Oliver T. Sherwood House, 683 Pequot Road, Southport, Fairfield County, CT

Significance: The Oliver T. Sherwood house was designed by Westchester architect William W. Kent and erected in 1892. In keeping with contemporary stylistic trends, it is designed in the American Shingle style, characterized by uniform shingled surfaces, splaying roof lines with broken and intersecting gables, projecting bays and corner turrets, and usually a front verandah, warmly shadowed by wide, protective eaves. In addition, a token classical Palladian window often appears; in this case, the Ionic detailed tripartite window is at the western end of the front facade's main level. The over-all impression of this residence is that it is less formal and affectatious by comparison to earlier nineteenth century village residences, and of more modest, low-lying dimensions. Sherwood's long career as a respected bank financier ended with misfortune: he defaulted on a large sum of money as the Southport National Bank's cashier and spent his later life in Canada.
Survey number: HABS CT-295
Building/structure dates: 1892 Initial Construction