Pine Tree Farm (1830s - Present)

Welcome back, Monroe history lovers. Today’s history takes us back to the 1800s near the southeastern shared town border between Monroe and neighboring Shelton. The formal address is 50 Walnut Street and our first supporting image shows the beautiful house on the property from back in the mid-1900s. So, without further delay, let’s head on over and learn the history behind this property and its ownership.

Our earliest residential map from 1856 associates this property with David Osborn Gray. David was originally from Weston and married his first wife Lucinda from Redding on September 12, 1824. They eventually settled and raised their family here in Monroe. The first formal evidence of the family living here is found within the 1840 federal census, and by the 1850 federal census, there were a total of 8 people living in the house. There was David, Lucinda, four children ranging in age from 25 down to 8, and two other non-family members, one male and one female - likely a farmhand and a house servant.

Our second supporting image is a snippet from the 1860 federal census. It is here where we see a significant change in the residents. In the second column we see the words “Poor House”. The majority of David and Lucinda’s children had grown and moved on, with only their youngest daughter Mary remaining. Aside from the Gray family members, there is a farm laborer, but also 4 older grown men, all listed as paupers. Poorhouses were nothing new and certainly nothing to be scoffed at. The poorhouses of the era were supported by public funding and provided food, shelter and sometimes work to people who were impoverished, aged or disabled.

David’s wife Lucinda passed away in 1867 and we learn in the 1870 federal census that he had remarried. His 2nd wife’s name was Elizabeth, and was known to family and friends as Betsey. By this time, the Gray’s house was no longer listed as a poorhouse. Only David and Elizabeth were in residence and all of their time and energy were invested in their farm, which had grown to an impressive 140 acres. David passed away in 1882 and his wife Elizabeth later passed in 1888. The farm would be sold by the surviving members of the Gray family.

In 1890, an enterprising German immigrant named Anton Zimmerman bought the farm and moved in with his wife Theresia and their children. It didn’t take long for the family to settle into Monroe, and Anton to make his mark as a successful farmer. The Zimmermans were soon members of the Monroe Congregational Church at “The Center” and hosted many social events at their house for the benefit of their church.

Anton proved very successful in his farming endeavors, and he had a keen eye for opportunities to grow the farm. By the early 1900s his financial success provided the means to greatly improve both his farmland and his house. In 1904, an addition was added to his horse barn, and in 1907, an ornate veranda was added and the house was painted its now signature white. The same year a new fence was added across the front of the property at the roadside. Now, that’s curb appeal!

By 1910, the farm had become a town-wide attraction, known far and wide for Mrs. Zimmerman’s roaming flocks of chickens numbering in excess of 1500. The Zimmermans were selling chickens for roasting and harvesting between 25 – 30 dozen eggs daily. Consider those numbers the next time you’re buying eggs at the market. The farm also maintained a fine herd of milking cows, horses, and numerous pigs for slaughter. It was during this era that the property was formally named Pine Tree Farm, the name inspired by the two pine trees planted on each side of the front entry to the house.

Anton’s wife Theresia unfortunately passed away in 1912, and Anton eventually married a local widow from Hammertown named Edith Sharpe, her son Elmer adopted as a stepson by Anton. In 1925, Anton sold the farm to an Italian immigrant named Antonio Spada. Spada ran the farm for approximately a decade before selling it back into the Zimmerman family, this time to Anton’s stepson, Elmer Sharpe. Elmer raised his family in the house and continued the farming tradition, but by the post WWII era, the heyday of farming in Monroe had waned.

In 1963, Elmer Sharpe and his son Elmer Jr. sold 109.4 acres of farmland in Monroe and neighboring Shelton to a developer. The sale resulted in the establishment of the neighborhoods on Osborn Lane, Good Hill Lane, Ripton Ridge, Jones Hill Road and numerous other roads just over the town line in Shelton. Today, there is still evidence of the former farm roads in the backyards of houses in these neighborhoods, and relics of ancient farm equipment can still be found within the woods. Our fifth supporting image shows the remains of an old farm cart barely surviving up on Ripton Ridge.

Aside from the period when owned by Antonio Spada, the Pine Tree Farm has been in the Zimmerman/Sharpe family’s ownership for generations, until just recently purchased by Dan and Dawn Paniccia in 2023. The Paniccias have extensive experience in renovating older properties and they’ve already made tremendous improvements to the house, including the addition of a modern interpretation of the original veranda added by Zimmerman back in 1907. Our sixth supporting image is the hand-painted 1838 date found by the current owners during recent renovations, quite possibly the date the house was originally built.

So, the next time you’re over in that neck of the woods, slow down and appreciate the Paniccia family’s improvements to the Pine Tree Farm property. Their vision and dedication is returning what was once a poorhouse back to its former splendor from nearly 120 years ago. Please share this post with your family and friends, and as always, thank you for your continued support and interest in Monroe’s rich agrarian history. Until next time, Keep an eye out for those chickens over there.

Regards,

Kevin Daly
Historian, Monroe Historical Society
www.monroecthistory.org
Our Past is Always Present