BUSH-HOLLEY HOUSE, 1730
      39 Strickland Road, Greenwich

The Bush-Holley house, headquarters and museum of the Greenwich Historical Society, interprets the lives of the families who lived in it during three centuries in the Cos Cob section of Greenwich.     Built in the seventeenth century on a major waterway, the house was important in trade during the colonial period. Purchased in1738 by Justus Bush, a prominent land-owner and investor, the house became the center of son David’s business pursuits. Packet boats would leave for the New York trade from the harbordown the hill from David’s front door.
As David, the largest slave holder in town, prospered, the house was enlarged.  In 1848, the Bush family sold the house to George Jackson Smith, town clerk, who transformed it into a boarding house. The New Haven Railroad, which opened in 1848, enabled city visitors to vacation in rural Cos Cob, and many vacationers, as well as railroad workers, boarded at the house.

        Edward Holley purchased the house in 1882, re-named it “The Holley Inn,” and catered to the small vacationing community. In the 1890s, John Twachtman, a New York Impressionist painter and teacher, visited Cos Cob and began bringing his best students to study at the Holley Inn. The house soon became a headquarters for the American Impressionists and attracted many of the artists and writers of the day.

    An art student, Elmer MacRae, married Edward Holley’s daughter, Emma Constant,  and they raised twin daughters in the house. Elmer died in 1953, and his widow sold the house to the Greenwich Historical Society in 1957.
    The Bush-Holley House today is furnished to reflect the occupancy of the families in their time. It provides the opportunity not only to examine a slice of the past but also to see the changes in one house over three hundred years.
Tours are offered Wednesday through Sunday 12:00pm, 1:30pm, and 3:00pm.Tours last 45 minutes.

    Covid-19 Safety Measure in Effect for Bush-Holley Tours.
    Docent guides and visitors participating in Bush-Holley tours are required to wear masks and practice social distancing. House tours will be limited to no more than two separate parties with 6 or less people between them per tour.

For more information call 203-869-6899.