The Nicoll-Benjamin House/John Benjamin House
aka The White House
1850 Elm Street
By Andy Byrne
At the entrance to the grounds where the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre once stood, is a stately building most often referred to as simply The White House. Its history, however, is far more colorful. Our great thanks to David Wright, town historian and a contributing writer for the Stratford Crier, for providing an intimate look at the earliest days of one of Stratford’s many fascinating stories, one that reaches back hundreds of years.
While most houses of times long past provide opportunity for much speculation and stretch of the imagination, this one especially offers intricate ground for fertile imaginings. Some sources date this house from 1785. Others believe it was either built in 1830/1840 or greatly modified at that time into the Greek revival period of architecture with only part of the original construction remaining.
It is said by some to have been originally built by General Matthias Nicoll (who died in 1830) and it was then inherited by his son, Captain Samuel C. Nicoll, who in turn left the house to his wife’s nephew, Samuel Nicoll Benjamin. Others feel just about certain Captain Samuel built it in 1830, just after Matthias died and his children split up the property. Nevertheless, it eventually became the home of Samuel Nicoll Benjamin.
Capt. Samuel Nicoll made his fortune as captain of the privateer “Scourge” in the War of 1812.*(See note below for an idea of how privateers were viewed.) Below the ground floor is a four-foot-high sub-basement which may have been used by escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad or, with the Captain’s reputation, to hold smuggled rum.
Samuel married the daughter of Hamilton Fish, who was Secretary of State during President Grant’s administration (1869-1877). Samuel served in the regular army and attained the rank of Colonel. Unable to remain in Stratford, he sold the homestead to his cousin, John Benjamin. John Benjamin used the house as his summer home. He was a banker in New York City and was, at one time, President of the New York Stock Exchange. He became the first president of The Housatonic Boat Club in 1887. His widow, Mrs. Hannah Lawrence Benjamin (who died in 1906) was the last of the Benjamin name to own the house.
At one time, an old detached building in the rear, which was once used as a kitchen, was said by some to be older than the main part of the house and, further, that it was used to accommodate soldiers during the Revolution.
The house has undergone many changes and additions down through the years, with wings added to it on each side, the most recent of which was about 1890; but the essence of its early history permeates throughout.
~ David Wright
*Editor’s Note: The following text is excerpted from The American Privateers by Donald Barr Chidsey.
Mention has been made of the patriotism of American privateers. If this did not flame as high in the War of 1812 as it had in the early part of the Revolution, it nevertheless was a living, ponderable thing, not to be sneered at. … Time after time they [American privateers] tackled war vessels of their own size or even larger…And time after time, too, the Americans went out of their way to send back to the federal authorities captured dispatches or prisoners who might be of value to the war effort….even before the government offered to pay for the prisoners and
…any war vessel that had been captured, sunk, or burned.
Another thing that marked the Americans was their humanity. The French corsairs were a rough lot, and the British were hardly noted for their kindliness to captives, but American privateering skippers went out of their way to be gallant after a fight, behaving on the whole like regular Navy captains who were sure of their positions, their dignity and felt no need to be gruff. … There was never any prisoner scandal in this war, at least none on the American side.
Two of the most aptly named [vessels] were Scourge of New York [owned by New York merchants, Peter N. Schenk and Fred Jenkins] and Rattlesnake of Philadelphia, both brigs. These, each boasting a record of prizes in its own right, fell in with one another in the English Channel quite by chance, and for some time cruised in company. They were startlingly successful, making hundreds of prisoners, taking more than forty prizes, and bringing in to their combined owners at least $2,000,000.
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In more current times, the Nicoll-Benjamin House served as the administration building for the American Shakespeare Theatre company, from its inception in 1955 until its final performance in 1989. It was referred to as the Academy at that time, due to the classes in theatre arts that were offered. The nickname of ‘the White House’ came later.
Those of you newer to Stratford may not know that the theater, which was burned down by arsonists in 2019, had been home to many renowned actors—some in the early days of their careers, such as Ed Asner, James Earl Jones, Will Geer and Christopher Walken; others when their careers were in full bloom, such as Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Christopher Plummer.
In 2005, after failed attempts over the years to revive the theatre, the state transferred control of the theatre property to the town, with restrictions that would prevent it from being sold to private developers.
Although the theatre building was unusable, in the summer of 2008 or 2009 Theatre Artists Workshop (TAW) gave a compelling performance of Othello, staged outdoors on the grounds. It was well attended, and ‘set the stage’ for further summer festival performances. Connecticut Free Shakespeare, Ellen Lieberman’s successful theatre company, performed outdoors there for several seasons. These also drew large and enthusiastic crowds for each performance.
The property overlooks the Housatonic Boat Club (founded in 1887), and provides a lovely view of the Housatonic River. It was, and continues to be, a perfect spot for outdoor theatre, music festivals, visual arts exhibits and other activities that bring the community out to share summer afternoons and evenings.
In January of 2011, Stratford resident Christine Rudney was in contact with a woman curating an exhibit of Theatre in Connecticut, which was to take place at the Fairfield Museum and History Center in late fall of that year. Through Christine’s volunteer work in support of restoring the theatre, she had knowledge of the costumes still at the theatre and others being stored on the second floor of the old Southern New England Telephone building at East Broadway and Main Street. That location had a more consistent and controllable climate, which was important for those old fabrics. Two large black plastic bags of costumes were found stashed in the basement of the White House, and subsequently everything was taken to another storage area in Paradise Green. Due to the large volume of costumes, the Fairfield exhibit chose to focus on Stratford’s remarkable theatre history.
