Osborn-Jackson House, ca. 1720

The Osborn-Jackson House, named for its first and last private owners, was lived in by Osborn descendants for over 250 years. The Osborn/Osborne family were among the first English to build their homes here. In the early 20^th century it went out of the family and became a summer cottage. In 1977, the building was given to the Village of East Hampton to be used as the headquarters of the East Hampton Historical Society. 

The Osborns were famous for shoemaking and weaving. Early family members of the supplied leather goods to Gardiner’s Island. The house was once used as a store and was the meeting place of the Town Board when one of the family was Town Clerk. Today, East Hampton is still home to many Osborns descendants. 

Much altered and expanded, the original 1750’s “half-house” was likely constructed for Jonathan Osborn (1724-81) and passed down to his son, Joseph Osborn (1754-1844) who may have added the lean-to kitchen after 1781. One of the few mid-18^th century Main Street houses that still sits close to the street, the Osborn-Jackson also has a rare surviving original kitchen fireplace complete with beehive oven. 

Today, the house has two period rooms (kitchen and dining room) which display the furnishings typical of the well-to-do lifestyle of a post-Colonial East Hampton family. Many of the pieces of furniture were made nearby by the Dominy family of craftsmen.