The Cornucopia at Oldfield
Bed & Breakfast
Southbury, Connecticut

Where gracious hospitality in a beautiful historic setting welcomes you.

John Moseley erected the main house between 1818 and 1822 on land (10 acres) given to him by his mother, Patience Hinman Moseley. John, the son of Colonel Increase (IV) and Patience Moseley, was born October 29, 1775 and was married twice, first to Molly Matilda Graham, who died in 1810 and then to Rebecca B. Brinsmade, June 13, 1821. John lived to celebrate his 100^th birthday at Oldfield with a reception and a "Band from Pomperaug". You can see a picture of John on his 100^th birthday sitting outside the front door with other family members. It is on display in the Keeping Room. Records indicate that John followed in his father’s footsteps as the area’s State Representative; he was also the first town clerk of Southbury.

According to a written account by Mrs. Selena Hinman Aston, the lumber was personally selected by John Moseley in Maine and brought by boat and ox cart to Southbury. By the early 1800’s there were very few large trees left in Connecticut. For a house of this size using the "Post and Beam" form of construction, many large beams were needed. The ones in the attic are 40’ lengths of six by six. All of the structural members are chestnut.

Upon his death in 1876, the property was sold to Grant A. Wheeler. William Moseley purchased it in 1878 and in 1889 the title passed to John G. Moseley and Maria C. Hinman. In 1902 the title passed to Selena Hinman Aston, wife of Admiral Ralph Aston. He son, Albert Aston, acquired it from her estate in 1924.  

Albert Aston was a well-known attorney in Southbury. He is credited with single-handedly writing the original Zoning Regulations for the town.  A town meeting on November 23, 1937 when it was learned that a large tract of land had been purchased by a pro-Nazi group that wanted to create a Bun Camp to indoctrinate and train young Americans like the Hitler youth.  At the time, there were no zoning restrictions to stop the use of the land for such a purpose.  Mr.  Aston put together the regulations (some say in one day) that includes the following interesting prohibited use:

"Military training or drilling with or without arms except by
legally constituted armed forces of the United States"

The original copy of the Zoning Regulations are hanging in the Village Town Hall.  The intersection in front of the house is still known by some as Aston’s corner.

The rear section of the house has a history of its own, having been moved across the street to the rear of the main house from the northwest corner of Roxbury Road known as the "store lot". (This designation is shown on the plot plan dated 1902 which is also in the Keeping Room.) Tradition has it that the building was a small inn at the time fo the Rochambeau march from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia that went through Southbury. (There will be a reenactment of this march through Southbury in 2006.) It is believed that this inn, or store, was operated by Captain Timothy Hinman, father of Patiene Hinman Moseley, but its exact age has not been ascertained. If it was an inn at Rochambeau’s time it dates to at least 1781, making it the oldest room in the house. In 1902 this one story structure was raised to two stories and attached to the main house.

In 1976 the house was purchased by Lascadia (Anthony) R. Pollmon. Mr. Pollmon subdivided the property into two lots and built his own home to the rear of the "Oldfield" in 1977. "Oldfield" was then transferred to the Wilson’s who were relatives of the Polmon’s. They never lived in the house. Joe Taddia and his wife Barbara Secor purchased it in 1983.

The Taddia’s restored much of the house while updating the mechanical and electrical, adding a swimming pool surrounded by hemlocks and forsythia and a flag stone patio. In 1997, Jennifer Thurston purchased the home with the express purpose of converting it to a Bed and Breakfast. Private bathrooms were added as was central air conditioning. The gardens were completely replanted with an assortment of perennials.

The home was purchased in 200 by Dave and Sue Andros who continued to operate the Bed and Breakfast until they had to move in 2004.

Christine and Ed Edelson purchased the home in late 2004.