Greenwich Historic District Commission Seeks To Protect Oldest Home In Riverside

GREENWICH, CT — The oldest house in Riverside could soon be protected forever.

The current owners of the Samuel Ferris House at 1 Cary Road are looking to designate the home as a local historic property and place it on the National Register of Historic Places.

Last week, Anne Young from the Greenwich's Historic District Commission went before the board of selectmen asking for approval so the commission can examine and study the components and merits of the park for the designation.

This would be the first step in a lengthy process required by the state to issue a local historic property designation.

Young explained that the designation "offers the strictest protection" to ensure the house remains as it is, with perhaps a few more small additions.

"But it's something that will stay within the community for years and years to come," Young said.

The board did not take any action in order to allow time for public feedback, and will likely vote on the item at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 22. But they offered support to Young.

"Preserving these historic structures is really a big part of Greenwich," First Selectman Camillo said.

Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan thanked Young and the historic district commission for their work.

"Preserving our historic treasures — that's what makes Greenwich, Greenwich," she said.

Selectwoman Lauren Rabin also expressed enthusiasm for the initiative.

"It is exciting to know that this could move forward and never be demolished should it receive all the necessary designations," she said.

Should the selectmen ultimately grant approval to allow the historic district commission to act as the study committee, the commission can go ahead and produce a historic report that will identify not only the architectural details of the house and what has been added to it over the years, but it will also provide a historical narrative of the structure.

There will be opportunities for the public to comment throughout the application process.

The Samuel Ferris House is the only 18th century building remaining on the eastside of the Mianus River on the Post Road in Greenwich, according to documents submitted to the selectmen.

The house was built around 1760 by Samuel Ferris soon after his marriage to Susannah Peck. Ferris was the grandson of one of the original patentees of the town.

At the turn of the 20th century, a local newspaper, The Greenwich Graphic, ran a series of articles profiling the town's historic homes.

While unconfirmed, one of the articles mentioned that in the Revolutionary War during the British raid on Greenwich, several of General Israel Putnam's found refuge in the Ferris House, documents submitted to the selectmen said. The house also served as a restaurant for several years until the mid-1940's.

In 1947, the property was sold to the town by Mabel Louise Olmstead. During this time, veterans housing for those returning from World War II was built on roughly 30 acres of the site's contiguous farmland.

"The first selectman (Wilbur Peck) who was creating affordable housing for the returning veterans of World War II, proclaimed that this house was so important and in the time of need, why should they demolish the house when they could use it for the returning veterans? It really has just a wonderful history," Young said.

Young also noted that the house was actually moved 90 feet to its north to accommodate for the widening of the Post Road.

In 1957, the town sold the home to private owners. When the house was listed for sale in early 2022, Historic Properties of Greenwich was contacted to help initiate the preservation process.

Greenwich has four local historic properties and three local historic districts, according to documents submitted to the selectmen.

The first local history property was designated in 1993, and the most recent application was completed in 2016.

Earlier this year, the board of selectmen voted to allow the historic district commission to produce a study for Bruce Park so it could receive historic property designation. That process is nearing completion.