Home Sweet Home is a museum named after the famous song of the same name. The song's historic salt-box is located on the East Hampton Village green, which was founded in the 1720s and still retains the charm that once was colonial East Hampton. The Pantigo Mill, which dates to 1804, is located just beyond the museum.
John Howard Payne, an early American playwright and actor, wrote the song, "Home, Sweet Home," in the 19th century, and many have attributed his inspiration for the song to the salt-box. Payne's mother was from East Hampton and his father once taught at the Clinton Academy, which is another historic site just down the block. Payne visited East Hampton as a child.
The Buek family owned the house from 1907 to 1927 before the village purchased it and opened it as a museum in 1928. They had furnished the house with antique period and colonial revival pieces, as well as memorabilia in honor of Payne. The words "Home Sweet Home" are etched on the door- knocker. A bust of Payne is in the museum's entrance.
The front part of the house is set up as if the Bueks were living there in the 1920s. Antiques, china, and lustreware fill the rooms. The gardens -- a parlor window fragrance garden, a 19th-century pleasure garden and an 18th-century herb garden -- contain species, like antique roses, found during that time period.
Hugh King, the village's historic site manager, gives a passionate tour of the museum, and is a wealth of knowledge about East Hampton. Postcards and small souvenirs are available for purchase.