History
Early History
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, renamed it Waveny, and expanded it from 280 acres to 450 acres.
Lapham tore down Hall’s house and, in 1912, had a new one built by the renowned architect William B. Tubby.
© New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
© New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
Landscape Design
Antoinette and Lewis Henry Lapham worked closely on the Park’s design with the preeminent landscape design firm Olmsted Brothers, specifically John Charles Olmsted. He was the adopted son of Central Park’s renowned designer Frederick Law Olmsted.
The entire estate exemplified the “Country Style Place” of the early 20th century with its
400 acres of winding roads, expansive lawns, woodlands, formal gardens, and farm groups consisting of Olmsted-designed cottages, barns, stables, sheep pens, poultry yard, vegetable garden, and pastures.
This project involved a complex and lengthy design process that spanned 1907-1917, and in which the landscape views also determined the layout of the house. A primary design feature was the East/West axial terrace and flagstone pathway through what became the formal gardens and on down to the pond.
© New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
© New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
Recent History
In 1967, Ruth Lapham Lloyd (mother of the actor Christopher Lloyd), who inherited the estate from her father and lived there full-time, entrusted the entire estate, including Waveny House, to the Town of New Canaan. Today, the park consists of 450 acres of fields, ponds, and trails.
In 2015, Waveny Park Conservancy was founded by the Town of New Canaan to advocate and help manage the 130 acres of the park that lie to the south of the main driveway.