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New Canaan There & Then: The Poor House

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. The idea of a poor house preceded the establishment of the town of New Canaan in 1801. A Colonial Connecticut law mandated that “For the poor, it is ordered that they be relieved by the town where they live, every town providing for its own poor and so for important persons.” So when New Canaan was incorporated, it had to enter into agreements with Stamford and Norwalk to assume responsibility for two paupers from each who now lived within the newly-constituted town lines. In 1805, it built a house for Molly Hayes, a childless spinster, on what is now the corner of Locust and Summer Street. Her home had burned to the ground and she had no funds to replace it.

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New Canaan There & Then: Norman Dairy

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. Norman Dairy was the largest dairy business in New Canaan. 

In 1914, Meyer Norman, who was born in Vilno, Russia in 1854 and emigrated to Stamford in 1884, founded the business on Old Stamford Road (the site of the current Elise Nursery.) Although it did not have cows, it purchased rich, high-quality milk from farmers in New York, which it then sold to residents in New Canaan, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, and Greenwich. The business evolved from a distribution network of horses and wagons, to a fleet of trucks delivering milk, cream, cottage cheese, and eggs. And each driver carried a rule book with 32 Rules and Regulations governing his conduct. 

It was also part of one of the biggest labor strikes in New Canaan history. Beginning in January 1946, both Norman Dairy and Miller Dairy (the two largest) were under pressure from Local 338 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, A.F.L., to unionize all workers and increase wages.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Rose Hill

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‘New Canaan Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The property located at 255 Brushy Ridge Road has been a sought after location since the 1800s. The property was purchased by Frederick Weed Lockwood in 1880. Mr. Lockwood was the son of Major John Lockwood and Mercy Weed. He was born on November 2, 1833 and was married to Mary Amelia Bowles (born in 1836).

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Alma Colbron House [Part 2 of 2]

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‘New Canaan Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. [Part 1 of this “New Canaan Now & Then” installment is published here.]

John Dickinson, formerly of Burton-on-Trent near Staffordshire England is the next owner of the property. 

Dickinson arrived in the United States with his wife and three children. Dickinson’s speciality was colorful satin slippers which he  sold to the Benedict shoe store. In October 1950 the Advertiser article reports that the small room where he made his shoes was the only room in the house that still had the original floorboards and indentations from the shoemaker’s craft was evident. John Dickinson’s English wife died and he married the woman who had been keeping house for him, Mrs. Quigg, who was originally from Ireland.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Alma Colbron House [Part 1 of 2]

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‘New Canaan Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The 1765 Alma Colbron House located at 4 Beacon Hill Lane (what was then East Avenue) is one of the oldest homes in New Canaan. 

It was built by John Benedict and his son, John Benedict Jr. of Norwalk. The Benedicts acquired land as early as 1702, and the house is listed in land records as owned by  John Benedict Jr. in 1765, when he was 89 years old.  The house has a traditional center chimney that serviced several fireplaces and a brick oven in the kitchen. The porches and rooms were added at a later date, but the house is largely a traditional colonial saltbox. 

The rich history of the house is reflected in the many owners that were influential figures in New Canaan history. John Benedict sold the home to Samuel Lawrence from New York, who traded in country real estate.