When Paul DiMarzio moved into his new home on Fallen Leaf Lane in June of 2024, he did not realize he would soon uncover a rich history and multiple artifacts of a distant time.

As DiMarzio was looking over the plans for his property, he saw a box marked “stone foundation remains.” He started to dig into the history, both literally and metaphorically, of his property.

DiMarzio found that his land is the same area where an old cattle barn for Currituck Hill, a farm run in partnership with Susan J. Scudder and Arthur W. Reynolds (A.W. Reynolds), was located. The farm was functional in the early 1900s, but DiMarzio has yet to piece together the exact dates of operation, as it is now clearly defunct.

He discovered that the barn was a “ramp barn,” and part of the ramp is still intact with paving stones at the top, though it is covered in dirt, grass, and brush now. DiMarzio explained that ramp barns were designed so the farmers could store feed and hay on the second level and drop the food right on the cattle below.

As DiMarzio began looking through his property more and more, he discovered the concrete foundation hidden under about two inches of dirt and waist-high grass, as well as short concrete pillars that he thinks were for the supporting columns of the barn with rebar still embedded in the center. He also discovered the round foundation that once housed the silo.

While DiMarzio was uncovering the site, he found nails, pieces of glass, and metal pieces of a cultivator. He continued to research the property and discovered Reynolds was more than a farmer, he was an inventor with about 20 patents to his name. He designed and invented mostly farm equipment, which DiMarzio found pieces of in the ruins of the barn.

DiMarzio continued to research different aspects of the property and discovered that Reynolds went to Ohio to purchase seven Aberdeen-Angus cows for the farm. Reynolds’ daughter, Elizabeth, wrote an article for The Aberdeen-Angus Journal about one of the cows going on to win a prize at the Connecticut State Fair in 1926.

This article details a visit from W.H. Jardine, the then US Secretary of Agriculture, to the Currituck Hill cattle barn, in which A.W. showed the collection of Aberdeen-Angus cattle.

As was printed in The Newtown Bee on Friday, August 6, 1926, “It has been erroneously stated in the press that the Secretary came primarily to see a small plot of sugar beets being raised experimentally at Currituck Hill. While Secretary Jardine has been and is greatly interested in sugar beet production and believes it has possibilities in Connecticut, his visit was planned many months ago and was merely a friendly call.” The article also notes that Jardine was impressed by the pastures and corn despite the dry season.

The article from The Aberdeen-Angus Journal by Elizabeth also mentions that her Aberdeen-Angus calf, Blackbird 5th of Currituck Hill, won first in her class at the 1926 Connecticut State Fair.

As was printed in the Friday, September 10, 1926 edition of The Bee, “In the Championship, all classes and breeds competing, Elizabeth Reynolds easily won the Grand Championship on her very smooth and blocky Aberdeen-Angus heifer…This the heifer that was so much admired by Secretary Jardine on his recent visit to Newtown and it is the first time a heifer has been Champion in one of these contests.”

The article includes pictures of a barn and two photos of a cow, assumed to be Blackbird 5th of Currituck Hill and the old cattle barn located on Paul’s property.

DiMarzio plans to continue sifting through his barn ruins when the snow melts and the sun returns. In his short time last summer and fall, he has found hundreds of nails and quite a few door hinges. He has located the old gate and pieces of an old electric fence.

He hopes to deepen his understanding and knowledge of the property and is looking for any information readers may have about Currituck Hill.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.