Hillcrest Park:
An Old Greenwich Neighborhood
In 1886, Joseph Dillaway Sawyer (1849-1933), a textile executive who commuted between New York and Boston, came in search of a convenient country place. He paid $8,500 for the widow Sabina Bowen’s 78-acre farm atop Palmer’s Hill, most of it located in the Town of Greenwich, moved her century-old house by ox cart into what he called Hillcrest Farm. After a fling at dairy farming, Sawyer turned to real estate development, seeing a potential in building large summer homes for New Yorkers.
Sawyer built three miles of road that went from Palmer Hill Road to Westover Avenue. This was known as Hillcrest Terrace (see map), now renamed Hillcrest Lane and Hillcrest Park Road. It was originally a “horseshoe shaped loop from the top of Havemeyer Lane to a second entrance further west on Palmer Hill.” (Lynfield p.35). Thus, for a long time the main entrance to Hillcrest Park was actually at what is Hillcrest Lane today.
The bridge on Palmer Hill Road that crosses the Mianus River is the first bridge to be put across the river, originally from 1688 as part of the King’s Highway, and being placed on foundations of an even earlier bridge! Until 1788 it was the only way to cross the Mianus River, and was part of The Post Road as travelers had to go up Valley Road to Palmer Hill Rd to cross. The lower crossing of the Mianus River was built, and henceforth the current Post Road lies. The present bridge was built in 1908, still using the same footings from pre-1688.
Dumpling Pond, more like a pool, is just above the bridge of Palmer Hill Road, and used to be the site of an old mill. According to legend, during the Revolutionary War, the miller’s wife threw dumplings into the pond rather than feed them to the Redcoats, hence the name! It is also said that George Washington himself, along with his Continental Army, crossed the bridge in October, 1776 on their way to White Plains.
“Hill Top”
…was Joseph D. Sawyer’s first house in Hillcrest Park, and is still standing at #1 Hillcrest Park Road. Built at the turn of the century, the magnificent house sits atop a hill and is adorned by two massive stone fireplaces (Lynfield p.67, Sawyer p.105). At the time when the house was built, Westover Park (in Stamford, abutting Hillcrest Park today) did not exist so there were fields extending from Hill Top all the way back to Westover Road. Its most notable owner Captain John Matthew Emery, lived there from 1932 to 1957. Capt. Emery owned all of the land extending behind Hill Top to Westover Road, and developed what is now Westover Park.
“Hillcrest Hall”
….was another original Sawyer house at the end of what is now Norton Lane. Most notable owned by the Borg family, they used it as a summer home and it apparently had some 30 bedrooms and a shooting gallery! (Lynfield p.74) Norton Lane was so named by Cecil Borg, the patriarch of the Borg Family. It was named after E. Hope Norton, the original owner of Sawyer’s “Buena Vista” from 1899. The Borg estate was split up into all of the lots on Norton Lane. Some of the original stone columns still exist from their gardens, as seen at 9 Norton Lane. Also, an original well house still stands in the back of 9 Norton Lane, where the original pump area can be accessed through a trap door. This house supplied water to many of the original estates.
“Brillewood”
…. stands at #39 Hillcrest Park Road. It’s beautiful slate roof and unique design set it apart from other original homes in the neighborhood. There has been some debate on whether it is a Sawyer home as it’s design differs from the other homes, not nearly as much stone or quirks, but it almost certainly is a Sawyer house. Mrs Edith N. Dumbrille lived there in the 30’s, and the name Brillewood likely came from her.
The guest cottage to Brillewood, which apparently used to be connected by a long covered walkway, was detached and sold off as a standalone house, where it still stands at #41 Hillcrest Park Road.
Originally, Hillcrest Park Road was called Hillcrest Terrace and is basically the V that is Hillcrest Lane and Hillcrest Park Road today. Short Hills Ave continued up from Hillcrest Terrace and connected to River Road. Off the right of Short Hills Ave was Summit Ridge Road. A little further, off the left, was Knoll Avenue, which also connected to River Road. Today, Hillcrest Park Road encompasses part of Hillcrest Terrace, Short Hills Ave, and Knoll Ave.
Summit Ridge Road has been around since the beginning of Hillcrest Park, connecting Hillcrest Park Road to Westover Road. However, apparently in the 1960’s the five or six houses on Summit Ridge Road, which were all in Stamford, could only be accessed through Hillcrest Park Road, and they were part of the Hillcrest Park Association. (Lynfield p.100) Eventually the road was connected to Westover Road and used as a cut through. Eventually this let to discord and it was closed half way with a chain, and eventually closed off for good around 1981.
Blaise Anello, who has lived in the Park since the 1960’s, is known to ride a horse-and-buggy down Havemeyer Road to Sound Beach Avenue, and then around Tod’s Point and back up to Hillcrest Park. A journey of about 15 miles and around 3 hours.
“Cliffmont” sits at #97 Hillcrest Park Road and is a slightly different style home built by Joseph D. Sawyer around 1906, with less stone than his others. It likely gained its name due to the fact that it is on a steep cliff that overlooks River Road and the Mianus River. It should be noted that Geoffrey and Hansi Lynfield live in this house, and his book provides much of the foundation for the history of Hillcrest Park. (Lynfield p. 134)
“Croftleigh” is situated at #80 Hillcrest Park Road and is one of the houses in Hillcrest Park that is plaqued by the Greenwich Historical Society, built in 1902. It is the grandest of the remaining original Sawyer houses, and “one of the best remaining examples of the Shingle style in Greenwich” according to the Historical Society, which plaqued the house in 1993 (Lynfield p.154). It’s marked outcropped veranda extends some 60 feet and encompasses many spectacular original features that are treasured today. The house encompassed almost 44 acres and originally included a tennis court, garage, chicken coup, lodge, and conservatory. An original pergola still stands on the border of the property and #86 Hillcrest Park Road.
