Sheephill Village

98 sheephill road

In my posting on a house that sold on Spezzano Drive Monday, I mentioned that I’d always heard, but didn’t know for certain that the area between Sheephill Road and Carey Road, down on the Mianus, had been originally built as temporary housing for retiring WWII vets. In response, Greenwich native and author Mr. Jack Scully has sent along this fascinating history.

After WW2, the VA and the town of Greewich, CT partnered to build two housing projects for veterans in Riverside, CT :

(1.) Mianus Village, 40 starter houses alongside the Mianus River, just over the Post Road bridge from Cos Cob to Riverside; and

(2.) Sheephill Village, 50 starter houses between Riverside Lane and Sheephill Road. To qualify, a vet needed to be a Greenwich, CT resident with a family and either unemployed or under employed. Houses in Mianus Village were 750 SF each with two bedrooms. Houses in Sheephill Village were typically 850 SF with two or three bedrooms. First families arrived in 1947 with buildout of all 90 houses by 1949. All were rental units with monthly payments ranging from $50-$70/month.

The plan was tear down the houses within 10 years, but residents vehemently protested the notion of forced evictions. As a compromise, the town agreed to sell houses to vets who were willing to install central heat, [bolding added — ed] hook up to a central sewer line, upgrade bathrooms/kitchens, and increase storage space. Houses were sold with monthly mortgages typically in the $6,000--$8,00 range.

In the intervening decades, the houses have been upgraded and some sell for $1 million+, especially those whose yards abut the beautiful Mianus River. Below are photos of a few original structures and upgraded mini mansions in Mianus Village.

Having grown up in Mianus Village, I know its history and the remarkable “Greatest Generation” people who once lived there. Many of their "Baby Boomer" children still live in these two villages. Recently Antrim House Books published my collection of free-verse poems, titled MIANUS VILLAGE, about coming of age there. It is also now available as an audiobook. For more information, visit my website: https://authorjacktscully.com