The Bates Scofield House, est. 1736

The Bates-Scofield Homestead is a saltbox-style house built on the Post Road in 1736. Saltbox style homes feature a central chimney for efficient heating and are asymmetrical with a long sloping roof to shed snow and rain. It is believed that John Bates resided in the home until 1774, when it was then deeded to John Bates Jr., who resided in the house with his wife and nine children. The Bates family also used this house to hold church meetings before the Middlesex Parish Meetinghouse (now First Congregational Church of Darien) was built. In 1822, Ezra Scofield bought the house, which stayed in the Scofield family for about a century. In 1964, the house faced demolition, when it was given to the Museum of Darien (then Darien Historical Society), and moved to its current location to become a historical site. In 2008, the 1827 Scofield Barn was moved from its original location, where the Old King’s Market shopping center is now, and was joined to the Bates-Scofield house via a connector building. This site is now the Museum of Darien - the Bates-Scofield Homestead is a historic house and the Scofield Barn hosts rotating museum exhibits.

To learn more, read the Darien Heritage Trail plaque at the front of the property or visit the Museum of Darien, open 11am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.