The Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of East  Hampton represent the original government of East Hampton.  The Trustees were created and granted sole authority over the Town of East Hampton, by King James II through the Dongan Patent of December 9, 1686.  Although the Nichols Patent had defined the boundaries for the Town of East Hampton in 1666, the Dongan Patent is one of the earliest of the New World documents to provide for a representative government by elected officials in North America.
     As the original governing body of East Hampton, the Trustees managed and made allotments of the Town's "common lands".  Since their creation in 1686, the Trustees have continuously functioned as an autonomous governing body and represent an important historic link to the earliest roots of our democratic Nation.

                                                      2008 Trustees
    Francis Bock                              John Gosman                              Lynn Mendelman
    Timothy Bock                             Stephen Lester                            Kayla Talmage  
    Norman Edwards                        Diane McNally                             Stephanie Talmage

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