National Register of Historic Places

French Farm

Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Listed
April 2, 1975
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
75001918

About this property

The French Farm is a historic summer estate at the junction of Lake and Round Hill Roads in Greenwich, Connecticut. Developed in the early 1900s, it is a rare surviving estate from the period in which its size and major landscaping elements are preserved. Its major structures (main house and farm outbuildings) were designed by Henry Van Buren Magonigle, a protege of Calvert Vaux. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. French Farm is located in a suburban residential setting of geographically central Greenwich, occupying a large parcel bounded on the east by Lake Avenue and the west by Round Hill Road, with the two meeting at its southern tip. Originally 35 acres (14 ha) in size, the property has been reduced by subsequent development, but the main house retains the landscaping in its immediate surroundings. The main house is a large 2-1/2 story frame structure, with a projecting Greek temple portico at its center, and flanking wings giving it a total width of 160 feet (49 m). Although the property boundaries are lined with trees, an open grassy area affords fine views to the house's east-facing front. The estate was designed by Henry Van Buren Magonigle, a protege of Calvert Vaux who also worked in the offices of McKim, Mead & White. The house was built in 1906 for H.W. Lanier. Lanier sold the property to John French the following year, and French retained Magonigle to design the estate's outbuildings in 1911. The estate represents a well-executed country landscape as espoused by Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, and is now of a size and scale that was once common but is now relatively rare in southwestern Connecticut. National Register of Historic Places listings in Greenwich, Connecticut

Location

Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut
41.05254, -73.64010

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Nathaniel Witherell Historic District
Listed
0.9 mi
Rosemary Hall
Industrial
1 mi
Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Industrial
1.3 mi
Fourth Ward Historic District
Civil War
1.4 mi
Putnam Hill Historic District
Listed
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was French Farm listed on the National Register?

French Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 2, 1975.

What type of historic resource is French Farm?

French Farm is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for French Farm?

The period of significance for French Farm is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near French Farm?

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