Notable Neighbors

Some of the people who have lived on Roton Hill have lived very interesting lives. This is a set of neighbors that I think are particularly notable, for various arbitrary reasons. Note that I'm focusing on historical figures, ignoring the many notable current residents.

Flax Hill Road (previously West Avenue)

• 341 Flax Hill Road

  • Sally Ann Lockwood Keeler (1803-1874). On historical maps (1851, 1858, 1867).

  • George Isaac Keeler (1838-1895), ice and sand dealer, horse racing enthusiast.

  • William George Shaw (1850-1934), lawyer and real estate developer.

  • Harvey Chauncy Waterbury (1865-1951), clerk of the US Customs House in New York.

• 343 Flax Hill Road

  • Claude Ernest Hooper (1898-1954), developed Hooper Ratings for measuring radio audience size (his house is now 3 Rochelle).

• 347 Flax Hill Road

  • Captain Ira Ford (1782-1858), steamboat captain.

  • George Platt (1812-1873), interior decorator and architect.

  • Alexander J Rummler (1867-1959), artist, and Maria Bonner Rummler (1870-1959), first woman on the Norwalk City Council.

• 378 Flax Hill Road

  • Josiah Tristram (1827-1886), shoemaker and train robbery accomplice.

  • William Henry Tristram (1866-1931), postman for the rural Rowayton area.

  • George Woodbridge Stewart (1899-1992), publisher, author and editor, Oxford University Press and his own company.

• 384 Flax Hill Road

  • Edward Nelson Dart (1873-1952), Art Director for the New York Times from 1916-1934.

  • Martha Stewart Living bought this house for a remodeling show in 2005-2006, but the show did not end up being produced.

• 387 Flax Hill Road

  • John Zilske (1877-1949), florist at the Traendly greenhouses, and his wife Augusta Getner Zilske (1888-1988), who lived at this house until she was 100.

• 398 Flax Hill Road

  • Alexander Getner (1873-1954), florist at the Traendly greenhouses, brother of Augusta Zilske, and parent of the Getner Barn family.

Highland Avenue (previously Roton Hill Road)

• Approximately 250 Highland Avenue

  • George Hoyt, Stephen Waring and John Henry Schulte, all figures in a notorious murder.

• Approximately 296 Highland Avenue (now Brien McMahon High School)

  • Ira Ford Hoyt (1824-1887), builder and lumber dealer

  • Margaret Hoyt Smith (1905-2001), Norwalk's first female architect (Norwalk Hour article)

• 354 Highland Avenue

  • Hannah Smith Bouton Hoyt (1792-1873), who geographically, genealogically, and nominatively sits at the center of Roton Hill.

Pogany Street

• 6 Pogany Street

  • Louis Joseph Pogany (1888-1957), insurance salesman and the Norwalk First Selectman for 15 years.

Soundview Avenue (previously Elm Grove Street)

• 57 Soundview Avenue

  • Joseph Stephen Hadik (1893-1975), builder and namesake of Hadik Parkway.

Westview Lane

• 4 Westview Lane

  • Philip Scribner Rand (1906-1995), radio engineer and member of the Remington Rand family.

• 12 Westview Lane

  • Frank Thornton Kimball (1897-1954), advertising executive and self-styled self-help guru.

• 14 Westview Lane

  • Cuthbert Corwin Hurd (1911-1986), director of the IBM Applied Science Department.

  • Betty Kellett Nadeau (1905-1999), paleontologist (Wikipedia article).

• 15 Westview Lane

  • Marcell Rand (1913-1979), executive at Sperry Rand and co-founder the Travel Center in Darien.

• 16 Westview Lane

  • Paul Griswold Howes (1892-1984), author and curator of the Bruce Museum (New York Times obituary).

• 19 Westview Lane

  • King Whitney, Jr (1925-2018), head of The Personnel Laboratory, which gave psychological tests to prospective executives in Stamford.

• 23 Westview Lane

  • Godfrey Cossitt Shaw (1887-1968), builder of many of the homes on Westview.

  • Rodion Rathbone (1915-1996), TWA pilot and son of the actor Basil Rathbone. Briefly acted as John Rodion. Story of Basil and Rodion.