Solomon Lockwood House

The Lockwood family name has deep roots in the hamlet of Pound Ridge, located in far eastern Westchester County, NY. The Lockwoods of Stamford, CT, are credited with the founding of the village in the mid-18th century. Solomon Lockwood (1766-1841), of this original Lockwood family line, was an innkeeper, who also served as Town Clerk of Pound Ridge. He was a son of Captain Joseph Lockwood, and he lived in a “mansion house” on approximately 100 acres on Westchester Avenue. The house likely dates to about 1790, the year that Solomon Lockwood married Mary Close. Previously an inn and a tavern, and currently a private residence, the home exhibits the symmetrical, center hall attributes associated with the Federal period, which are unique in Pound Ridge. The Solomon Lockwood House is located in the Pound Ridge Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

At the time that Solomon Lockwood constructed his house, there were few existing homes and structures in Pound Ridge. This was in part due to Pound Ridge’s rural location and rugged terrain, but also because the British had burned at least two homes and the Presbyterian church during raids in the area in 1789. It was the following year that Solomon Lockwood married Mary Close, thus dating the construction of the Lockwood House most likely to 1790.

During his lifetime, Solomon Lockwood was known to have run an inn in his home, which was also referred to as a tavern. In addition, he served as the Town Clerk of Pound Ridge for eight years in the early 1800s. He had a son, William, and a daughter, Bethia. It was to William, and Solomon’s widow, Mary, that the Solomon Lockwood home passed upon the death of Solomon Lockwood in 1841. In 1858, William Lockwood sold the house to the Waterbury family who maintained ownership until 1868.

In 1868, the house was sold to Daniel Rockwell, whose nephew, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), the American painter and illustrator, is said to have spent at least one summer here. In the 1930s, the house served as the Rainbow Tea House and Shop, with all proceeds going to the Association for the Aid of Crippled Children in New York City. In the late 1950s, it was considered for use as the Town Hall of Pound Ridge. It was later converted back to a private residence, which it presently remains.

The Solomon Lockwood house is a one-half story, five-bay, gable roof, shingled, Federal-style residence with a two-story gable roof rear addition (mid 1930s) and a large one-story flat roof side addition (c.1930).

1. Harris, Jay. God’s Country: A History of Pound Ridge, New York. Pequot Press, CT. 1971.
2. “Historic Landmarks of Pound Ridge” pamphlet. The Pound Ridge Historical Society. 1996.
3. “Pound Ridge Historic District #85003196.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 1985. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323177 
4. Pound Ridge Historical Society. https://www.poundridgehistorical.org/ 
5. Williams, Gray. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County. Westchester County Historical Society. 2003.