An exhibit of the costumes was displayed in the lobby of the theater during a few of those other summer events.
In order for the White House to be eligible for state and federal grants to restore and preserve the aged building, it was necessary for it to be included in the Stratford Historic District. In 2011, members of the Historic District Commission, led by then-chair Tom Yemm, began their campaign to make that happen.
At that time, the former mayor and a number of council members felt the property would be better served by a purpose other than the arts (a sports complex or senior housing were suggested by one council member), and there was talk of having the White House demolished. Thus began a two year struggle between the opposing goals.
Town Council meetings became increasingly contentious over the possible fate of the White House. The immediate neighbors (the property is in a residential area), as well as others nearby and from across the town, gathered in front of the house on Thursday, May 24, 2012, in a ‘Save the Theatre & The White House Rally’.
As things continued to heat up, a “Save Our Heritage March on Town Hall” was organized for 6:00 P.M., Monday, June 11th. The march began at Station House Square, with participants going single file to Town Hall, where many signed up to speak prior to the council meeting. They carried with them a petition in favor of preserving the White House, with over 1,200 signatures and over 150 comments from people across the country.
Then, after nearly two years of work by the Historic District Commission and concerned citizens, on July 9, 2012, the Nicoll-Benjamin House was formally and finally incorporated into the Historic District as a Local Historic Property by the Town Council at their regular meeting. The roof was repaired and the building cleaned up, using funds provided by the town.
The costumes once again found their way back to the White House and were locked up on the second floor. One room on the first floor was filled with boxes and drawers full of ephemera—publicity photos, old programs, letter, receipts, reviews, and all the paperwork that goes into the business side of running a theatre. All of it was locked away.
In 2014, the White House came alive again when out of tragedy came an opportunity. The Mighty Quinn Foundation was created by Sue and Chris Rooney, in honor and memory of their son Quinn, who, at age 19, died in 2012 from a rare form of brain cancer. The Foundation, a 501(c)(3), then created Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford, drawing young students from around the country and other parts of the world.
As it says on the website: “The Mighty Quinn Foundation honors Quinn Rooney’s passion for learning and love of theater by providing scholarships, training, artistic programming and creative opportunities within its community. Our goal is to provide young artists with the tools to learn, grow, create, and perform.”
The Foundation was granted a lease for the White House. The Rooney’s provided not only housing for the students in their own home and another purchased for that purpose, but put in a great deal of time and energy maintaining and improving the White House. Six days a week for six weeks in the summers of 2014 to 2019, students were taught there by masterclass instructors from such places as Julliard, the Yale School of Drama, the O’Neill Center, and NYU Tisch Grad/Acting. The studies covered voice, stage combat, movement and more, including deepening their understanding of Shakespeare’s language in order to share that understanding with an audience through their performances. Productions of two alternating plays per weekend were staged on the Shakespeare grounds at the end of the six weeks.
Throughout those six weeks, there were performances that took place inside the house. Some were short plays written by students, others were improvisational scenes, and all were a delightful way of getting to know those young people.
The arrival of Covid 19 put an end to many things, sadly including this format for the Shakespeare Academy@ Stratford. They continued to work with young students in other ways, but once again, the White House was dark.
The outside, however, gained a new look when Anne Lees, a certified Landscape Designer and Master Gardener, and Jean Goodnow arrived. Following the eleven years that Christine Rudney had worked to restore it, Anne and Jean took over the lead on Will’s Garden, also located at the entrance to the grounds and named for actor Will Geer (TV’s Grandpa Walton). Under Anne’s and Jean’s direction, and with the continuing help of Christine, Chris Aurelia and other volunteers, plus the Public Works Department, new shrubbery and flowering plants were added to the garden and around the White House. Their vision and work has created a lovely setting for this historic property.
The original theatre showcased so many important productions that were enjoyed by a broad general public, as well as children brought in from schools across the state and beyond. Years ago, Richard Slater, a general manager in the theatre’s heyday, told me of the time a group of students were there for a matinee production. They were getting on the bus, ready to head home when the teacher realized one of them was not there. Richard went off to search and found the young girl standing at the foot of the stage, looking up in wonder. He said gently, “Sweetheart, it’s time to go.” Still gazing up to where the miracle had taken place, she asked in a whisper, “Does this happen every day?”
Despite the loss of that ‘home of magic’, the property has become a beautiful open space that many incorporate for their daily walks, for summer picnicking, for meetings, for quiet moments looking out on the Housatonic River, and for visiting the Shakespeare Market that takes place there the first and third Sundays of the month, year-round. The White House and Will’s Garden stand at the entrance to welcome them.
And now, as we look ahead to a new performing arts complex on those grounds, we see the following in Town Hall’s update on economic development:
Full-service architectural firm Svigals + Partners is working on schematic drawings of the proposed renovations and addition to the Benjamin-Nicoll House (aka White House), as well as necessary infrastructure improvements to the property. The plan is to transform the building into an art space. The Town is currently working with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which sets the standards for historic building projects.
We’re grateful to those who years ago persisted in protecting this treasure of our historic town, and to those today who respect its storied past and are giving the White House a chance to create new stories.
Perhaps the next step will be a place on the National Register of Historic Places.
