Home Sweet Home

​Originally built in 1750, it was believed this charming saltbox was the home of actor, playwright and songwriter John Howard Payne. Legend has it that Payne penned the song, “Home Sweet Home” while in Paris because he missed his abode, but, in fact, Payne never lived in the residence.
 
Located at 14 James Lane in East Hampton, the seven-room house is a museum that focuses on the likelihood that Gustav and Hannah Buek, a well-to-do couple from Brooklyn, purchased the property in 1907 because they were enchanted by the fabled Home Sweet Home story. When Mr. Buek died in 1927, the village bought the house from his widow.
 
In 1948, the village presented the home to the East Hampton Historical Society who lovingly restored the structure.