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New Canaan Historical Society

1893 establishments in ConnecticutHistorical societies in ConnecticutNew Canaan, ConnecticutUnited States cultural organization stubs
John Rogers Studio, 10 Cherry Street, New Canaan (Fairfield County, Connecticut)
John Rogers Studio, 10 Cherry Street, New Canaan (Fairfield County, Connecticut)

New Canaan Historical Society (also referred to as New Canaan Museum and Historical Society) in New Canaan, Connecticut, is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was originally formed in 1889 (incorporated 1893) to "bring together the genealogies of the families who have lived in the town, to form a library and collect relicts and curiosities, to form a museum". Today, the society is headquartered at the John Rogers Studio and is dedicated on preserving history as well as organizing educational events.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article New Canaan Historical Society (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

New Canaan Historical Society
Oenoke Ridge,

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N 41.15 ° E -73.4964 °
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John Rogers Studio and Museum

Oenoke Ridge
06840
Connecticut, United States
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nchistory.org

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John Rogers Studio, 10 Cherry Street, New Canaan (Fairfield County, Connecticut)
John Rogers Studio, 10 Cherry Street, New Canaan (Fairfield County, Connecticut)
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John Rogers Studio
John Rogers Studio

The John Rogers Studio and Museum is the preserved studio of sculptor John Rogers, a popular American artist called "the people's sculptor" in the latter 19th century. It is located at 13 Oenoke Ridge in New Canaan, Connecticut, on the grounds of the New Canaan Historical Society, which opens it to the public. The studio houses a collection of "Rogers Groups"—plaster statuettes often depicting two or more people. The display area has been reconfigured to reflect the feeling of the artist's studio. Rogers Groups often depicted people interacting with each other in a sentimental scene. According to the National Historic Landmarks Program of the National Park Service, the museum's collection is "one of the finest collections of Rogers groups in the nation". The studio is a Gothic-Victorian gable-roofed building built in 1878. John Rogers's popularity stemmed from the way his statuary groups created scenes of everyday life with a sentimental feel that has been compared to the much later Norman Rockwell. Instead of working in bronze and marble, he sculpted in more affordable plaster, painted the color of putty to hide dust.Rogers was prolific as well of popular. During his 33-year career he produced almost 80,000 plaster copies of his 86 "Rogers Groups." His statuettes decorated Victorian parlors throughout the United States.Sculpture on display includes "The Traveling Magician", showing a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat for two children, and "The Neighboring Pews", depicting a moment among people in church. "Union Refugees" depicts a scene from the Civil War.The studio was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. In 2003, a $95,000 matching grant under the Save America's Treasures program included financing for a climate-control and air-filtration system to ensure long-term preservation of both the building and the collection.

New Canaan Nature Center
New Canaan Nature Center

The New Canaan Nature Center (40 acres or 16 hectares) is a botanical garden, arboretum and nature preserve located at 144 Oenoke Ridge, Route 124, about .25 miles (0.40 km) north of the center of New Canaan, Connecticut. The nature center includes wet and dry meadows, two ponds, wet and dry woodlands, dense thickets, an old orchard, and a cattail marsh, as well as a 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) greenhouse. Landscaped areas of the site include a wildflower garden (which won the 1997 Homer Lucas Landscape Award from the New England Wild Flower Society), a herb garden and a perennial border. About 90% of the plant specimens in the wildflower garden are native species, including bloodroot, columbine, mayapple, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild geranium, Solomon's plume, starflower, and trillium. Shade-loving perennials include bleeding heart, crested iris, Jacob's ladder, hepatica, European ginger and Virginia bluebells. Azaleas, rhododendrons and a stand of mountain laurel also feature. The center also contains a small arboretum of Sciadopitys verticillata (Umbrella Pine), Chamaecyparis pisifera Squarrosa (Moss Sawara Cypress), Chamaecyparis pisifera Plumosa (Plume False Cyprus), Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’ (Japanese Umbrella Pine), Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’ (Purple Beech), Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’ (European Weeping Beech), Cercis canandensis (Eastern Redbud), Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum-Pendula’, Pinus cembra (Swiss Stone Pine) and Picea apies ‘Repens’ (Weeping Norway Spruce). New Canaan Nature Center features many nature programs throughout the year, including the Fall Fair every October, and maple sugaring celebrations in early spring.

Rayward–Shepherd House

The Rayward–Shepherd House, also known as Tirranna and as the John L. Rayward House, was designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1955 for Joyce and John Rayward. Although commissioned by the Raywards, Herman R. Shepherd completed the design after purchasing it in 1964. William Allin Storrer credits Shepherd's actions with salvaging the house, repairing the poor work that Storrer attributes to John Rayward's "constant pursuit of the lowest bid." (Storrer, 411) "Tirranna" is an Australian aboriginal word meaning "running waters," an apt name for this spectacular residence. Located on a pond just off the Noroton River, it features elaborate land and water-scaping. Built of standard concrete block, glass, and Colorundum flooring, and trimmed with Philippine mahogany, most of the house conforms to a hemicycle plan. Its living/dining wing overlooks a pool which steps down to a pond and extensive landscaped gardens, designed by Frank Okamura, landscape architect for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Charles Middeleer, a notable local landscape architect, also contributed to the landscape design.The Rayward House includes a later (1958) extension featuring an observatory above the master bedroom dressing room, as well as a playhouse for the Raywards’ daughters, Victoria and Jennifer (1957), which echoes the hemicycle form of the main house. The site was purchased by Herman R. Shepherd in 1964. According to Storrer, after 1964, Wright's successor firm, Taliesin Associated Architects (TAA), "provided a major extension beyond the work room...." which "leads to a greenhouse with servant and guest quarters, shop and extra carport." Later work by TAA "brought about the enclosure of the space between original bedroom wing and added master bedroom wing, gaining an atrium and informal living room.... Even later, a circular deck was added above the main pool." (Storrer, 411) It had been purchased in the late 1990s by businessman Ted Stanley and his wife Vada. After Stanley's death, the property with 15-acres was put on the market in January 2017 for US$8,000,000 by his heirs. The house sold in March 2018 for a reported US$4.8 million.