Weir Farm National Historic Park

 The property where American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir lived and painted in the decades before and after 1900 straddles the southern part of Ridgefield and the northern part of Wilton.  The National Park service manages 71 acres.  Weir Preserve, 110 acres of adjoining fields and woodlands, is owned and managed by a local stewardship group. 

The property comprises 15 historic structures.  This is Weir's residence.  It was originally a simple farmhouse but Weir expanded it several times.  Other American artists spent time here visiting Weir and painting.  They include John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam and John Twachtman.

Weir's studio is down the hill, behind the main house.

One of Weir's daughter married Mahonri Young, a noted sculptor and the grandson of Mormon leader Brigham Young.  In this photo, the studio shared by Young and his painter wife, Dorothy Weir Young, is on the left, Weir's studio is in the center (obscured by a tree) and the main house is at the right.

Previously a National Historic Site, Weir Farm became a National Historic Park earlier this year.  It is the only national park honoring art and an artist.  Last year the United States Mint issued a Weir Farm quarter in its "America the Beautiful" series of quarters.