Hamptons Museum Bringing Together Two East End Towns During Convocation Ceremony

The Towns of Southampton and Southold are coming together for Convocation at Southampton’s First Presbyterian Church (2 South Main Street, Southampton) on Saturday, March 7th at 3 p.m. The combined assembly will celebrate their shared 375th anniversaries.

English pioneers arrived at different landings on the Peconic Bay within mere months of each other in 1640. The closeness of the two settlement’s founding has, in the past, caused a friendly rivalry between Southampton and Southold. The Convocation will bring together representatives from both Towns to memorialize their shared heritage. The event will also commemorate the First Presbyterian Church of Southold and Southampton’s First Presbyterian Church 375th anniversaries. During the 17th and 18th centuries, both places of worship served as the hub for civic meeting where magistrates created Town laws, collected taxes and doled out social justice.

The Convocation will feature performances by Southampton’s First Presbyterian Church Choir, gospel music by Showers of Blessings, King’s Chapel Church of God in Christ in Southampton and the Southampton High School Choir. The afternoon will also include remarks from several East End officials, including Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, representing Southold; Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, representing Southampton; Dr. Peter Kelly from the First Presbyterian Church of Southold; Dr. Richard Boyer from Southampton’s First Presbyterian Church; Elizabeth Thunder Bird Haile will represent the Shinnecock Nation; Mayor Mark Epley, Village of Southampton; John v.H. Halsey, president of Peconic Land Trust; and The Reverend Michael Smith, Shinnecock Presbyterian Church. Suffolk County Poet Laureate Emeritus Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan will read her composition, “Poem for Southampton’s 375 Anniversary.” The tradition dates back to 1865, when the first poem was commissioned in honor of Southampton’s 225th anniversary.

“If These Walls Could Talk: Meet the Families Who Lived in the Rogers Mansion” highlight the history of the Rogers family. (Courtesy Photo)

Attendees are also invited to the 375th Reception and Exhibit Opening for “If These Walls Could Talk: Meet the Families Who Lived in the Rogers Mansion” at the Southampton Historical Museum’s Rogers Mansion (17 Meeting House Lane, Southampton). The exhibit will highlight the history of the Rogers family, who established a farm at the corner of Main Street and Meeting House Lane in 1648. The property housed three influential Southampton families, including a whaling captain, a country doctor, and a retired lawyer turned philanthropist. It will also take a look at the role the Mansion played in the Southampton community. The opening reception begins at 4 p.m.

Admission to the Convocation and the 375th Reception is free, and both events are open to the public.

For more information, call 631-283-2494 or visit www.southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org.