In 1899 a bachelor engineer on the Long Island Railroad built this Victorian carpenter-gothic style house, where he lived out the remainder of his life after his retirement. It was occupied by a variety of East End natives including descendents of the founding Edwards and Conklin families until being purchased in 1958 by the actor Peter Turgeon and his wife, the dancer Virginia Richardson.

Throughout the years that Peter and Virginia lived in the house, they played host to their many friends in the worlds of the stage, screen, television and dance. The parties they gave at The Qualms, which included guests such as Marlon Brando, Jimmy Cagney, Sid Caesar, Cloris Leachman, Helen Hayes, Bobby Fosse and Gwyn Verdon, Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, and Jose Ferrar (to name only a few) were legendary.

The Qualms library contains numerous volumes of interest to theatre lovers, many of which have been autographed to Peter. Unique historical photos of film stars like Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy,and Charles Chaplin, who befriended Peter when he was a young actor in Hollywood, are displayed in the house. A number of the paintings in The Qualms are by Peter himself, who enjoyed a second career as a marine painter after retiring from the stage.

When Peter co-starred in the Broadway play "A Thurber Carnival" in 1960, a favorite quip in the show went, "He knew their marriage was in trouble when she named their honeymoon cottage 'The Qualms'." He registered the name with The Blue Book of the Hamptons, and the house has been known as The Qualms ever since. Your hosts, Wendy and Paul, grew up in the company of their parents' theatrical friends. They invite you to enjoy the unique heritage of this remarkable residence.