fork, home to the famous Hamptons.

One of the original families, the Tuthills, had a number of "little people" born in the 19th century.
 They were not hidden away, and they did not become sideshow or circus performers,
which was the fate of most Little People of their time.
Instead, they were part of the Oysterponds community, and the family built them houses,
on a smaller scale.  The women were seamstresses, and Addison (I think the only man)
was a farmer, and he was smaller than Mr. Barnum's Colonel Tom Thumb.
Addison turned down lucrative offers from Mr. Barnum, choosing a life of hard work and dignity,
growing his Brussels sprouts and potatoes and cauliflower in Orient, part of his community.

I just love the heavy moldings on this little front door.

My kids used to love to visit Oysterponds.  In fact, they still do.

There's a shop called The Candyman, just before you turn

off the Main Road onto Village Lane.  Stop if you go.

 I visit for the houses;
the homemade chocolates are just a bonus.

Oysterponds is on my list of

Places I Want to Live When I Grow Up.

 I think I better get going on that, huh?

Cass

And thanks to Karen, The Graphics Fairy, for the antique eye image!