Welcome to Windjammer's!
Welcome to this very special place. The serenity, beauty, animals, wildlife & nature grows with every season, every month ... every year. Once an overgrown, empty, sad, cold property... now a place where many drive down the driveway and just look and say... "Wow... what a place. Do you know what you have here?" When I first drove down the long winding driveway, the grass and overgrowth was 4 ft high. As you got further down, the stone structure and house emerged out of the ground... I just looked up at the broken windows, vines growing all over the facade of the main house and the burned out stonehouse totally covered and broken and it just took me. It was still gracefully keeping watch over its precious land. I felt it look back at me and say "We are waiting for new life to breathe through the land and buildings". I was mesmerized and the thought of trying to save it was born. You could barely see the house or the water of the reservoir in the background. Once I got it in my hands, I vowed to bring life back, save what I could, protect it from harm ever again and share it with others. It has been my one and only mission since originally 2017.
"I am completely obsessed with this place and trying to fix it: I think when I saw it so abandoned and unloved, I saw myself, and I'm trying to give it what I so badly needed."
Come visit... come stay... come feel it... enjoy it and love it...
Why Windjammer's?
Many of you knew my famed horse "Royal" aka "Royal Windjammer" who I had since he was 6, until he passed at 36. We lived at one point on the other side of the Kelseytown Reservoir in the first OLD OLD house I ever lived in. He was always my Houdini horse and I think explored at just about every place we lived. But this was special escaping. In 2015 I was construction manager at 2 properties for one of my investors. One was in Norwalk and I was leaving at 5 am to go down and check on the job and try to get back before 8 am. One morning I got a call from the police just as I got to the rotary on RT 80 in Killingworth, maybe 7 more minutes to get back. Well I arrived to find the police following these 2, "Royal" and his girlfriend "Regal" back to the barn. This was the only time I knew about as unbeknowns to me he was taking "Regal" joy walking around the neighborhood and returning before I knew a thing.. BUT, I did not know this until I met the neighbor on the corner for the first time... She said, "You have horses don't you? and you lived down the street?"... well yes... she said, "your horses were ALWAYS here up and down the road". So I finally figured out that he was investigating the place and after he passed he stood watch until I could get my hands on it... hence, it's named "Windjammer's". After all those years 2015 to 2020, "Regal" made it here with us, until she passed in 2023 at the age of 38.
The Beginning
Project Windjammer's 5 years old, July 30, 2025!
We started negotiations on this property in October 2017. The original deal fell through due to fraudulent lender and then in October of 2019 my realtor friend, Micheal J. Pappa had finally found another lender, so we came back to this gem and started new negotiations. After months of going back and forth it was set to finally close and then COVID really reared its ugly head and the deal was haulted. Another 4 months of agonizing negotiations continued. Finally the week of July 19th, the deal was in place and I received the signed contracts on July 19th which was the anniversary of my dad's passing. I knew he was my angel at that moment, along with many others that must have been looking over us. The closing was July 30, 2020.
The History...
The property consists of a main house circa 1724, addition early 1900's, and at that time the ruins of a stonehouse. This is all sitting on 6.79 acres on the Kelseytown Reservoir. The property was in need of total rehab. The house was apparently empty for over 20 years. The overgrowth was unbelievable, but I could see through it somehow. I have no idea why no one else wanted it. Did it need 20 years of clean up and work, YES. Can you buy a property like this in general, NO.
I knew this had to have history, but had only known that is was originally a hunting lodge. When I met the neighbor who owns the other original house on the property, she told me that the history also included it being an Art Colony and that the mysteriously burned stonehouse was Pierre Houpert's Distillerie! The story I got from some family and other sources is that the A&P delivery manager could not understand why so much sugar was being delivered here. He reported it to the feds, but before they got here, the building was burned down. And that is the way it had been ever since. After several tough tough loans, both the main house and stonehouse have been revitalized. There is still much to do, but the accomplishments are massive and with next to nothing to do it with. The views are now breathtaking, the serenity and peace is calming and mesmerizing.
