The Edgartown house where the American classic Country Editor was written and where the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation was conceived, is now set for demolition.

In June, John and Amanda Waldron of New York and London bought the Henry Beetle Hough house on Pierce Lane for $4.25 million. The Waldrons have been seasonal visitors for the last four years. Built in 1929 by the late longtime editor and publisher of the Gazette and his wife, Elizabeth Bowie Hough, the original house was designed by A. Chapman Furnald, architect also of the Edgartown Yacht Club and of more than a dozen other Edgartown houses.

An application for a building permit which would allow the demolition of the Hough house, to be replaced by a single family house and a carriage house, has been filed with the town by Jallc Trust of Edgartown. Norman Rankow of Colonial Reproductions is the construction supervisor. Building inspector Leonard Jason Jr. has not yet acted on the application. The Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, which under an Edgartown bylaw must be offered any home designated for demolition for possible use as affordable housing, has declined to take the house. Mrs. Waldron said this week that restoring the home to make it family friendly for three children under 10 does not seem possible.

In 1992, the house was one of a dozen Edgartown homes selected for inclusion in the book Martha’s Vineyard Gardens and Houses with photographs by Taylor Lewis and text by Catherine Fallin and Elizabeth Talbot. At that time, it had been extensively renovated and expanded by owners Nancy and Keith Highet, who had purchased it from Mr. Hough’s second wife after his death in 1985.

“Edgartown is an incredibly beautiful town with wonderful houses,” said the former Mrs. Highet, now Nancy Vietor. But she said the Edgartown historic district sadly excludes many important houses. “Having its historic district so narrowly defined that it does not include the little side streets like Pierce Lane where there are historic structures is a pity. The town needs to take another look at the perimeters of the historic district. It also needs to take a look at houses of historic significance even if they are not within the district. The Hough house is important not only to the Vineyard, but to all of New England because of the writing done in it,” Mrs. Vietor said.

The district, which was designated in 1987 and has not been reconsidered since, includes only the village proper and does not extend beyond Fuller street on one end and High street on the other.

The house has had two other owners between the Highets and the new owners, the Waldrons.

When the Houghs built the house, it was at the end of a quiet dirt road with fields sloping down to Sheriff’s Meadow Pond, where ice was still cut in winter. To take full advantage of the winter sunshine, the house was set crosswise on the land rather than parallel to the road. The view out the back was of the pond and Nantucket Sound. This was the view from Mr. Hough’s upstairs study, where he wrote Gazette editorials for more than six decades and 27 books, including the acclaimed Country Editor, the story of the purchase and early years at the Gazette.

Outside, the Houghs planted elms and dogwoods, a red maple and lindens and a white fringe tree. In their garden were pink lilies of the valley from Betty Hough’s childhood home in Uniontown, Pa., and an abundance of roses. Well-stocked feeders in their backyard attracted a variety of birds. A weather service station was also installed there so the Houghs could check temperatures, rainfall and snowfall before the paper came out.

Later they bought 10 acres to keep the pond forever wild. This marked the beginning of the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation.

Mrs. Waldron said she plans to replace the house with “a Colonial house very much in keeping with the rest of Edgartown.”

The architect will be Patrick Ahearn of Edgartown.