Strong, Thomas, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1695 by carpenter Thomas Strong, this L-shaped, cedar-shingled house on Wainscott Hollow Road is one of the older structures in the Wainscott settlement of East Hampton, Long Island. Strong came from Northampton, Massachusetts, and built in the New England tradition, with a center chimney and double-pile plan. Exposed framing shows close studding, adzed plates, summer beams and bird's mouth rafter joints, along with closely spaced joists that reflect Dutch influence. The house grew in three stages: an early nineteenth-century northern wing with its own fireplace, and a late nineteenth-century upstairs room added to accommodate summer boarders. Eight generations of Strong descendants lived here and farmed the land. A restoration began after 1975 and a modern kitchen was added. The house sits on 4.9 acres surrounded by farmland now being developed. Few houses built for ordinary families around 1700 survive, which makes this one important to understanding late seventeenth-century life on Long Island.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A as a visible reminder of Wainscott's late seventeenth-century settlement and of how one family used it as a home and farmstead for eight generations. Under Criterion C it is a New England Colonial central-hearth house whose framing shows Massachusetts and Dutch influences. It retains a high degree of integrity, and very few houses built for average families around 1700 survive.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001451, listed January 5, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 100 Wainscott Hollow Rd., Wainscott |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | January 5, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001451 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1695-1954 |
| Architect / builder | Thomas Strong |
| Architectural style | New England Colonial |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a residence; historic portions were restored after 1975 and a modern kitchen was added. The rural setting is described as threatened by surrounding residential development. |
| Acreage | 4.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.93688, -72.25163 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001451.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7794252
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.