Pelletreau Silver Shop

Tucked along the Village’s historic corridor stands a small but extraordinary building dating back to around 1686. Originally constructed as a dry goods shop for John Woodruff Jr., the structure sat beside his family home and quickly became part of the growing mercantile life of early Southampton. By the late 17th century, the shop was operated by Stephen Bouyer, a French Huguenot and in 1728, ownership passed to another Huguenot family when Francis Pelletreau—a successful merchant involved in the whaling trade—purchased the property. From roughly 1750 to 1810, Elias Francis’s son, Elias Pelletreau, one of early America’s most respected silversmiths transformed this modest space into both workshop and storefront, producing tankards, flatware, porringers and other functional works of art. His craftsmanship earned recognition well beyond Southampton, while his civic duty kept him rooted locally—serving in the militia and rising to the rank of captain by 1765. During the American Revolutionary War, Elias remained committed to the Patriot cause. Though too old for active combat by 1776, he continued training local militia. Following the American defeat at the Battle of Long Island, he fled with his family to Connecticut during the British occupation, returning to Southampton in 1782 after the war’s tide had turned. Silversmithing continued in the Pelletreau family for generations, with Elias’s son, nephew, and grandson carrying on the trade here into the mid-19th century. The family retained ownership of the shop until 1866. In the decades that followed, the building adapted to changing times, housing a variety of retail businesses before being the Village acquired it in 1964. Today, the Pelletreau Shop is preserved and operated by the Southampton History Museum, not only as a historic site but as a living link to the Village’s artisanal past. In the early 2000s, an artist-in-residence program was introduced, reviving the spirit of craftsmanship that has defined this space for more than three centuries.