Historical preservation: sometimes, it can’t be done

A letter to the editor from one Andrew R. Melillo, Greenwich explaining the rationale for razing the former home of Ernest Thompson Seaton at 608 Lake Avenue. Not every house can be saved, and Mr. Melillo details why this one is in that category. He also points out that the house was on the market for a long time (2007-2008, with an asking price that started at $2.650 and had dropped to $2.350 when it expired in 2008, and again for 63 days this year), and yet no one stepped up to buy it and preserve it. “Put your money where your mouth is” is advice rarely followed when the preservation of private land and old houses are concerned.

And although he doesn’t mention it, the significance of this 1923 house rests on who (briefly) lived there, not the structure itself; that’s probably sufficient reason to preserve some homes, but perhaps not this one.

“Little Peequo” A House Lost to Neglect: Lessons to Current and Future Homeowners

In a letter to this publication titled, Concern for Pending Demolition of ‘Little Peequo,’ the Seton Family House on Lake Ave, dated July 31, 2024, there were concerns which were raised about the proposed demolition of this early 20th century home in the heart of mid-country Greenwich.

These concerns may be valid in the general context of historic preservation, yet they fall short as to what has been taking place on the property with its new owner.

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The author raises several concerns about how they “…implore you to quickly act,” to “…help preserve this history before it is destroyed forever.” Unfortunately, one cannot stop a house’s demolition simply because one would like it to be stopped – it is private property. “Little Peequo,” that early 20th-century home of the once vast and many Seton Family properties in town has a lot of history attached to it.

Part of its history is that during the past few decades, the previous owner has allowed the house to be neglected – resulting in this charming little house being brought into to a total state of dilapidation.

The new owner, with careful time and consideration alongside experts, looked at the house and determined that it would be an extremely challenging economic (millions of dollars) venture to attempt to restore the house. There are structural issues, asbestos, decay, termites, and black mold among many other areas of concern – yet the new owner realizing the historical significance and unique character of the house has made themselves extremely amenable to the preservation of unique artifacts of the house, such as: various wood and plaster carvings, exterior carvings, and a poem.

Through the diligent and careful coordination of many interested parties, including Seton Family descendants, the new owner has allowed access to the property to the Greenwich Historical Society for them to photograph and craft a final report on the home. In addition, the new owner has allowed the only willing party to safely extract the various unique artifacts of the home and donate them to an appropriate local organization to keep the Seton Family memory alive and Mr. Seton’s naturalist legacy at the forefront of every day life. The new owner should be commended for their efforts to allow all of this to take place when they had no legal obligation or reason to do so whatsoever.

Let it not be forgotten that this is private property and private property held in fee simple by owners to do with it according to their own proper use and behoof. This house could have easily been demolished without a single word or one ounce of cooperation from the new owner to salvage anything from this very badly neglected home – the opposite took place. Furthermore, this house had been on the market for some time and anyone interested in preserving and keeping the home could have been able to purchase the property – they did not. The previous owner could have been legal protections on the property [sic] – they did not. The age and uniqueness of a home, without proper legal restrictions placed upon the property, does not give any citizen or organization the right to interfere or prevent the demolition of it. Let this be a lesson to current property owners who may have similar concerns.

The onus to preserve history is not just on a new owner, but also the responsibility of previous owners who were custodians during their time of ownership – in the case of “Little Peequo” the previous owner decided to allow the house to fall into such a state of disrepair that any new owner, after careful review by structural engineers, would not have been able to salvage it. This house will be removed from the Greenwich landscape, however, pieces of it will live on in perpetuity, and its final photographs and report by the Historical Society will be available for any interested party to cherish and review indefinitely into the future. The new owner of the property allowed these last bits of history to be salvaged, they did not have to do this and the citizens of Greenwich should be thankful this was allowed by the owner to take place.

Mr. Melillo is Secretary of the Historic District Commission, Vice Chairman of the Greenwich Preservation Trust and Past Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of the State of Connecticut of Ancient, Free, & Accepted Masons.