Deep in the heavily wooded hamlet of Springs, at the corner where Springs Fireplace Road meets Old Stone Highway, sits Ashawagh Hall, a historic building that serves the neighborhood’s community as both a gathering and gallery space.
Built in 1847, the hall was initially used as a schoolhouse and was later purchased by the Springs Improvement Society, who gave the building its name — a Native American word meaning “place where two roads come together” — and established it as a nonprofit in 1909.
“We are, according to East Hampton town crier Hugh King, the fifth or sixth oldest registered nonprofit in all of East Hampton,” says Springs resident Carol Mohlenhoff, who also serves as secretary for the society’s board of directors.
Throughout the 1940s up to the mid-1950s, the space served primarily as a venue for socials, dances, book readings and graduation parties. And today, it’s still available for rent for nearly any event, and for as little as $200 a day during the winter and up to $350 a day during the peak summer season.
During the mid-1950s, the ever-growing artist community scattered throughout the hamlet — home to the likes of Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner and Willem de Kooning, among others — began using the space regularly to showcase their work and ultimately helped raise the money to rebuild and expand the dilapidated structure.
Broken up into multiple rooms, Ashawagh Hall hosts a slew of events year-round: poetry readings, live studio drawing classes, weekly author talks in collaboration with Springs Library, free wellness and exercise programs for seniors and countless meetings for local not-for-profit organizations and civic groups.
“There are art exhibitions open to the public on the weekends [during the summer season], with a new exhibit opening occurring practically every Saturday night, and during the week the space is used by members of the community,” Mohlenoff says. The society, run by a board made up exclusively of hamlet residents, has hundreds of local members and is, according to Mohlenhoff, here to help provide a forum for people, ultimately ensuring the historic space is properly preserved.
In addition to the smaller, independently curated art shows that occur all year long, Ashawagh Hall hosts several larger annual art shows including the Members Show in May, the East End Contemporary Furniture and Design Exhibition just after July 4 and the Springs Artists Invitational, a fundraiser that displays work from from over 70 artists, that runs this year from July 31 to Aug. 11.
The Members Art Show has been around for four decades and features the works of current members, while the Artists Invitational, which according to Mohlenhoff had its unofficial beginnings in the days of Pollock and Krasner, is an invite-only event, now in its 57th year.
Ashawagh Hall is also where the hamlet’s weekly farmers market occurs on Saturdays from May to September and where local vendors can sell crafts and wares during the holiday season most weekends.
“The biggest job is keeping the building going,” Mohlenhoff says. “It’s a labor of love for the community.”
Ashawagh Hall is located at 780 Springs Fireplace Road.
