The Keeler Tavern

This view was photographed around 1905 and printed in Germany for Rotograph. The coloring is typical Rotograph, making the image appear as if the view were seen at an unusually colorful dawn. 

The tavern, which was built between 1713 and 1717 as a farmhouse, has been a Ridgefield landmark for nearly three centuries, serving much of its life as a hotel, stage stop, meeting place, and general community center for generations of people. Today, it is a museum, open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays in the afternoons. Click here for details. 

During the first decades of the 20th Century, the tavern was the home of the noted American architect, Cass Gilbert, who designed the Woolworth Building in New York, the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, and scores of other famous buildings -- and bridges. He also designed and donated the fountain at the intersection of Main Street and West Lane (Routes 33 and 35) in front of the tavern. 

He called his home The Cannonball House because a British cannonball, fired during the Battle of Ridgefield in April 1777, has been lodged in a corner post ever since. Visitors today will be shown the ball as part of the tours given three times a week by costumed docents. 

Behind the tavern is the Cass Gilbert Garden House, built around 1915 when Gilbert owned the place. The Garden House overlooks a formal garden and is rented for weddings and other special occasions.

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