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New Canaan Now & Then: Josiah Weed House

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The Josiah Weed House is a 2 ½ story, side-gabled house that was built in 1745 (town records indicate 1780 construction) with a fieldstone foundation. 

John Bouton I is the earliest owner of the property on record and was a descendant of two notable families from Norwalk. Mr. Bouton’s great grandfather, also named John Bouton, arrived in Boston in 1635. It is unclear when Mr. Bouton passed away, but there is a record that his widow, Alice, married Matthew Marvin in 1647. The Marvins were part of a group known as the Ludlow Agreement Settlers and moved to Norwalk in 1650.

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New Canaan Now & Then: 370 Wahackme Road

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. Built in 1930, the Colonial-style home was originally owned by Gerhard F. Behre, the eldest son of John H. Behre. 

Mr. Behre attended Williams College, settled in Brooklyn, and spent summers in New Canaan. From 1925 to 1952, he worked at the New Canaan Savings Bank, first as the secretary, then treasurer, and finally president in 1946. He married the youngest daughter of Edward Brady Lawrence and Fannie Maria Davenport of New Canaan in September 1916 at the Congregational Church of New Canaan. The Behres were active in the community and supporters of “Camp Kiwanis.” The Behres moved to Oak Street after they sold the property on Wahackme Road.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Lee Garden

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The Olive W. and George S. Lee  Memorial Garden on Chichester Road is an amazing tribute to the Lees’ dedication to gardening. 

Mr. Lee was born in June 1897 and raised in Rutherford, New Jersey. He attended Hamilton College and worked as a tax accountant until 1962 when he retired and devoted his time to his garden. His wife, Olivia Wagner Lee, was born in Rutherford New Jersey and was the daughter of Elizabeth Smythe Wanger and Henry Wagner. Ms. Lee was a graduate of the New Jersey State Teachers College.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Lone Tree Farm

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The property known as “Lone Tree Farm,” consisting of 45 acres, was purchased from Eliphalet and Sarah St. John in 1830 by Charlotte and Hiram Brown. 

The St. Johns made their residence farther north on Canoe Hill Road near Ferris Hill and when the property was sold to the Browns the deed indicated the only building on the property was a barn. It is assumed that the Browns built the original home measured 18-by-14-feet.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Zumbach’s Building

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‘New Canaan Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. In 1967 the building at the corner of Pine and Grove was listed as owned by Railroad Avenue Corporation and then New Canaan Development. 

It remained under this ownership until July 1988 when the owners were listed as New Canaan Lumber Company. The corner was home to a few businesses prior to Zumbach’s and Pine Street Concessions.  Pine Grove Wines was operated by Charles Homer and is pictured in the same location as Zumbachs in the photo above. Mr. Homer, a Stamford native, was a plumber for 20 years prior to owning the wine store and was a volunteer fireman in Stamford. He sold the business to Robert and Aurelia McKenna in 1986, and died at the age of 62 in Florida on Dec.