Community Corner

Historic Home Stars in Documentary

The historic home owned by Bill and Elizabeth Rubidge will be featured in an upcoming show about energy efficiency.

Bill and Elizabeth Rubidge's home is older than the United States. Out front is a stone mounting block used for horses. Inside, there's a bread oven connected to the fireplace, an attic that was possibly once slave quarters and a basement that used to house the summer kitchen.

"People walk into my house and say it's a home. It's not a showcase," she said of her tall, white home on the corner of West Parish Road and Hillandale Road. "You can nick a wall. It adds to the charm."

Less historical features of the house, which was built sometime in the mid 1700s, are unpleasent drafts and energy inefficiencies.

Find out what's happening in Westportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We accepted that we would be a little uncomfortable," Elizabeth, a mother of two, said.

"It makes up for it in charm and other ways," Bill said.

Find out what's happening in Westportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Over the years, the Rubidges developed fall routine where all the cracks and drafts are sealed up with tape or whatever materials are available. With the help of some energy experts on Wednesday, they hoped to shore up their home for good. Meanwhile, a documentary on the procedure was filmed.

Producers from A-Ray.TV, a Weston-based production company, shot footage and interviews for a series called "Attainable Sustainables" which will be premiering Oct. 1 for on-demand cable channels provided by Comcast and Cablevision. It will also be shown on the MXenergy website, a natural gas company in Stamford that produced the series.

Amy Kalafa, founder of A-Ray.TV, shot an interview near the swing in the front yard and empathized with the Rubidges' energy efficiency test. She also lives in an old home.

"There's reluctance because you don't want to know," she said. "You're afraid of how much it would cost."

Escaping Destruction

The fact that the home is even standing after more than 250 years is remarkable to history buffs considering the destruction the area saw from British soldiers. Dubbed the Nash House by the plaque in the front yard, it was built by Captain Thomas Nash for Zachariah Burr, the brother of Aaron Burr (unrelated to the former vice president). Later,  During the Revolutionary War, buildings in the area were ransacked and razed by British soldiers. Somehow, this home escaped destruction.

Elizabeth told a story of a lone British soldier who tried to burn down the home, but was shot dead before it could happen.

Morley Boyd, a local historian touring the home, said that it defended at one point by a sole cannon dragged from a nearby guardhouse.

"This is part of the fabric of the birth of our nation," Boyd said.

Attainable Sustainables

Home Energy Solutions is a program offered by Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) and sponsored by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. There is a $75 fee, but homes might be eligible for free weatherization services. In 2006, when CL&P first started offering the service, 600 people signed up. This year, the average is 1,200 a month.

The Rubidges are careful with their home because they want it to remain as original as possible on the surface. For example, an antique and elaborate lock on one of the doors remains even though it doesn't work.

"It definitely appeals to us," Bill said of his home. "It's interesting and fun to live in, but on the other hand it needs renovations."

Employees from New England Smart Energy Group, which partnered with CL&P for such projects, were impressed with the home. Considering its age, they remarked, the home is in surprising shape in terms of efficiency.

Elizabeth and Bill both said they will be very receptive to any suggestions made to improve the home, but historic preservation seems to be their main goal. There are no plans to sell the home, yet if they do their chief concern is that the next owners don't gut the interior or radically change the home.

"It would break my heart," Elizabeth said. "It would really break my heart."

This story has corrected by clarifying that the brother of Aaron Burr who moved into this house is unrelated to the former vice president.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here