Corwin’s

Located in a two-story, four-square brick building with a fancy cornice to lift it out of the ordinary, Corwin’s Jeweler’s is one of the oldest Village shops still operating. The Sea-Side Times (precursor to The Southampton Press) in a special 1913 “Progress” edition, reported that the building was erected in 1885 by jeweler and optician Willis G. Corwin who arrived in Southampton in 1879. A graduate optician with a certificate from the Spencer Optical Institute of New York, Corwin was qualified to conduct eye examinations and “correct the errors of refraction” with proper lenses. He is also known as an excellent repairer of imported timepieces and evidently knows his way around a wide variety of merchandise, adding bric-a-brac, stationery, Eastman Kodak supplies and sewing machine accessories, among other things, to his stock. By the late 19th century, the private homes along Main Street are replaced by commercial enterprises. The talented Mr. Corwin is part of the transition, building his business where the Ellsworth family home once stood and where, in 1873, the Fordhams were living. Then, sometime in the next decade, the site is vacated, making room for Corwin’s. In time, the knickknacks, notions, camera and sewing supplies are eliminated and today Corwin’s sticks mainly to jewelry sales and the occasional repair. Still owned by the Corwin family with a member of the clan directly involved.