Seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and wondered if that spectacular beach house was really in the Hamptons? It is! It's called Kilkare and it's located in the über-exclusive Georgica Association, a 100-acre subdivision on the eastern edge of Wainscott. For the August issue of Plum Hamptons Magazine, we wrote up a breezy little story about the history of the Association and the house, which is now owned by Michael and Eleanora Kennedy. Here's an excerpt from the article:
Originally called the Georgica Settlement, this small patch of the Hamptons was founded in the late 1800s by about 20 academics — "mostly Yankees from New Haven" as the Kennedys describe them — who wanted a place that was, above all else, private. But this was privacy in the Victorian sense, which meant more than just high hedges. Says Eleanora, "This group wanted a place where they and other like-minded folk could be free to think, read, write, and amuse themselves with sport and fellowship without outside judgment or interference." For them, Michael adds, "privacy required the same kind of vigilance as liberty." And, to that end, the Georgica Settlement (with its single road in and out) was born. Among its first settlers were Camilla Edwards and her husband, Walter Edwards Sr., a direct descendant of Jonathan Edwards, an influential philosopher and theologian. In 1877, the Edwardses started construction on a house situated squarely on one of the more spectacular beaches of the East End. (Those who claim nearby Georgica Beach as their favorite stretch of sand will surely agree.) Evidence that the couple used boat builders to carry out the construction is everywhere, from ships' knee braces to the gorgeous built-in furniture incorporated into almost every room. The cottage (as such places were called at the time) took nearly two years to complete, and was called Kilkare. Eleanora explains that the name was "meant to evoke a fictional Irish town, the sort of place where you could "kill all your cares.'" And for generations of swimmers, boaters, and marshmallow-toasters, it's been precisely that."
Read the rest and see photos of the interior here (the article starts on page 164).
· Plum Hamptons Magazine - August 2011 [Electronic Version]
· All Previous Kilkare Coverage [Curbed Hamptons]
Full Disclosure In Case Anyone Cares: Besides being the editor of Curbed Hamptons, Nick Leighton is also a producer and host on Plum TV, which publishes Plum Hamptons Magazine.