ON THE ORCHARD ESTATE
Close to the Westchester border, on land once part of an estate called The Orchard, is this grand center hall Colonial, built a decade after a new century opened in Ridgefield. From its gracious entry with a two-story foyer and curving staircase, this home is both elegant and welcoming.
Ridgefield builder Larry Leary is known for both his new construction and renovations and for the custom cabinetry and millwork that enhance all the living spaces in this 5,848 square foot home. He has deep roots in Ridgefield, the third generation of his family to live here.
The Orchard was the name of Dr. George G. Shelton’s summer home, beginning in 1901, but it had long been known as The Birdsall Farm, owned by Jeremiah Birdsall (1784-1851) and his family, who came from Pawling in Dutchess County, N.Y.
Dr. Shelton, who created The Orchard estate, which eventually encompassed 750 acres, came from a wealthy family in Birmingham (Derby) CT and had practiced medicine in New York City for 17 years before “retiring” at the age of 47. Long active in Ridgefield, and the president of the First National Bank of Ridgefield, Dr. Shelton died in 1925 en route to his winter home in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 72. His widow sold the estate house and 26 acres to James M. and Elizabeth Ballard Doubleday in 1937, who promptly took the mansion down to build their own.
A succession of owners, many of them with colorful stories, owned parts of the estate in the following years as the land that was once the property of Quaker farmers has been subdivided repeatedly.
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Holiday House Tour Administrator
Ridgefield Historical Society
4 Sunset Lane
Ridgefield, CT 06877
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