Preservation is alive and well in Westport.
To prove it, on May 1 (7 p.m., Town Hall Auditorium), the Historic District Commission and 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker will present 8 Preservation Awards.
The honors go to 7 homeowners, in 2 categories: Rehabilitation, and Ongoing Care & Maintenance.
Most are longtime Westporters, who have spent years preserving their properties all around town. One couple is new to town, but preserved a historic Compo Beach home.
The 8th honoree is the developers and architects who transformed the old Richmondville mill into luxury condos, while preserving the look and feel of the 1800s riverfront building.
The public is invited to the ceremony. And, of course, you can drive past any of the properties, and admire the care (and expense) that’s been lavished on these handsome properties.
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2 Weston Road
Sarah and Patrick Kennedy
Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
2 Weston Road is a Regency Revival brick structure built in 1938 by Leendert Verkuil, a jeweler and diamond cutter who emigrated from the Netherlands in the 1920s. Sarah and Patrick Kennedy have lovingly cared for their home for 40 years.
The main block is 2 stories, square with a hip roof. The 3-bay façade has an asymmetrically located entry portico, with delicate iron verticals and a metal pagoda hood. Fenestration consists of 8-over-12 and 8-over-8 double-hung sash windows, with operable shutters and shutter dogs.
To the right of the main volume is a 1 1/2-section with a chimney, and a covered patio. To the left, the garage steps down, to read from the front as a single story element, with concealed lower level garage bays entered from the side. The upper level of the garage volume contains an apartment, with 2 front-facing oculus windows.
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10 Prospect Road
Ronald Mele & Noele Jordan Mele
Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
10 Prospect Roady is a large, asymmetrical, 2-story Colonial Revival. It incorporates an earlier structure that is estimated to have built at the end of the 19th century.
The property — the western part of the former Charles Wakeman parcel — was acquired in 1906 by New York State Supreme Court Judge Josiah T. Maren.
The grounds were developed, in partnership with John Harding, into a gracious and formally landscaped estate that they named Daybreak. Marean and Harding were famous for the dahlias they developed.
Ronald and Noele Mele have been stewards of this property for over 3 decades.
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35 Clinton Avenue
Adam Federman & Maria Luvera
Excellent in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
The circa 1850 Fillow-Sniffen House at 35 Clinton Avenue is both architecturally and historically significant, due to its association with the Fillow Flower Company — a florist that flourished on the property through the mid-20th century.
The house may have been built by Samuel Morehouse when he acquired the 11-acre parcel from the estate of Edson Morehouse. It passed through to Mary Banks, who married James Fillow (founder of Fillow Flower). The Fillows patented the Fillow large blossom pansy.
The well proportioned 5-bay Greek Revival house is one of the best examples of its type in Westport.
The basic mass with central chimney is indicative of the late-Georgian period. The central entrance is sheltered by a boldly proportioned fluted column portico. with full entablature.
The rear 1 ½-story ell appears to be original, but the southern additions were built in the 20th century. The house is very well preserved.
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41 Richmondville Avenue
Sam Gault/Gault Family Companies & Joe Feinleib/Coastal Luxury Homes
Adaptive Reuse
This is The Mill — the new amenity-filled condo complex, in a famed former (yes) mill.
The Richmondville Manufacturing Company was incorporated by Lewis Raymond and David Richmond in 1817.
They manufactured cotton and wool at the factory on the east bank of the Saugatuck River until 1844, when John Dryden leased the building. He started Lees Manufacturing, which produced cotton batting, twine and carpet warp.
Successive generations of Leeses managed the company until it closed in 1954. In the late 1950’s Nat Greenberg and Leo Nevas purchased the property. It was used as studios by many local artists.
Several years ago the building was acquired by Sam Gault and Joe Feinleib, to convert it into luxury residences. The adaptive reuse project was shepherded by a team that included architects Bruce Beinfield, MaryBeth Woods, Phil Cerrone and Philip Hazan, landscape architect Bill Kenny, and Rick Redniss.
The main building consists of multiple blocks, each with different build dates and a variety of materials. Its distinctive features are the segmental arched windows trimmed with double rows of brick headers and finished with faceted stone sills, and first floor windows with massive stone lintels. The large, squared openings on the east side — former loading bays -– have been retrofitted with multi-pane window sash.
For more information on The Mill, click here.
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48-50 Treadwell Avenue
Sharon and Samuel Carpenter
Rehabilitation Award
48-50 Treadwell Avenue (the Fannie Brundage House) is named after the woman who acquired part of the Treadwell Farm property at the corner of Kings Highway South in 1904.
The foursquare structure was built in 1912. It is distinguished by its exceedingly deep roof overhang, and a dormer with a roofline and cornice treatment that echoes the detailing of the main roof.
It was remodeled in 2023, adding a covered porch, garage and new stone patio. The barn was rebuilt, maintaining much of its original aesthetic. It is now an accessory dwelling unit.
Sam Carpenter and Sharon O’Shea, who are honored for the renovation of this house and barn, earlier restored their home at 42 Myrtle Avenue.
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78 Clinton Avenue
Mark Jacobs
Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
The John and Adelaide Nichols Baker House was designed by Minerva Parker Nichols — the first woman in the US to practice architecture independently — for her daughter Adelaide.
Built around 1927, it incorporates elements of the Tudor Revival style that was popular in affluent American suburbs in the early 20th century.
The 1 1/2 -story residence with an ell-shaped floor plan includes a front gable rectangular main block; an ell extending to the west with a gabled roof ridge that runs perpendicular to that on the main block, and several small porches.
Notable features include a gabled entry porch supported by hewn timer posts, beams, and braces. Other decorative elements include wood shingles in the gable peaks and dormers, which contrast with the predominant wall material of fieldstone.
Mark Jacobs has spent over 20 years caring for this home.
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112 Easton Road
Matthew Rush, Jr.
Preservation Award
Built in 1853, the Aaron Adams/Ralphy Boyer House was built for Aaron Burr Adams, who managed a cotton mill for his father.
It is a modestly detailed but well-proportioned 4-bay, 1 1/2-story shingled house with an entrance door with a 20th century, Colonial Revival pilastered surround.
In 1923, artist Ralph Boyer and his wife Rebecca moved from New York to Westport. They purchased 112 Easton Road from Clive Weed. Their neighbors included well-known artists such as Kerr Ebys, Oscar and Lila Howard, and James and Laura Frazer.
Ralph Boyer is best known for his engravings of fish and outdoor subjects and murals, including the series that hangs in the central Westport fire station. His studio is set on the hill south of the main house.
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208 Compo Road South
Juan Sanchez & Rebecca Fadden
Rehabilitation
208 Compo Road South was built for Platt Bennett, a member of one of the early families to settle in the area. It is one of several Bennett houses on Compo Road South.
The well-preserved Federal style building was beautifully restored and expanded in 2024 by Elayne and Rachel Landau of Further Afield. It now combines crisp, new interiors with the unique character of a vintage home, and features original wide-plank floors, fireplace mantels and beams.
Owners Juan Sanchez and Rebecca Fadden are new to Westport. They chose an iconic building, and rehabilitated it thoughtfully.
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