Newly Restored Hook Mill Reopens Friday

After being closed for the past two summers, in East Hampton Village will finally re-open to the public again this weekend.

The long restoration of the 200-year-old grist mill, which sits on the Village Green, was completed over the winter, . Structural work was undertaken to balance the base and repair rotted cornerstones. More damage was discovered in parts of the frame as work progressed, making the process take longer than was initially expected.

In total, the project took 17 months, longer than initially expected, and approximately $200,000.

Various parts of the interior of the mill had to be reinstalled, including re-assembling the interior flooring. The ed thanks to a last minute .

The mill will be opened weekends through June with hours on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. In July and August, the mill will be open everyday, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. Tours are $2 for adults, $1 for children.

"After seeing it in its different stages of construction now you are going to finally see what it was all about," said Hugh King, the village historian who runs the village's three mills, including and .

Hook Mill was built in 1806 when the owners of the post mill commissioned Nathaniel Dominy V to build a new smock mill with two pairs of millstones and the main post of East Hampton's oldest mill, which dated to 1736 mill.

After the village bought it in 1922, it was restored to working condition in 1939, and it functioned, seasonally, until the 1950s.

Mayor Paul Rickenbach Jr. said the mill is a significant part of East Hampton Village's history. "Without question it's one of the very tangible cornerstones of the village. It kind of sets a pattern when you travel through the village when you see that wonderful mill," he said. "It's an historic location and I think it's a very proud member of the extended East Hampton family."

King added that the Hook Mill is only mill that you can go up on all three floors during a tour. He is also hoping the village will hold a celebration of Hook Mill's re-opening, as well as a Windmill Day, sometime in October.

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