New Canaan There & Then

New Canaan There & Then: Shoemaking

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. As many in New Canaan know, shoemaking dominated New Canaan’s economy for more than a century. 

It all began with the Benedict family, who began making rough, wooden pegged shoes in 1768. These durable shoes were popular with New York laborers and southern plantation owners, who purchased them for enslaved field workers. The Ayres family made higher quality sewn shoes that they shipped to out-of-state upscale retailers. At the height of this industry, New Canaan produced 50,000 pairs a year.

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New Canaan There & Then: David Ogden

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. Seven-and-a-half hours: the 2025 travel time from Liverpool, UK to New York City (with a layover). Seven weeks (plus trial and error of an additional two weeks): the 1844 transit time, along the same route, for New Canaan resident David Ogden. His harrowing journey was chronicled by historian David Finnie in the 1967 Annual published by the New Canaan Historical Society. 

From 1837 to 1844 David Ogden, (1811-1845), born in Fairfield, Connecticut, served as the Rector of St. Mark’s in New Canaan, a time in which he endured personal tragedies including the deaths of his wife and infant son.

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New Canaan Now & Then: The Enos 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 earliest records of the Weed Street property known as ‘The Enos Weed House’ dated 1752 show that Charles Weed purchased it from James Hait. 

It is unclear whether Charles or his son, Enos, Jr., built the house. Enos Weed, Jr. and his wife, Rhoda Silliman Weed had one daughter, Ann, who lived in the house. Mr. Enos Weed died in 1769 and the house continued to be occupied by his family. On January 14, 1773,  Reverend Drummond recorded in his “visitation” journal that Dr. Samuel C. Baker was also residing at the home.

There & Then

New Canaan Now & Then: 1910 Colonial on Weed Street

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. The house located at 182 Weed Street was built in 1910. 

According to land records, the property was owned by William D. Baldwin in 1919 and consisted of three acres “more or less.” Mr. Baldwin had a mortgage of $1,800 from the New Canaan Savings Bank. 

In 1945 the property was owned by Ms. Vina A. Nowill and the property was now listed as being 2.5 acres. Ms. Nowill (née Meade), formerly of North Salem, N.Y. married William M. Nowill on June 14, 1893. The Nowills were active members of the community and were regularly listed in the New Canaan Advertiser as having entertained guests or were entertained elsewhere, including a trip to the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair. 

The Nowills were members of the Talmadge Hill Union Chapel and were listed as contributors to the Talmadge Hill Chapel Endowment Fund. The Fund was organized by the Mary A. Nichols Club.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Pemberly Hill

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‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris. Mr. John Patterson, who emigrated from Newton Stewart, Scotland, built the home at the crest of Brushy Ridge in 1880. 

Mr. Patterson was a master craftsman in the art of designing and tailoring private livery. At that time, a butler’s, coachman’s or footman’s uniform sometimes cost more than those of the master of the household. 

Mr. Patterson founded the house of John Patterson & Co. and erected an impressive building on 33rd street, south of the Waldorf Astoria and also in the 1920s had a shop on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. His successful business prompted him to bring other family members from Scotland to the United States – his relatives the Macnees were northerly neighbors on Brushy Ridge. 

His family was one of the first summer residents.