After 279 years since it was originally built, about 50 people gathered at The Greenwich Audubon Center on 8/12/25 to celebrate the restoration of the historic Zebediah Mead Farm house . The house faces John Street, part of the Center’s 280 acre grounds. and will again serve as housing for Center staff. The ribbon cutting ceremony brought together local and national Audubon members and officials, preservationists, bird lovers, as well as Fred Camillo and other Selectpersons from Town Hall.
Rochelle Thomas, director of the Center since 2023, presided over the ceremony and acknowledged the combined support of National Audubon, local staff, community support, and the financial generosity of Reinhold Vogel’s bequest which made it possible. Individuals who were cited included resident board members Kim Gregory, Rusty Parker,, and Camille Broderick, and Elise Green who is president of Historic Properties of Greenwich.
The restoration took about five months and was done by Murphy Brothers Contractors of Larchmont, NY. The original wide beamed floors were scraped, sanded, and refinished; New double paned windows were installed; Insulation applied to the walls; electrical wiring installed for modern electtonic equipment: new HVAC system installed: kitchens and bathrooms updated with new appliances; and of course the interior and exterior walls painted and refinished. The third floor attic has very unusual roof framing not found in other colonial buildings in Connecticut which has been preserved.
This is not the end of Greenwich Audubon’s historic restoration plan. Other buildings will now become part of the Center’s Transformation Initiative. With the finish of this project, the Audubon Center will next shift its continued maintenance efforts to the Red Education Barn to the original 1800 footprint. According to Director Thomas, this will honor the legacy of national Audubon’s first educational center with new space for conservation and community learning.
The entrance to the Greenwich Audubon Center is 613 Riversville Road at the intersection with John Street.
