Date: Fri 09-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Gaston-mural-Merrill-history

Full Text:

Mural Chronicles The Evolution Of An Old Home On Main Street

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Stephanie Gaston always had a passion for old houses.

For years she came to Newtown every week to watch the movies at Edmond Town

Hall, and often paused to look longingly at the houses on Main Street. Her

husband, James, an attorney, also knew Main Street well from his regular

commute between the Bridgeport and Danbury courthouses.

So in 1992, when the Gastons wanted to buy a vintage home, they were intrigued

by the former Holcomb Tavern, now a private residence, at 18 Main Street.

"The house needed a lot of work," Mr Gaston admitted. "In fact, it still does.

It had been all chopped up over the years. At one time it even was made into a

three-family home."

Built about 1860, the inn originally was three full stories with a mansard

roof and a large cupola which collected rain for the water needs of the

residents. It had 17 rooms and seven fireplaces. But in 1938 the inn was sold

and converted to a private residence. The third floor was removed and replaced

with an attic and gable roof. Hand-carved Federal/Colonial decorative details

were added to the exterior.

The change was dramatic. The Gastons, who researched the history of the house

as they began to renovate it, wanted to record its transformation for future

generations. They thought a mural might be a good way to do it.

"It was our intention to both preserve a historical reference to the house and

at the same time add a wonderful piece of artwork to it," Mr Gaston said.

"Murals just fit in old homes," Stephanie Gaston agreed.

During the Holiday Festival in 1995, the Gastons were at the pancake breakfast

in Edmond Town Hall when they spotted artist David Merrill signing Christmas

ornaments as a fundraiser for the murals he has been painting in the town hall

staircases for years.

"We started talking to him and asked him if he was interested in doing a mural

in our house," Mrs Gaston said. "He took out his little black book, looked in

it and said `I'll call you in 1997.'"

The Gastons nearly forgot about the conversation, but Mr Merrill didn't. He

called them last spring and said he could start on October 1. He promised to

be done by Christmas Eve.

Two Views Of The House

It was there, standing atop a scaffolding in the front staircase of the Gaston

residence, that The Bee found Mr Merrill, several days before Christmas,

putting the finishing touches on the 9'4" x 17'6" mural. Viewed from the foyer

of the house, the mural begins with a handpainted plaque that includes a brief

history of the house and the names of its current occupants, Jim and Stephanie

Gaston and their four children: Tara, Jim, Kelley, and Owen. The flagpole is

next in the mural along with the steeple of the Newtown Meeting House. Climb a

few steps, and there is the house as it looks today. At the top of the stairs,

the mural shows the inn as it looked when it was built about 1860.

As he worked, Mr Merrill completed the image of an elderly woman sitting on

the screened front porch of the inn.

"It's my Aunt Clara," he quipped. "She was a school teacher. School teachers

never married -- they weren't allowed to be married back then."

It's not likely that Mr Merrill's aunt ever actually sat on the front porch of

the Holcomb Tavern. But that doesn't matter. The image could be that of any of

the guests who stayed at the inn, he said.

"I added a horse and buggy to balance the mural, and put trees at the edge.

Generally it's a more open view because there were less trees at that time.

You can see the hills of Southbury in back."

Because the inn had a carriage barn and horse stable, Mr Merrill added a horse

for Tara, who loves to go horseback riding. Then he painted rabbits for Jim

and Owen, and a cat on the front porch for Tara.

"Newtown was very rural at the time the inn was built," Mr Merrill said. "The

inn was on a dirt road and there weren't many other houses nearby. The inn was

built on what was about eight acres of mostly farmland that stretched back to

Queen Street."

Mr Merrill painted 247 pickets for the fence in front of the inn, and added

just a few foundation plants because they weren't characteristic of the time.

Newtown, like most of southwestern Connecticut, had been virtually cleared of

trees in the 18th century. By contrast, the modern-day painting of the Gaston

property includes lush vegetation and huge trees which cast shadows on the

roof and front of the house.

Two Perspectives

It is difficult to get a good overall view of the mural because the staircase

is so narrow. The Gastons intend to remedy that eventually by removing a

hollow wall which was constructed sometime during this century and adding a

railing.

"This was a difficult project because of the location -- on the narrow

staircase -- but it worked out because there is another staircase in the house

(for the family to use)," Mr Merrill said.

Before beginning the mural, the artist first repaired several cracks in the

old plaster wall, then drew the scenes in pencil before painting in acrylics.

The Gastons decided they wanted the contemporary view to show the family

entrance so the 19th century view is the opposite perspective.

"I'm so thankful that Jim and Stephanie are pleased with the mural. They

placed a lot of faith in my work."

The Gastons hadn't intended to publicize the mural but, when asked, they

graciously agreed to share it with the community.

"Although the mural is a private work, when The Newtown Bee called to do an

article on the mural, the fact that 18 Main Street is a piece of Newtown

history, together with The Bee's spirit of historic preservation, convinced us

that we should share with the community this special work created by Newtown's

own David Merrill," Jim Gaston said.

"We can't say enough about David Merrill," Mr Gaston added. "He is an

exceptional artist and human being. It was an absolute pleasure to work with

him."

The mural in the Gaston residence is the fifth that David Merrill has done in

private homes during his career. In 1986 he completed a mural in the house

then owned by Paul and Judy Katzmark on Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook. That

mural shows The Glen with its waterfall.

"Murals are traditional in old homes," Mr Merrill said. "They are often

discovered years later when owners are removing walls or doing other

renovations."

Mr Merrill doesn't put anything over the acrylic surface of the mural to

protect it.

"The wall can be washed in six months with soap and water to clean it," he

said. "It's very durable."

The Gastons were delighted with the finished project.

"We would encourage others to preserve the histories of their important

structures and localities by way of murals while also enjoying the aesthetic

beauty of the artwork itself," Mr Gaston said.