The original home of Isaac and Jane Camp is one of the oldest standing structures in Washington (ca. 1757) and was named after its 18th-century owners, the Camp family. In 1756, Jonah Camp acquired land in the sparsely populated parish of New Preston, and in 1761, he transferred the property with a ‘dwelling house’ to his 20-year-old nephew Isaac Camp (1740-1793). Isaac came from Milford, CT, a rapidly growing coastal community where farmland was becoming scarce.

In 1763, Isaac married Jane Baldwin and together they raised five children in the Camp House – all of whom married into the local Whittlesey, Cogswell, and Meeker families. During the Revolution, Isaac served in the Eighth Connecticut Regiment, and after the war, he became a Surveyor of Highways. Isaac and Jane both lived into their mid-50s and are buried in the New Preston Village Cemetery. Isaac was a farmer who owned 165 acres of land – some of which is surely part of today’s Macricostas Preserve. The structures on his property included a “dwelling house, barn, cow house, stable, hog house, horse shed, and shop.” Archaeological evidence suggests that the Camps may have been involved in the early iron industry. (Lavin, IAIS, Oct. 2010)

It is possible that Isaac Camp’s property was once part of Waramaug’s Reserve. Circa 1720, when. Euro-Americans were acquiring property from the American Indians, they reserved a 20,000-acre parcel for use by Chief Waramaug (d.~1735), a revered Weantinock sachem. Called Waramaug’s

Reserve, the parcel initially stretched between the Housatonic and Shepaug Rivers in the vicinity of New Preston. (Orcutt, 1882:118-19; Howell, 1974:129; see also iaismuseum.org)

In the late 1980s, the hayfield east of the Camp House was approved for the construction of a 111-unit condominium complex. Constantine (Deno) Macricostas had proposed to develop this property.  He also considered a suggestion from a Steep Rock trustee about preserving the property in perpetuity for public use. After talking with his family, he decided that the property should be protected as open space. In 2001, SRA purchased the 238-acre parcel as well as the Camp House with funding from the State of Connecticut, Town of Washington, and many local donors.  A leadership gift from Hedda W. Von Goeben allowed Steep Rock to use the Camp House for a variety of functions. In 2020, Steep Rock acquired the neighboring Camp-Lemmon House (ca 1806) for their administrative offices, with the goal to create the “Steep Rock Center for Conservation” –a campus including the two houses, Judea Garden, a greenhouse, and workshops and a barn.

The Camp House, as Steep Rock’s education center and museum focused on the organization’s history, environmental stewardship and education, is the centerpiece for the Center for Conservation campus.

Funding for the restoration of the Camp House was through a generous gift from The Macricostas Family Foundation

Restoration was led by:
Reese Owens Architects
West Mountain Builders
Don Wyant, Contractor

$50,000+
Macricostas Family Foundation
Hedda von Goeben (1931-2021)
Kirsten Peckerman
Solley Family

$10,000-$49,999
Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation
Alexa & Marc Suskin
Marie & Mark Schwartz

$1,000-$9,999
Jennifer and Matthew Armas
Bantam Frameworks (In Kind Services)
Roberta and Raymond Beech
Tess Beasley and Maureen Chiquet
Preservation Connecticut
Peary Stafford
Bob and Laurie Wolfe

$100-$999
Monay & Ajay Bijoor
Hal & Karen Bennett
Todd Young & Andria Budd
Karen & David Carter
Evan Hack & Diane D’Isidori
Mary Antonelli & Barry Diament
Natalie Dyer
Linda Frank
Eileen Hearn
Vicky Hughes
Judy & Harold Larson
Mitchell Leff & Jussara Lee
David & Diane Martin
Katharine & Henry Michie
Rebecca Stump & Matthew
Nickerson Ursula & Paul Ofman
Timothy & Linda Potter
Melissa Schipul
Jean Sharkey
Michelle & John Sikorski
Randall Slack
Kelly Siranko & Jason Sommerville
Donna & Kevin Van Vlack
Anne Westerman
Jennifer Wynn