THE BOOK BARN
Once a simple barn, this home became The Book Barn, a beloved book shop that began in 1925 when Emmy Sloan, seeking a country retreat, purchased a dilapidated old barn believed to date back to the late 1700s.
By the following year she had moved in full-time, and working alongside her workmen, helped turn the barn into a home including building the still-standing stone fireplace. She transformed the barn into a destination where visitors browsed books, enjoyed tea, and picked up “Books a La Carte” from her cart out front, with national magazines and postcards spreading word the charm of the shop and its proprietress.
For two decades, she and her husband, Fred Gregor, a veteran of World War I, welcomed locals and city dwellers until 1945 when the shop had closed and the property passed through a handful of notable owners. Among them were Sperry and Doris Andrews, two artists who went on to purchase the farmhouse on the Ridgefield-Wilton border where J. Alden Weir lived and painted.
Nearly a century after Emmy saw the barn’s potential, in 2020, the current owners also fell in love with it and lovingly restored it while updating it for modern life. Walking through the doors today, you can still see Emmy’s Book Barn, with her fireplace right where she left it, and books once again tucked into the nooks and crannies of the hand hewn beam and planks. You can feel the spirit of what was once a haven for travelers and readers.
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Holiday House Tour Administrator
Ridgefield Historical Society
4 Sunset Lane
Ridgefield, CT 06877
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