Tibbals Brothers Store (1871)

At the corner of Depot Hill Road and Old Middletown Road in the village of Cobalt in East Hampton is a building erected as a store about 1871. The Mansard-roofed structure was built by three brothers, Russell E., James N. and Rufus D. Tibbals, whose family had owned a store in the area since the late 1840s. The new store, which also contained the Cobalt Post Office, may have been built to take advantage of the opening in 1873 of “The Air Line” railroad, which had a station in Cobalt. The Tibbals also owned factories that manufactured oakum (used for caulking wooden ships), a businesses started by their father, Thaddeus, in 1828. The brothers initially leased the store building to Charles A. Bailey and Francis Kinner, who sold groceries and dry goods. In the early twentieth century, the store was owned and operated by Arthur S. Bailey. After 1940, the building was converted from commercial use into a private residence.