EXCLUSIVE: Connecticut Farmhouse With Secret Prohibition-Era Bar Where Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller Drank Is Listed for $1.2 Million

When you think of historic homes in Connecticut, you don’t usually imagine cultural icons like Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller seated in them cozily swilling cocktails after being chauffeured there in a sparkling Bugatti.

But that—and much more, if the local whisperings are to be believed—is exactly what happened in one restored Taunton Hill mansion, which has just been placed on the market for $1.16 million.

The local landmark, known as Boxwood Farm, is thought to have been constructed around 1765, based on a date that the current owner, cellist William DeRosa, found carved into one of the ceiling beams as he and his wife, Kersti Ferguson, were restoring the house.

“It’s an original Fairchild home,” he explained. “The Fairchilds were among the original founders of Newtown,” where the home is situated on the top of a hill. The neighborhood was then, and still is now, one of the most prestigious in the area.

The home remained in the Fairchild family for generations, but it was in the possession of a movie mogul when DeRosa found it, fortuitously on a rest stop as he was racing from New York City to a ferry that would transport him to a concert on Nantucket.

He learned that Fox Studio executive Walter Hutchinson III had purchased the four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home in the 1930s to use as a weekend retreat from New York City, where the studio was based.

Without damaging the luxury home’s historic bones, he turned it into an entertainer’s haven, adding an intimate bar known as the Spur Room and a theater for screening new Fox movies, which he set up in a cement building across the street.

Hutchinson frequently sent his Bugatti to round up the famous locals for a night of dining, drinking, and film watching. Miller and Monroe, who lived in nearby Roxbury, were repeat guests, according to multiple reports.

Though their marriage lasted a little over four years, their legend in the neighborhood lives on, as does the shining house on the hill that they frequented.

The house was built on a stone foundation and now sits on a wooded 2.51-acre lot. When DeRosa and Ferguson came across it about 14 years ago, it was in dismal shape. The couple didn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing—particularly when they discovered that it still had many original details from the 1700s. They would embark on a yearslong restoration.

They discovered a gorgeous chestnut wood floor under the carpet as well as sturdy chestnut doors under layers of lead-based paint.

DeRosa recalled how curiosity and a cocktail got the best of him one night, as he was staring at a wall and realized he couldn’t figure out what was behind it. He took a hammer to the wall and soon discovered a hidden staircase. Next thing he knew, they were restoring that, too.

The bathroom fixtures installed by Hutchinson in the 1930s still remain, but the hardware has been replated with nickel, and the tubs and sinks reglazed.

The home’s 50 radiators? Every single one was sent out to have the lead paint removed and then refinished to accommodate a modern HVAC system.

The butler’s pantry was refinished, as was the adjacent kitchen, and a glorious La Cornue range, the last of its color, was added. Gaggenau appliances complement it—DeRosa was not averse to incorporating modern luxuries that had no equal back in the day, after all.

And that amazing taproom—how could you improve on historic perfection? The patterned tin ceiling was cleaned and left in place. The wood bar, bench, shelving, and paneling were cleaned and polished.

The powder room was refinished, and custom wall tiles were created from the wallpaper with antique wine labels found in the home.

The couple repurposed some of the original space, including the rafter attic that is now a cozy family room furnished with antiques.

The house also features custom furniture the couple had made for the place, including the gleaming dining table that seats 10. The furniture, including a Steinway piano, is also available for sale.

With so much of the sellers’ energy, love, and expense invested in the home, how could they bear to part with it?

Though they have had second thoughts, they’ve decided to downsize and simplify their lives. They own a number of homes in the Los Angeles area and are considering putting them on the market as well.

“We felt that we were stewards here,” DeRosa explained. “We never intended to live here. We wanted to keep it pristine. It was intended to be a weekend home away from the city.” New York City is about an hour and a half away by car or train.

Residents of quaint but sophisticated Newtown probably won’t have to wait long for the next buyer of the storied home to step up. Historic homes like this come on the market maybe once in a generation.