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I’m teaming up with two of my favorite bloggers to share a bit of history behind each of our old homes. Sarah of She Holds Dearly is restoring an old farm house built in 1906 on four acres near Seattle, Washington. Kelly of My Soulful Home lives in a home built in 1886 in Pasadena, California, and is the author of My Soulful Home: A Year in Flowers.
I’m thrilled that I was asked to join Sarah and Kelly because I’m not sure if I would have ever gotten around to finding out the history of our home built in 1900 in New Canaan, CT. My first stop for researching the history was a call to the New Canaan Historical Society. I guess a home built in 1900 is not considered all that old in these parts, but they did have a file on our house on Hoyt Street.  It was ready and waiting for me when I walked over to take a look. The folder contained the original field card and a few photos.
I had the privilege of speaking with his grandson, V. Donald Hersam.
Early recollections: I sent Donald a few current photos of the house and right away he noticed that what is now the living room, was once divided onto a parlor in the front and then doors that led to the living room and dining room. He said he recalled his father telling the story that his mother died at the age of 42 and her wake was in that parlor. “That’s how it was done in those days.”
I asked Donald if he thought the front door and lanterns were original to the house. “I remember it being a glass door with a skeleton key.”
Hoyt Street had only a few houses back then and across the street John had built a clay tennis court. Donald remembers that he had a sprinkler that he attached to the hydrant to water down the clay.
When his grandfather remarried about 10 years later, he recalled that they did quite a bit of work to the house, adding a sleeping porch on the North side. They also enclosed the front porch.
In 1957, a year after Donald was married, he and his wife Jeanne built a house across the street where the clay tennis court once stood. Years later he would still find remnants of that clay court on the property.
Our family has lived in the house for six years, renovating and cleaning up the property. The house now has a garage that was added many years later.  The yard needed a lot of clearing from years of previous owners planting trees and shrubs that then took over the yard. Once cleared, the yard is quite large and private for an in-town street.
SchoolHouse, and a rustic marble topped island.  Where the pantry and table are located was once a small porch.
The front porch is once again open as it was when originally built. We love the porch and feel that it gives the house so much curb appeal.  I love to think about how many people have walked up these steps over the years.  It’s special to know that the home has such a distinguished past with the original owner who not only owned the town newspaper, but was active in the New Canaan Fire Department as well as his son, grandson, Donald, and many of their relatives who continue to carry on the tradition even today.
I hope we’ve respected the history of the home and when it’s time…we’ll pass the torch to the next family…
A stone fireplace added many years later.  We painted it white and added a modern mantel.
The map of New Canaan shows the location of the house in the shaded area which is the center of town. To the left of the shaded box you can see the train tracks.
Posted In: Exteriors, Interiors, Living 21 Comments
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July 11, 2018 at 8:14 am
A Lovely house that has the presence of home. Often “decorated” homes feel a bit cold after being staged for photography. Yours has gone above that. It very much reminds me of a house my maternal Grandparents lived in for many years in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania. I have many wonderful memories stored away from time spent there. Thank you for sharing.
July 11, 2018 at 2:37 pm
This might be my favorite post, Annie! How wonderful to be able to speak with the grandson of the original owner and learn so much about the house’s history and family. Love the blueprints and sketch of the house! Have you found a clay remnant yet? A wake in the parlor?! You have done an amazing job of respecting the house’s history while making it more modern and convenient. Keeping the original chimney in the kitchen and the reclaimed wood island are perfect examples of this. So fun to read and see all of the pictures of your beautiful old home! ❤️
July 14, 2018 at 9:17 pm
Thank you Stefanie for your sweet comment. The house where the clay tennis court once stood belongs to my friend and I need to ask her if she’s found any remnants in the yard. He children are young, so they might be curious enough to dig around in search of some clay. Hope you and your family are having a wonderful summer so far! Thanks for reading my dear friend!
February 3, 2022 at 8:01 pm
Hello – I know my comment is a little late but I found your house with Google lens. I have a very similar looking home in a small town in Minnesota- also built in 1900. I noticed that the hallway/foyer wall in my home was removed and I was hoping to acquire some pictures as to what it may have looked like as the wall was load bearing and needs to be reinstalled. Thanks for sharing and hope to hear from you!
February 4, 2022 at 6:56 am
WE no longer own that house, but I tried to find a few posts that show the entryway. I hope it’s helpful! Where in Minnesota? I was born in Winona, MN.
February 4, 2022 at 10:59 am
Thank you so much for the quick reply and the info! I live just west of Rochester so not too far from Winona! I hope your new house is just as nice and again I really appreciate your help!
