Touring Historic Homes in the Hamptons, The Devon Colony's Twin Homes, Italian Cousins

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Posted by Tamara Stephenson February 05, 2024

Touring Historic Homes in the Hamptons, The Devon Colony's Twin Homes, Italian Cousins

We Were Smitten With

Two Italian Cousin Homes

in the Historic Devon Colony

At the East Hampton Historical Society's 38th annual

House & Garden Tour

check out our Devon Tour Tiktok

The annual tour shows some of the finest examples of East End architecture, and we are thrilled to visit each year. Two of my favorites this year were twin sisters of a sort in the historic Devon Colony in Amagansett- Windy Dune and The Procter House. These historic homes hark back to a time when the founders of Procter & Gamble made Devon Colony their summer get-away from their home base in Cincinnati.

The Devon Colony was formed at the beginning of the 20th century by four wealthy businessmen from Ohio, and the idea came to the men in 1906 while on a hunting trip in the East End. They bought land in the Amagansett Highlands which was 90 feet above sea level with Gardiners Bay and the ocean nearby, and built grand stucco Italian-style houses. This became the Devon Colony, and nicknamed "Soap Hill" because Procter & Gamble manufactured Ivory soap. Both homes were built in 1910 but Windy Dune's name was changed from RED ROOF when a hurricane in 1938 blew the red roof tiles off. The homes are both similar, and I love how the architecture is Italian in style but the interior design is very American and modern.