Planning Board Ponders Native American Museum in Montauk

Montauk Historical Society member Lawrence Cooke is pushing The East Hampton Town Planning Board to back his plan to create a Native American museum at in Montauk.

"The recognition of native people has been largely overlooked," he told the board at its Dec. 1 meeting.

A site plan application calls for expanding a relatively modern cottage behind Second House, a museum which itself dates back to 1746, to create a separate space in which Indian artifacts and Native American culture in general can be showcased for the illumination of both schoolchildren and adults.

A member of the Montauk Historical Society, which would build the museum with money raised through donations, Cooke already has an extensive collection of specimens, such as spearpoints, many of which he and his wife found in their own yard on Essex Street and at Fort Pond in Montauk. Artifacts from his collection, along with that of Richard Hendrickson of Bridgehampton, were displayed at the earlier this year. Cooke's collection has been augmented by that of Selah Lester of Springs, whose artifacts the recently deaccessioned to the Montauk Historical Society.

The oldest piece, a Dalton spearpoint found in Three Mile Harbor, might date back as far as 9,000 years ago, from the Early Archaic Period, Cooke said. The use of spears predates the use of the bow and arrow, beginning in the Woodland Era; other especially exciting finds, he said, have been artifacts made of non-indigenous materials, such as flint, that suggest more intense trans-cultural exchange than has been assumed.

"If we can get this thing built, there will be an abundance of material," he said Monday.  Ideally, Cooke said, he envisions using a dumbwaiter to convey a changing series of display carts that would be stored in the basement. Artifacts such as arrows, pipe pieces, pottery, spears, and hammer stones would be set in illuminated glass display cases, on top of which monitors would show video footage of, for instance, how the instruments might have been employed.

Also in Cooke's best-case scenario: recessed lights, wall-hung displays, climate control, seats and a projection screen -- and live demonstrations of knapping and flaking, two techniques used to forge instruments.

At less than 900 square feet, the addition would be built onto the west side of the cottage, which was moved to its present spot behind Second House Museum in the 1960s and most recently has been used as a meeting space. The total square footage would be less than 1,500 square feet. A handicapped-accessible ramp would lead up to a lobby area, and to the left of a center foyer area would lie the museum, with stairs leading down to the spot where most of the artifacts would be housed until they were required to "keep it fresh" up above, as Cooke put it.

Peter Wilson, a Bridgehampton architect who is Hendrickson's wife's son from an earlier marriage, designed the addition for free. George Biondo, an attorney, and William Walsh, a surveyor, also donated their services.

Cooke described the design as "all shingle, white trim, pretty simple, not too big, not too expensive, nothing to overshadow Second House" or that would be too grandiose to see to the finish.

The fact that Second House Museum has its own history was a matter of a bit of concern to the planning board last week. During the times of East Hampton's earliest European settlers, the shepherd who lived at Second House was responsible for preventing the sheep who grazed to the west from straying eastward, and for keeping cattle from straying to the west. At various times Second House was used as a schoolhouse and a guesthouse as well. The small museum is open to visitors, and Montauk schoolchildren celebrate Samson Occum Day there each year. The property is owned by the town and managed by the Montauk Historical Society.

At last week's meeting, one planning board member, Eileen Catalano, expressed dismay that East Hampton Town, which she described as being "blessed" with so many historic buildings, does not put more effort into having them registered as landmarks. "It seems a terrible thing," she said.

Catalano said she would like the town board to ask Robert Hefner, an architectural consultant, to document what was "historically correct" at the site in terms of landscape as well as architectural design.

Over all, however, the planning board seemed quite happy with the plan, which will involve upgrading the sanitary system as well as making the site more accessible to the handicapped.

"This is a very nice application," said Pat Schutte, another planning board member. "The building you're proposing to me is a beautiful building," he said. "It looks like it's going to fit in right from the day it's constructed."

The board agreed that visiting schoolbuses could use the municipal parking lot across Montauk Highway, which is used in summer for , and to an on-site parking plan that would include a handicapped space at the base of the ramp and additional spaces west of the garden at the rear of the property.

The board also agreed to take on the role as lead agency on the project, which will also need approval from the Suffolk County Health Department and from the East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board, which is set to review it on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.