The Swamp was the last member of the “Miracle Mile,” a strip of LGBTQ+-owned or -friendly businesses that provided a home for the LGBTQ+ community in the latter half of the 20th century. Founded in 1977 by Bill Higgins and business partner Brent Newsom, The Swamp provided rare refuge, social opportunities, and entertainment for the LGBTQ+ community in The Hamptons. Distinct from the glitzy, elite discotheques of Manhattan, The Swamp boasted a bohemian appeal from its cozy Wainscott location.

“To say that spot is significant as a former discotheque was, if not meant to be reductive, incomplete. In the course of its nearly 25 years, the Swamp became … the longest-running nightclub of any stripe in Hamptons history, and, for better or worse, was at the heart of gay life here.” – Tom House, “What Kind of Bench?,” 2020.

During its storied tenure, The Swamp and its neighboring restaurant The Annex welcomed a host of notable names and personalities, including Marisa Berenson, Sandra Bernhard, Ross Bleckner, Truman Capote, Bob Colacello, Barbara Cook, Barry Diller, Steven Gaines, Sandy Gallin, David Geffen, Cissy Houston (alongside a teenage Whitney Houston), Lauren Hutton, Bianca Jagger, Grace Jones, Calvin Klein, Nathan Lane, Terrence McNally, Rene Ricard, and Andy Warhol, among many others.

After standing proud for 25 years, it shuttered operations in 2001, establishing its legacy as the longest running nightclub in Hamptons history to date. Following a brief tenure as nightclubs “SWA” and “The Star Room,” both of which shied away from The Swamp’s rustic gay charm, the site was demolished before eventually becoming Wainscott Green Park.

In 2020, when the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee announced their decision to dedicate a bench at the park to the LGBTQ+ community in respect to the site’s history, Tom House (a bartender at The Swamp and its successors) replied with his essay “What Kind of Bench?,” in the East Hampton Star. Questioning how best to pay homage to The Swamp and its storied history, House would go on to establish Hamptons Pride, with the goal of establishing a historical marker in the park, and creating new opportunities for the East End LGBTQ+ community to gather and celebrate.