Hamptonites are once again wondering whether Adelaide de Menil Carpenter’s Further Lane estate is finally changing hands. Rumor has it that she’s poised to donate to the village and town of East Hampton seven eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses and barns she’s collected on her property, because the new owner doesn’t want them. No one has admitted to the purchase, though last year Swedish financier Robert Weil was said to have plunked down $90 million for the 40-acre property. That rumor was later refuted by De Menil Carpenter’s spokesperson. But why else would she—a staunch preservationist with a love for antique structures—let them go? Further clues: The stretch of road abutting the property has reportedly been closed for almost a week, leading some to wonder whether construction—or movement of the structures—is beginning. East Hampton village administrator Larry Cantwell says, “There have been some discussions with Ms. De Menil” about the fate of the buildings, but, he adds, “Nothing is imminent.”

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by S.Jhoanna Robledo
• Table of Contents: July 17, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!