Since 2001, the Ridgefield Historical Society has honored Ridgefield houses and accessory buildings, including barns, stores, and studios, with distinctive commemorative plaques.
Each plaque comes with a snapshot history of the property, prepared in recent years by professional house historians April Pereyra of Stoop Sleuths and Melanie Marks of CT House Histories. For more information on Ridgefield Historical Society’s Historic House Plaque program visit us here.
With close ties to Ridgefield and Fairfield County, April and Melanie work with homeowners who are looking to list their homes on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as those curious about the home they have just moved into, are looking to sell or even heard rumors of famous past inhabitants. As skilled house historians, they use genealogical databases, newspaper archives, public library collections, historical society collections, town archives and more, all to get the complete story of the home and its former owners.
Having been raised in Ridgefield, April’s curiosity about old homes and her love of history started at a young age. It’s a labor of love for her. One of April’s favorite Ridgefield house histories has been The Book Barn. Once a simple barn, this structure became The Book Barn, a beloved book shop that began in 1925 when Emmy Sloan, seeking a country retreat, purchased the dilapidated old barn believed to date back to the late 1700s. By the following year she had moved in full-time, and working alongside her workmen, helped turn the barn into a home including building the still-standing stone fireplace.
She transformed the barn into a destination where visitors browsed books, enjoyed tea, and picked up “Books a La Carte” from her cart out front, with national magazines and postcards spreading word the charm of the shop and its proprietress. The recent owners of the Book Barn fell in love with the history and stories of their beloved home. For more stories on Emmy and her barn including photos and what it is like today, read April’s blog on her website here. For more information on what April can uncover on your property visit Stoop Sleuths here.
The Book Barn is a featured home on the 2025 Ridgefield Holiday House Tour. April will be in the Book Barn sharing stories and her love of this special property. Melanie will also be on hand for the Holiday House Tour, sharing her research at the Edwin Benedict House. To purchase tickets for the House Tour and visit the Book Barn along with five other historic houses visit ridgefieldholidayhousetour.org.
April and Melanie will both be at the Historical Society’s next History Club meeting on Nov. 18. They will be sharing the history of the houses featured on the 2025 Ridgefield Holiday House Tour, including the Book Barn. History Club meets the third Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Scott House, 4 Sunset Lane. You can get more information on History Club here.
