Featured Real Estate: 'The Doctor's House' on Ackerly Pond Lane

Doctors, sea captains, several school teachers, and possibly Walt Whitman, are among those who have lived in this 18th century home on Ackerly Pond Lane in Southold, which once served as a storage facility for a gristmill The lovingly restored residence which sits in the shade of a 300-year-old sycamore, individually listed on the National Register, is testament to the passion, dedication, courage — and nutty fanaticism — that drive those who attempt such an architectural renewal.

In 1995, Gary Laube bought a ship’s chest from his brother. “He had bought it from a woman who was a good friend of Samuel Gardiner’s grandson who had passed away and left it to her” said Laube. Inside the chest was a brass plaque with Gardiner’s name on it. Four years later, the Laubes purchased the Doctors’ House — not knowing that Samuel Gardiner (greatgreatgreat grandson of Lyon Gardiner, who, in 1639, founded the first English colony in New York, on what is now Gardiner’s Island) had bought the house in 1839. House and chest were reunited. Samuel a sea captain, lost to the waves sometime around 1848, left behind a hatch cover painted with the name “Sleepy Hollow.” Old paintings and photos of the house show this sign hanging from the old sycamore. Workers discovered the hatch cover when they demolished an old shed on the property in 2002.

Some records indicate that the house was originally built for Robert Trusteane, the town doctor, in 1664, but there is no proof that he ever resided there. The more likely scenario is the late 1700’s gristmill story, with the home conversion happening at the turn of the century.

The Laub’s, very brave souls who tackled the mammoth restoration, renovation and ultimate rebirth of the structure, sold two homes and moved into a rental across the street, in order to observe and direct the proceedings. The permit process alone, took nine grueling months.

During this lull in activity, they turned the place into an archaeological dig - unearthing more than 15,000 artifacts dating back to the Stone Age, including a 9,500-year-old Archaic Indian quartz arrowhead.

Nestled on a quiet country lane on the outskirts of Southold Town, surrounded by a replica, mini English garden, this 10-room example of First Period architecture, with five working fireplaces, original beams, wide plank floors, and two staircases offers the best of old and new, with three bedrooms, a large, modern kitchen, 2.5 baths and central air. It is a masterwork of modernized reconstruction.

If you’d like to write the next chapter of your story here, call the Laube’s daughter, Lori Ann Pfeifer, of , who is representing the property, and she’ll take you for a VIP tour.

Specs:

• 310 Ackerly Pond Ln
• Southold
• $599,999
• 3 Beds | 2 Baths | 1 Half Bath
• Approximate Sq. Feet: 2,550
• House
• Listing ID: 2496617