Ricki Beth Lane was named after a granddaughter of the owner of the Croftleigh estate. It housed many of the outbuildings from the estate including “The Casino” #7 as mentioned, as well as #11 which was the caretakers quarters and is now #11 Ricki Beth Road.
Croftleight’s stable later became #7 Ricki Beth Road, also called “The Casino”. This building housed cows, chickens, and other livestock. However during the roaring 20’s and prohibition, it was a know Speakeasy hosting bands and parties in its large main hall with balcony.
There is a beautiful pond in the Hillcrest Park neighborhood that #7 Ricki Beth sits on, called “Vineyard Pond”. The name apparently originates from the fact that the land was once vineyard, cultivated as early as 1690 (Lynfield p.33). One can still find the remnants of old grape vines in the Park. Vineyard pond has been used for ice skating when it freezes over, a tradition that continues to this day! Also, the pond has been stocked in the past with fish by residents of Old Farm Lane.
Up until the late 1950’s the end of Knoll Avenue (Hillcrest Park Road today) was a rocky path that extended from the end of Hillcrest Park to River Road. Children would walk the path to get to the North Mianus School. (Lynfield p.162). This patch was part of the Croftleigh estate, and was eventually subdivided to become Hillcrest Park West, with smaller ½ acre divisions compared to the minimum 1 acre lots in Hillcrest Park. This was the point at which the road become Hillcrest Park Road.
“Sky Rock”
…also known as the “Elizabeth Gowdy Baker House” sits at #72 Hillcrest Park Road and was built in 1904 for a famous watercolor portrait painter of the time, Elizabeth Gowdy Baker. It is one of the few original Sawyer houses that was built for an individual, and not on spec. The Learned family lived in the house, and their granddaughter, Michael Learned gained fame as Olivia Walton in the CBS hit, The Waltons in the 1970’s. Michael spent many summers at the home. This house has a similar craftsman style to the other Sawyer houses such as Croftleigh. Sky Rock was plaqued by the Greenwich Historical Society around 2000.
The house has been referred to as “the castle of Hillcrest” as there is a rounded stone turret adorning its western exposure. Sky Rock is also known for its Japanese pagoda, also called a Buddhist Temple, which was purchased by the Learned family in Kobe, Japan, disassembled, and re-assembled on the property by Japanese workman in the 1920’s. There used to be a 10ft bronze Buddha that sat alongside the pagoda, which apparently at the time was the largest Buddha in the US, has since been removed. The Learned’s son, Bruce, was a staple of the neighborhood and the family called the house and grounds “Brucehaven”.
“Stonehenge”, pictured above, is a beautiful original house at #64 Hillcrest Park Road. This house gained fame in that the Lombardo family lived there at one point. Guy Lombardo was a famous orchestra band leader who hosted musical events at the home. The house had a grand music room and musicians from around the globe stayed and played there. The house was plaqued in 1995 by the Greenwich Historical Society.
The house’s property originally encompassed what is now #68, #64, #54, and #46 Hillcrest Park Road. #60 Hillcrest Park Road, also known as “The Cow Barn” was sold to Jes Dall.. #60 was originally a guest house, cow barn, and stable to Stonehenge. The original chicken coup also stands on the property. The Dall family built many of the “newer” homes in Hillcrest Park in the 60’s and 70’s.
“Breezemont”
…is a beautiful home that sits at #9 Hillcrest Lane. The house was used as a guest cottage for the Borg family at Hillcrest Hall in the 20’s, however it is a large house on its own. The house has a large rounded veranda and a tennis court and is the last house on that side of the street in Hillcrest Park.
“Buena Vista”
…was designed by architect E. E. Holman to fit the contours of the sloping grounds, was built by real estate developer Joseph Dillaway Sawyer for himself. It was 11,200sq feet and a distinct Italian style sitting on close to 10 acres. It was owned, in it’s end, by a Dr. Laura Grey Morgan, MD who lived in the house alone after the death of her husband, unfortunately allowing it to fall into disrepair. Buena Vista” was demolished around 2015 for the new development just being finished at the intersection of Hillcrest Lane and Palmer Hill Road, in 2020. “Stony Crest”, another Sawyer house, sat adjacent to Buena Vista on Palmer Hill road, where it still stands today. It is not part of Hillcrest Park.
The Hillcrest Park lanterns date from a bygone time. The original two lanterns stood at the entrance to Ricki Beth Lane, and were in disrepair in the late 1980’s. On the verge of being discarded forever, residents led by our very own Blaise Anello, had the lanterns copied by Amish craftsmen.
Today, there are 5 lanterns total. Two replacing the originals at Ricki Beth Lane in their full glory, two 3/4 size lanterns at the main entrance to Hillcrest Park, and one 1/2 size lantern at the rear entrance to The Park.
The Hillcrest Park Association was formed in the early 1950’s by resident Frank Coyle (45 Hillcrest Park Rd) and signed by 18 homeowners, and the tax district formed in 1985. Its responsibility is primarily park upkeep, community events, road maintenance, and beautification.
Until 1987, Hillcrest Park Road was a tar, oil, and gravel country road. It was eventually paved and is now a beautiful country asphalt.
This history was written by Dr. Zachary Linhart, a resident of Hillcrest Park. The history here could not have been compiled without the help of the book “Hillcrest Park: An Old Greenwich Neighborhood” by late former Park resident Geoffrey Lynfield. We are indebted to him. In addition, Joseph D. Sawyer’s “How To Build A Country Home” helped with much of the history.
Please email us at HillcrestParkCT@gmail.com with any comments, additions, or questions about our history. Also, if you have any interesting images of the Park, please do send them!