Northrop House
Darien, CT
This mid-18th Century Darien farmhouse was built on land originally owned by Charles Cooke. Up until the early 1900s, it was one of many structures on the property, which over time were either moved to nearby locations on Mansfield or destroyed. In 1845, it is believed that the house was in a fire and partially destroyed, but rebuilt and later sold in 1856 to the Northrop’s, the namesake of the house, who did more renovations. It is then believed that in 1927 the house was moved, from its original location on Ox Ridge Lane, to its current location on Mansfield Avenue. In 2005, the current owners sought to vastly enlarge or raze the structure. Through the efforts of Gill & Gill, the owners were persuaded to remove unsympathetic 20thcentury additions, including a family room on the North side and an attached garage on the South side, as part of a successful effort to restore the house to its 18th century form.