Buildings of New England

One of the largest summer estates in Ridgefield is this Neoclassical residence on Peaceable Street, which was built in 1901 for Effingham Maynard and his wife Helen. Maynard was a partner in Clark & Maynard, a New York publishing house. Local lore states that the Maynard Family hired New York architect Stanford White, to design this property, but no definitive proof could be located to substantiate that rumor. The Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm designed the grounds which were elaborate with gardens and outbuildings. The two unmarried Maynard daughters, Mary and Helen spent their summers here every year until their deaths in the 1950s.