At the end of April, Southampton Village officials announced the launch of a new self-guided walking tour, powered digitally by a downloadable mobile app.
Making its official debut this past Mother’s Day weekend, the tour — which features nearly 40 landmarks in and around Southampton Village as well as some short excursions highlighting the people and places of the village’s history — is free and is available anytime from anywhere in the village.
Stops along the tour include the Mercator Cooper House, the Mackie House, the Fire Station and Monument Square. (Photos by Nancy Kane)
Filled with rich history of some of Southampton’s most recognizable and beloved buildings sites, additional curated tours include highlights concerning the contributions and enduring legacy of Southampton’s Black residents, homes and landmarks still existing from the American Revolution, and a special tribute to honoring Southampton’s veterans with a tour of memorials, monuments and additional historic sites. The initiative is led by Southampton Village mayor Bill Manger, with content on the points of interest provided by village historian Mary Cummings.
“As our nation celebrates its 250th Anniversary, we wanted to launch this Historical Walking Tour series this year,” Manger says. “We are one of America’s oldest communities, first settled as part of Southampton Town in 1640 and later incorporated as the Village of Southampton in 1894. We wanted to provide an opportunity to experience the stories, landmarks and people that helped shape both our village — and our country.”
Postcards of downtown Southampton. (Photos courtesy of Southampton History Museum)
The tour, which can be experienced at the user’s own pace and offers routes of varying length available to begin at several points throughout the village, was designed by Thorn Creative Marketing, a design, digital and strategic marketing agency specializing in creative branding and website design and development.
“This initiative is about celebrating the extraordinary history that surrounds us every day in Southampton Village,” Manger says in a press statement. “By making these stories accessible through a free and easy-to-use app, we’re inviting everyone — whether you’ve lived here for decades or are visiting for the first time — to discover the fascinating history here and connect with the village in a deeper way.”
To download the historical walking tour, click here.
