This mansion was built by Civil War banker-railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood. The partially restored 60-room chateau contains stenciled walls, inlaid woodwork and a skylit rotunda. Displays include a collection of 19th century music boxes.
The mansion was completed in 1868 at a cost of $2 million. Lockwood's financial reversals in 1869 and his untimely death in 1872 resulted in the loss of the estate, and its sale to Charles Mathews, a New York importer, in 1876 for $90,000. In 1941 the family sold it to the City of Norwalk for $170,000. It is now a public park.
Guided tours of the first and second floors are offered on the hour Tuesday-Friday, 11am-2pm, Sunday 1pm-4pm in mid-March through mid-December; closed holidays.