HISTORY OF WAVENY HOUSE

Waveny Park in New Canaan, Connecticut was originally a grand summer estate owned by Thomas Wells Hall from 1894 to 1904. The Carriage Barn and Powerhouse were built during this period. In 1904, Lewis Henry Lapham, a co-founder of the Texaco Oil Company, bought the property as a summer estate from Hall, and expanded it from 280 acres to 450 acres.  

Lapham tore down Hall's house and had a new one built in 1912 by the renowned architect William B. Tubby of Greenwich. The new house was named Waveny House after Waveny River in England where Lapham ancestors had once lived. The landscape design for the property was by the Olmsted Brothers Firm, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., who designed Central Park. The house sits majestically overlooking hundreds of acres of immaculate gardens and grounds.

In August of 1967, the Town of New Canaan purchased Waveny Park from Mrs. Ruth Lapham Lloyd, the daughter of Lewis Lapham Lloyd. The House is the centerpiece of an outstanding community recreation area enjoyed by the residents of the Town. It is open to the public and may be rented for a variety of functions through the New Canaan Recreation Department, which is located on the second floor of the House. The first floor of Waveny House consists of the grand hall, the library, sitting room, dining/breakfast room, billiard room, a patio which overlooks the beautiful grounds, and a complete commercial kitchen. On the second floor are four gracious rooms which are used for conferences and meetings.