The Hart Castle

The Hart Castle, also known as the Venetian Castle, was built in 1907 by Theophileus Euphrat, one of Rowayton’s first developers, and purchased by the Hart family in 1917 as a summer home. Edward Francis Hart was president of four businesses in New York City at the time of the purchase—National Engraving, Unique Illustrations, Syndicate Advertising and Artistic Advertising. Mr. Hart and his wife, Ellen Maher Hart, enjoyed countless summers looking over the pristine Farm Creek with their two children, Alice and Edward.

The beautiful stone house, which included a turret that gave it a castle-like appearance, was one of the grandest homes in Rowayton in its day. When the Castle wasn’t the centerpiece of entertainment, its other, quieter existence made it the subject of many a painting and photograph, particularly with its magnificent backdrop of Farm Creek and its treasure trove of wildlife. The only houses on the Creek at that time other than the castle were the two former Deklyn houses, #73 and #75 Roton Avenue, and the beautiful sandy beach wending its way alongside the road was a favorite spot for local children to collect tasty bait for fishing and crabbing.

Tragically, the beautiful historic Hart Castle was severely damaged in a fire in January of 1980, when a spark from a fire in the library fireplace ignited the old frame, and a fire burned unnoticed in the attic for some time. Edward, Jr. and his wife Jimmie were living in the house at the time with their grown son Eddie.

Following the fire, which was big enough to require the Rowayton Fire Department to call in the Darien Fire Department for assistance, the Castle was torn down. The Harts rented a house on Crest Road for four years while they built a new home on the same location. Edward T. Hart sold the peninsula to the City in June of 1983. The Hart family moved into their new house in 1984 living a reclusive existence until Mr. Hart’s death in 2001 at the age of 83. (His wife, Jimmie, had died a few years earlier.) Upon the death of their son, Eddie, in June 2005, the property was purchased by Rowayton resident Charles Schoendorf to prevent development of the property.