The family still distills this famous Vodka in Canada!
Please visit these 2 websites for my info on how to purchase it!
Tower Hill Rd - http://www.towerhillroad.com/
Houpert & Frere Vodka - http://www.houpertfrere.com/
News Spring 2025
Well, I never thought we would get here. The main house was renovated 2020 - 2022. There was a year long pause due to trying to acquire new financing. In October 2023, we thought we had it, but as it turned out, got tangled up with a predatory lender. So, the renovation of the stonehouse began, but was halted when the actions of the predatory lender showed it's ugly head. The stonehouse sat there for another 5 months while 7k a month went out the window to this lender before I was able to secure new investors. It is not the easiest thing to do when you lost your work during COVID, have no reserves, and your credit is OK but not great. Many many many times the urge to give up kicked up its heels, but the "Never ever give up... Never EVER QUIT theme" kept swirling in my head. With the help, love and support of all my friends and contractors... we are here. There is NO gratitude large enough to thank all these people who have been a part of this. This project is not out of the woods yet, as the lot adjacent to the main house and stonehouse still MUST be bought back and many people are owed... after the HELL I have been through, if you asked me... would I do it again? Honestly, I do not currently know the answer to that question. Every waking breathing moment of my life has been devoted to this incredible place. Once I know it's completely safe and financially stable... my answer will probably be yes, but for now the jury is out
Other Special Things
The Gardens
The Furries
The Wildlife
The Stonehouse
The Present...
This past 4 1/2 years, the non stop work has continued and the main house is 98% finished with the renovations and the stonehouse renovations have finally been completed. Careful design work trying to blend the old with the new. Much of the original structure on the main house was gone, but I was able to restore what I think were some of the original beams. The original chimney with 4 working fireplaces and the original stone foundation still remain. There is still a long way to go, but what has been accomplished through my contractors and many friends is heartwarming. On the land we have cleared the perimeter of the house from overgrowth, (you literally could barely see the house), cleared a good amount of the overgrowth in the driveway as you could not even drive a vehicle down and have been working on clearing down to the reservoir to expose the beautiful views. I decided to rip the 2nd floor off of the main house as the existing 2nd floor structure was completely compromised. I rebuilt the 2nd story with dormers, skylights, cathedral ceiling, exposed beams and window walls of glass to mirror the right side with beautiful views of the property. Many many awesome treasures have been and continue to be found. Some are; the original well, an old walkway to a side door, some very cool glasses, bottles and much much more!
The Future...
This spectacular piece of property is in Clinton, CT. We have just opened the stonehouse for Booking on AirBnB! We look forward to meeting many people who come to enjoy this special place. Would love to do some acoustic music series here this summer if possible.Aside from staying at this historical gem, the sunrises and sunsets, trails through the property and down to the water, I hope in the future for people to be able to bring their horses to ride the trails across the street. There are many many nearby tourist attractions all in less than an hour travel. Please see our Nearby Attractions page for all kinds of things to do.
Farm Tourism Venue:
In the distant future we would love to look into some farm tourism activities. Town zoning will allow very cool events. Some are: "Movie Camp Night", "Fiddle Off" Events, "A Pumpkin Hunt", Canning Demos & Coffee Clatch, Bonfire Jams, Sunday Brunch & Trail Ride, flower and plant stand (honor system), IDEAL planting workshops - Native American style, such as the corn, bean, & pumpkin trio. Flower garden tips for the Northeast, educational workshops including blacksmithing, woodworking, wilderness walks, birding for all and much more.
For Investors - Potential Partners
I am looking for someone to provide private financing at a fair rate between 7% & 8% or as my second choice would potentially consider a partner to expand and bring this property to its full potential. For more information contact me directly. Kim Williams 203-623-8223
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