News

New Canaan Now & Then: Lt. David St. John Home

By |

The earliest real estate transactions regarding the parcel of land known as 46 Park Street date back to 1741. 

Land Records report that “proprietors of Norwalk” sold two acres at the upper end of White Oak Shade Ridge (as it was then called) to John Betts in 1741. Betts in turn sold the property to his son in law, Henry Inman of Bedford, New York for £28. There is no mention of any dwelling in these early accounts, but when Inman sold the property to Jonathan Husted on November 8, 1742 the deed reflects a home and a shop on the property. The home originally had the entrance on the north side of the building, unlike its modern configuration of the front door facing Park Street. The four rooms on the ground floor level were built around a central chimney with three fireplaces. 

In 1764 Lieutenant David St.

Now & Then

New Canaan Now & Then: The Bank of America Building

By |

The Bank of America building at 94 Elm St. was built in 1929 and is a fine example of Georgian Colonial architecture. 

Its design complements the Playhouse Theater located directly across the street. The building is set 20 feet back from the street. Before the building was erected, quick work was made of razing the 19th century house that was on the property. It was occupied by the Post Office until 1959, when the National Bank & Trust Company moved into the space. 

The Advertiser reported on May 17, 2007 that the bank held a 100-year lease with J. Elliott Smith, who owned the building until his death in May 1986.

Now & Then

New Canaan Now & Then: Frances E. Weed House

By |

Number 55 St. John’s Place, an elegant, Victorian home built in 1848 by Francis E. Weed had six owners before it became the property of Samuel Henry Watts, and his wife Bell McKerlie in 1946. 

Mr. and Mrs. Watts were fixtures in the town and their home reflected their commitment to growing strong roots in the community. In 1929, Mr. Watts had purchased the property on Locust Avenue which housed the “Big Shop” shoe factory and supported the Township Realty Corporation that prohibited the site from ever being used as a slaughterhouse (the start of the Town’s strong history of planning and zoning requirements.)  Mr. Watts also purchased the property on Park Street on October 23, 1941 which was formerly the home of the Community School and is now the parking lot.. Mr. Watts eventually sold both of these properties back to the town without profit. The Watts are credited with donating “a small portable house” to the Wildwood Nature Preserve that became known as “Sanctuary House” according to a New Canaan Advertiser article dated October 13, 1960. 

The Watts’ expanded their footprint on St.

News

New Canaan Now & Then: Pinney’s Corner

By |

The historical marker on the corner of Luke’s Wood Road and Oenoke Ridge is all that remains of Pinney’s Corner. 

Pinney Corner, former home of Henry Augustus Pinney, was a bustling community in the 1880s. Pinney, originally from Milford Pennsylvania, had a brief residency in Pleasantville, New York before moving to New Canaan in 1868. In 1870 he started a small shoe factory situated on three acres of land across from his home on the corner of Lukes Wood Road and Oenoke Ridge Road. His home, where he lived with his wife, Adelia Hoyt and his two surviving daughters (having lost three others as infants) grew as his wealth increased. Despite having a relatively small family, Mr. Pinney built an addition to the house that was attached to the original building by a single hallway The leftmost structure in the picture above is the original building.

News

New Canaan Now & Then: The Clock Tower House

By |

Six minutes from the heart of town is the Clock Tower house on Sunset Hill Road. 

This unique home was one of the auxiliary buildings from the former country estate of railroad executive, Lewis Peck Child. The Clock Tower of Sunset Hill is a gambrel-roofed brick structure that was built in 1900. The Childs (formerly of New Jersey) purchased the 71 acres of land in 1893 with its barn-like features. 

The ground floor housed sheep and the estate’s German diesel generator, and the second floor was Child’s office. In a step up from the barn space below, the office featured a fireplace flanked by stained glass windows. The clock was made by E. Howard Watch and Clock Company and uses gravity to operate its mechanisms. The clock was wound by ascending a small ladder to the sizable mechanisms which allowed the operator to wind the 100 counterweight up by hand.