History

The deKoven House, a stately Georgian brick mansion overlooking the Connecticut River, was built between 1791 and 1797 by Captain Benjamin Williams, a trader to the West Indies. On Captain Williams’ death in 1812, the property passed to his four children who sold it to Henry L. deKoven in 1818. In 1900, the deKoven House was passed to Clarence Seymour Wadsworth (1872 - 1941) by his mother, Cornelia deKoven Wadsworth through her sister Margaret deKoven Casey.

The Clarence S. Wadsworth family occupied the house for a number of years along with their various residences in New York City, Maine and Florida. After their mansion at “Long Hill” in Middletown was completed in 1917, deKoven House became Colonel Wadsworth’s business office. He bequeathed it to the Rockfall Corporation in 1941. Gifts from the Colonel’s widow Katherine Fearing Hubbard Wadsworth, in cooperation with the Rockfall Corporation, made possible restoration of the house and grounds and establishment of the deKoven House as a community center in 1942.

The Memorial Rooms are maintained in tribute to Colonel Wadsworth and hold some of the original deKoven family furnishings. Through the years, two additions have been made to the original house. The deKoven House was accepted on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 (listed as the Captain Benjamin Williams House.)