As an incubator of creativity in theater and its related arts, the Robert Wilson Watermill Center is known worldwide. Almost no one remembers that the property was formerly an incubator of creativity in science. Western Union purchased a 22-acre parcel of land from the Corwith family, who still live and farm in the immediate area, and built a small research laboratory in 1925. The choice of location is surprising until you realize that Howard P. Corwith was director of the lab. Corwith was already conducting experiments in the milk house on his family’s farm, but how he convinced the executives at Western Union to build him a laboratory remains a mystery.
Used in connection with radio operations for RCA and for ocean cable work, the lab and its engineers may also have worked on the development of the fax machine. During WW II, the building was expanded with two large wings, and a night flight simulator was installed along with manufacturing facilities for military equipment. With 75 people working, it would have been one of the largest local employers. Corwith died in 1962; by 1965 the laboratory was shuttered.
The current Watermill Center building (on six landscaped acres) houses a library and extensive art collection as well as performance space. The International Summer Program welcomes about 80 artists from various disciplines and many countries to intensive creative workshops. Residency programs are offered during the rest of the year with events, lectures and rehearsals open to the public. Communication, whether in the arts or technology, has been the key word here for 85 years.