By Meg Barone
CORRESPONDENT

Shelton has a rich agricultural history, which continues today with a number of operating farms.

A property in the White Hills section at 136 Maple Ave. is no longer a working farm, but its remnants are still visible today on a 2.04 acre lot, which holds a nine room colonial farmhouse, five barns, two carriage houses and a three-seat outhouse. All are available for purchase.

Built in 1803, the house was later renovated to add the current kitchen and convert the existing kitchen into a full bath, and the house now contains 2,352 square feet of living space.

Although historic records are hard to find, the current owner believes this property was once the site of the Wigwam Brandy and Wine Farm, and said large kegs from that alcohol operation were found in one of the barns decades ago. Rumor has it there was a still across the street during Prohibition, too.

More recent owners kept typical farm animals like cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, chickens, turkeys and ducks. The barns may need some work, but they are still usable and could accommodate animals. All of the outbuildings are attractive gray, weathered wood, and some of them have heat and electricity. One barn has three stories, one of which still serves as a large workshop, and it has a large number of electrical outlets. At least one of the barns or carriage houses can be used as a multicar garage.

The largest of the barns has a cupola. Some of the barns housed animals and still have stalls. The house sits on a bit of an incline and looks down onto Maple Avenue.

Just past the house, Maple becomes East Village. A long, paved driveway cuts in front of the house and continues to a large parking area, accessing three of the out buildings.

The exterior of the house is natural cedar clapboard with white trim. There is a wide, long wrap around porch in the front and one side with several white columns.

More often than not the current residents use the rear entrance into the kitchen, since that is closest to the parking.

The formal front entrance is attractive, with a wood door that is original to the home. It has two arched windows, side by side, which are frosted and contain a decorative starlike pattern. An old door bell sits just below the win dows.

Stepping through the door into the foyer seems like taking a step into Shelton’s past. There are hardwood floors throughout the house, many of them original wide planked boards, probably chestnut, considering the time period. There is a wealth of decorative details in the millwork.

The foyer provides access to the formal sitting room, or living room, to the left, the family room or den on the right, and the formal dining room straight ahead.

The front staircase is also in the foyer. A rear staircase is accessed in the kitchen.

From the foyer to the sitting room, there is a wide entrance, which has two pocket doors to separate the room and foyer. Two more pocket doors separate the sitting and dining rooms.

The sitting room has crown molding, chair rail and a decorative fireplace. It was originally func tional, but the chimney has since been bricked shut.

The fireplace has a surround of miniature subway tiles in mottled brown and aqua colors, and a decorative natural wood mantle.

The lower walls are painted off white and the upper walls are covered in an attractive paper befitting the period of the house.

Thanksgivings would be well spent in this house, not just for its agricultural heritage but for its long dining room, which could easily accommodate two long tables and a large number of people.

This room has the same wallpaper of the sitting room on the upper walls, wood paneling on the lower walls with a ledge at chair rail level. There is a built-in hutch, a coat closet, and a cabinet built into an upper wall that it shares with the kitchen.

In fact, years ago this cabinet served as a pass through between the kitchen and dining room, but now it can only be accessed from the dining room side. Also in the dining room is a regular wood paneled door that separates it from the foyer.

The den has a built-in bookshelf and cubbies that go the length of one wall.

The kitchen is large and features lights on a dimmer switch, a linoleum floor, wallpaper on the upper section and wood paneling below, a counter area with Formica counter tops, and natural wood cabinets topped with crown mold ing.

There is more than enough room to include a long dining table. Appliances include a Kitchen Aid refrigerator and dishwasher, Magic Chef microwave and Maytag range. Off the kitchen is a full bath with a long granite-topped vanity with two sinks, a linoleum floor made to resemble wood, a shower stall with two sliding glass doors, cabinets, and beige ceramic tiles on the lower two-thirds of the wall. There is also a laundry room.

Upstairs, there is a long landing from which there is access to three of the four bedrooms, an office and a full bath. The far bedroom is accessed through the office or from the rear stairs, as is the walk-up attic.

In the master bedroom there is a very long walk-in closet that goes the length of one wall, with shelves at both ends and another long shelf above the clothing rack.

The floors are wide planked hardwood. A couple of these second-floor rooms, including the master bedroom, have tulip wood floors. Some of the doorways leading into bedrooms from the landing are angled, or appear crooked from the outside, but from inside the bedroom they are straight.

And it’s not a matter of the wood settling in such a way after so many years. The doorways were deliberately made so. Apparently, in that time period, it was done to confound evil spirits and keep them from the rooms.

The full bath’s linoleum floor resembles white tile. There is a combination tub and shower, and the lower walls have 4-by-4-inch blue ceramic tile. The rest is wall paper.

Most unfinished basements are not worth mentioning, but this full basement is because it has an old section that has a wide barnlike door with original hardware and exposed beams in the ceiling from local trees. It also has two 275 gallon oil tanks. Outside, there is wide open lawn, some of which is bordered by a white picket fence in the front of the property, and some of which is enclosed by historic stone walls.

For more information, or to set up a private appointment to see the house, call Ellen Zern of Pepe Real Estate at 203-929 6775 or 203-209-5069.