THE LEWIS BAILEY HOUSE
“Lewis H. Bailey (1818 – 1899) was a local banker, merchant, and hotel proprietor in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He had this stunning Italianate Villa home built on Main Street [in the mid-1860s]. Bailey was savvy in realizing the upcoming development boom in town as wealthy New Yorkers began to arrive in town to build summer houses to escape the cramped city living and polluted air, and he began to sell off land and develop streets in the village. To house some shorter-term summer residents, Bailey constructed and operated the old Bailey Inn on a lot adjacent to his own home. The inn was torn down in the 1920s as the town’s dynamic as a summer town began to change with more year-round residence. The Italianate Villa is a lasting legacy of Bailey and his impact on the town. The home with its square tower and detached carriage house are in a great state of preservation and significantly contribute to the character of Main Street.” Buildings of New England (April 2022)
The Connecticut Historical Commission calls this home the most distinct example of early-Victorian domestic architecture in Ridgefield. The house was built as the arrival of railroad service to Ridgefield transformed the town.
Lewis H. Bailey (namesake of Bailey Avenue), a prominent local businessman, owned the four-story Bailey Inn next door and many other properties in town. Since the house was originally likely a seasonal “cottage” dwelling, the interior details are relatively simple, in contrast with the rich exterior.
The single-story addition at the north end of the house was built following World War (and is entirely paneled in varnished beadboard, in keeping with its then-use as a “country” doctor’s office. Among the owners of this house have been the town’s health officer, a member of the Board of Education and a State Representative, as well as the first woman Town Selectman (as she preferred to be called).
The residence of the same family since 1993, this home was expanded with the help of architect Peter Coffin in 2007 and a carriage house garage was added to the south, its design carefully matched to the original house.
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Holiday House Tour Administrator
Ridgefield Historical Society
4 Sunset Lane
Ridgefield, CT 06877
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