Chauncey Brown House

The Chauncey Brown House, also called the Woodford-Newell-Strong House, occupies a parcel at the intersection of Routes 4 and 10 in Farmington CT, on the northwest corner. TheClio.com lists its construction date as 1666 and refers to it as "one of the oldest houses in America".[1]As of 2 April 2026, it is not on Wikipedia's list of oldest buildings in the United States.[2]

These images are released into the public domain and you may download a 7z archive here.

The neglect of the Chauncey Brown House

The House has been owned since 2007 by local Connecticut real estate firm and property brokerage and maintenance firm Reno LLC. On paper, as of 2026's state filings, the parcel is owned by an LLC named for the building's original address: One Waterville Rd LLC. The principal members of this LLC are two trusts which are exempted from the generation-skipping transfer tax (GSTT). These trusts are in the names of: Mark A Occhialini; David A Occhialini; Daniel Garofalo.

Reno Properties Group LLC

The owners of the building are linked to a group of companies in Newington, Connecticut, most prominently the Reno Machine Company and Reno Properties Group LLC. Both firms share the same address: 170 Pane Road, Newington, CT. Both firms overlap in principal operators. The Reno Properties Group website[3] states that they provide "Unparalleled service & expertise" and offers the following information about their capabilities and services:

"Our in-house property and facilities management professionals include certified HVAC technicians, electricians, construction managers, carpentry experts, landscapers, as well as flower, shrub and plant specialists. Effective property management is essential to long‑term profitability. Reno Properties Group provides comprehensive management services for office, industrial, retail, and multifamily properties across Connecticut. Our team handles all aspects of facility oversight, including maintenance, repairs, financial reporting, and construction management. With licensed electricians, HVAC technicians, carpentry specialists, and a 24‑hour emergency response team, we deliver reliable service that supports tenant satisfaction and owner goals."

Indeed, they claim to have brokered over half a BILLION dollars in real estate business in their operating lifetime, and to manage over 1.5 million square feet of space.

Recent timeline (work in progress)

  • 2008: The house is mentioned in a blog post on the Amistad Trail.
  • 2011: The house is placed on the blight list and the property owner is fined $100 per day. According to this article in the Farmington Patch, the owners filed a lawsuit against the Farmington Planning & Zoning Commission in the prior year. The article quotes then-Town Manager Kathy Eagen:
    “Because he’s unhappy with TPZ he’s not going to maintain his property,” said Town Manager Kathy Eagen. “We had put off putting it on the blighted building list because we were hopeful we could work something out, but it’s becoming evident that’s not the case.”
    And further quotes then-Town Council Chairman Mike Clark:
    “It’s right at the entrance to our town and to me it’s more than unsightly — it’s blighted [ . . . ] This is the reason for this ordinance and we have to make it very clear that we have a lot of pride in our town… we’ve tried to work with this owner.”
  • 2018: A demolition permit is filed and several publications run articles, including the Hartford Courant. For reasons I've been unable to discover so far, the filing is either rejected or withdrawn.