February 6, 2022 at 11:13 pm
Hi Stuart! would love to see your house! Do you share it on Instagram by chance?
Kathie from IL says
July 12, 2018 at 6:08 am
I have loved hearing all the background information about the house, uses of the rooms and about the people who lived in the home many years ago.
July 14, 2018 at 9:12 pm
It was so fun to talk with the grandson of the original owner and hear about their family and the history of the home. Makes me appreciate the home and history even more! Thanks for reading and taking time to leave a comment. Have a lovely Sunday.
July 12, 2018 at 9:28 am
This was so much fun to read! It makes you look at the home in a whole new light. Gorgeous photography, as always.
July 13, 2018 at 7:19 am
Just beautiful!Theres nothing better than a historic home. We live in a 1910 four square in Memphis, TN. Yours reminds me so much of ours. I found you through Nesting with Grace, and continuously go to both of you for inspiration. Do you mind giving me your front door paint color? Its the perfect shade of a blue/grey. Thank-you!
July 14, 2018 at 9:07 pm
I just looked up “Four Square Homes in Memphis” and I love the historic homes. Does four square always mean craftsmen? Our door color is called Storm. It’s a Benjamin Moore color, but we had Home Depot mix it using Behr paint. I’m so happy you popped over from Nesting with Grace! I adore Brooke and we only live a few towns apart in Connecticut. I get to see her from time to time! Have a beautiful weekend!
classic casual home says
July 13, 2018 at 12:32 pm
This is so interesting, Annie. You have done such a lovely job of respecting the character and making it fresh and YOU. Our building was built in 1922 and has an interesting history, too…like it was in a Humphrey Bogart film noir. Come visit.
July 14, 2018 at 1:43 pm
That’s amazing! Have you ever done a post on your building? I do need to visit!
Sarah | She Holds Dearly says
July 17, 2018 at 1:21 am
Oh Annie! Your house!
I thought it was so interesting that both our houses used to have the living rooms divided to create a parlor. I have heard that lots of rooms made the families feel wealthier, no matter the size.
That sketch made my gasp, I hope you have your own copy so you can frame it! And the story about the milk delivery and skeleton key, doesn’t it make you so happy? Your kitchen is stunning, you have done such an amazing job!
Thank you for you letting us inside your home and for passing its story onto us. It was completely dreamy!
August 29, 2018 at 11:59 am
I happened on your article and admire your eating corner. Just right. I would love to know where you got your bamboo window shades and what color it is — it looks very handsome against the black.
September 3, 2018 at 8:19 am
LOVE the scones at your front door! Did you find out if they were original to the house or an update? I would love to find a pair – we are refreshing the front of our 1908 Foursquare and they would look perfect!
peter Erik Groenlund says
January 14, 2019 at 11:00 pm
Very nice and inspiring home page. I would very much like to buy the lamps/lanterns at the porch ( just above no 42 )
Do you know where to buy ??
January 16, 2019 at 8:34 am
The lantern are very old and the house was built in 1900. There were no markings on them. I would look at Bevolo. They have beautiful copper lanterns!
October 22, 2019 at 5:14 pm
Hi Annie. I live “next door” in Stamford, CT in a 1901 farmhouse, also on a street named for the Hoyts! Our house has a similar history: it is the grand daughter’s house which was built next to the original Hoyt home. You have done a great job restoring and updating the house! Can you tell me whether you painted or stained your porch floor? We have a wrap around porch in need of a re-do! Would you share the products you used and how they seems to be holding up in our CT weather. Thanks!
October 22, 2019 at 5:30 pm
Hi Susan! What a coincidence! We actually sold the house about a year ago and moved to the Marvin Beach section of Norwalk. Here’s what I have to say about painting vs stain. We painted the Hoyt street porch because it had already been painted. We didn’t want to have it sanded down. It looked fine for the most part, but paint will always wear and chip. We touched it up every year. Also, it was pretty slippery. We used a dark charcoal gray runner that you can buy in a roll at Home Depot and placed it from the door to the edge. That helped, but didn’t love the look. A friend recently had her black porch re-painted and they added in sand to prevent the porch getting slippery in inclement weather.It does help, but it looks like a really bad finish when it’s nice out. In our current home, we had the wood sanded and then we had it stained black. It still gets slippery, but it’s not showing as much wear and tear. We used porch and patio paint on our back patio from Sherwin Williams and it is the best quality paint for floors that we have ever used. We’ve tried everything from Benjamin Moore to Home Depot Behr paint and nothing comes close to the quality of Sherwin Williams! Hope that helps!