Backstory: How Topping Rose House Took Shape in Bridgehampton

In the 1840s, two mansions in the Greek Revival style were built across from one another in the center of downtown Bridgehampton. Whaling in Sag Harbor was bringing prosperity to the community. And these mansions were built by two prosperous friends and businessmen for their families. Besides the main road going through the Hamptons between them here – a dirt track – there was also, heading north from the highway, the main road to Sag Harbor.

This story is about one of these two mansions, the one on the north side of the highway, which today is the Topping Rose House, an upscale resort with lodgings, a pool and dining. When I arrived on the scene about 1966, it was not yet Topping Rose. It was called the Bull’s Head Inn. And its front lawn stretched out unencumbered to the highway. Its owner, a Mrs. Carpenter, ran it as a bar and grill. The mansion across from it, however, was in great disrepair. And its front lawn was home to a gas station. The owner of that mansion, a man named Hopping, lived inside as a recluse, earning a living from the lease he had with the petrol company that had built this monstrosity on the lawn.

One day around 1970, I learned that the Sunoco Oil Company was in negotiations to build a second gas station on the front lawn of the Bull’s Head Inn mansion facing the Hopping mansion. At the time, Dan’s Papers was in its infancy. Nevertheless, I wrote about this plan and mentioned that I was now head of an action group opposing the gas station called “Save the Bull’s Head Inn.” I left out that the membership was one person. Me. The enemy proposing this dastardly act was the Sunoco Oil Company, which had gas stations all around the country at the time. They were enemies of the company with the gas station on Mr. Topping’s front lawn. The two gas stations would face one another. Behind each would be a mansion. “Tear up your Sunoco credit card and mail it to them,” I wrote. I named their president.

Two weeks after I published this story on the front page of the paper, I got a call from officers at Sunoco headquarters in Philadelphia, offering to meet with me, as leader of this action group. They wanted to show me revised plans. They were sure this would meet with my approval.

I met with three officials from Sunoco in my girlfriend’s apartment in a Manhattan brownstone on West 11th Street. We were on the top floor. They climbed the four flights of stairs and, out of breath, proudly and without delay unrolled their architect’s plans for their new gas station – which would still face the gas station across the street – but with the Bull’s Head Inn moved further back and facing sideways with its entrance opening up to the turnpike rather than the highway. A triumph.

“We’ll pay all expenses to move it,” they told me. I said I’d bring it up to the committee at our next meeting. They then left.

Of course the committee voted NO. Vote was 1 to 0.

Sunoco never built the gas station. Mr. Hopping died around 2001, but just before, sold the property to a non-profit for $1 million.

Today, after a 20-year revival that cost about $15 million, the mansion is the Bridgehampton Historical Museum. On the front lawn there is a lawn. (The gas station was bulldozed down and carted off.) And today, in its place, there is a magnificent 20-foot-tall steel sculpture welcoming you in.

Meanwhile, across the way, the Bull’s Head Inn got bought around 2005 by wealthy summer people who spent tens of millions to make it into this magnificent resort called Topping Rose with one of the very best restaurants in the Hamptons facing out to the pool.

Voila! These changes led from rags to riches.

Have a East End real estate story? Want to share? Text us at 516-527-3566. We’ll call you back, and then write it up for this weekly column. –Dan