In 1904, Harry Houdini purchased a summer home on farmland in Stamford, Connecticut. For some unknown reason, he sold it a year later, and since then, only two other families have owned it. The original house burned down in the 1960s, but a replica was built on the original foundation, and two original wells still grace the property. To learn more, check out Blogcast #8: Harry Houdini’s Stamford Home below or directly on the Interval Magic YouTube channel (@intervalmagic).
San Diego Magician Tom Interval, owner of Interval Magic, provides magic entertainment and training to private and corporate clients locally and nationally.
A member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), Society of American Magicians (SAM), and the Academy of Magical Arts (AMA), Interval has captivated tens of thousands of people at numerous venues, including Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia.
With a BA in professional writing and minors in communications and business administration, Interval writes magic-related e-books, magazine articles, and blogs and produces tutorials and related videos for his YouTube channel. Most recently, Interval earned The Linking Ring Award of Excellence for a cover story he wrote for the magicians' publication.
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Thanks, John. I plan on doing an update later today or tomorrow based on information I should have included, but the only documentation I have so far for its purchase and sell dates is the following:
PURCHASE Date: Thursday, September 22, 1904 Parties: Leopold Weiss to Ehrich Weiss Area: Three tracts of land Price: $1.00
(Source: Stamford Advocate, October 30, 2016, citing Renee Kahn)
SELL Date: October 1905 (approximate; see below) Parties: Erich Weiss to Nathan M. Parker (see below) Area: 68 acres (see below) Price: TBD (see below)
(Source: Stamford Advocate, Oct. 19, 1905, p. 1)
Regarding the house’s selling, here’s the original text from the Stamford Advocate, Thursday, Oct. 19, 1905, Vol. 77 No. 9., p. 1, under “Transfers of Real Estate”:
Among the deeds recently led for records in the Town Clerk’s office are the following: … Erich Weiss, New York, to Nathan M. Parker, Greenwich, 68 acres on Bedford Road near Webb’s Hill.
I have a few questions, so I plan to do more research when I have time:
How much area is “three tracts of land,” the supposed amount he purchased in 1904?
If he originally purchased seven acres (three tracts?) as Renee et al. found, then how do we account for him selling about 70 acres a year later? Did he buy more land between the purchase and sell dates? Houdini, himself, claimed in a San Francisco Bulletin article that he purchased “a 70-acre farm at Stamford, Connecticut,” and the 1905 Advocate article seems to confirm that (claiming 68 acres, actually).
If you look at a satellite aerial shot of 286 Webb’s Hill Rd. (Webbs Hill Rd.) on Google Maps, you’ll see that one acre easily fits within the hillside going down to Long Ridge Rd. And I can easily visualize seven acres along that hillside going north and south. But 70 acres? That’s a massive amount of land. Did Houdini really own that, or was it not reported correctly?
Was Long Ridge Rd. formerly Bedford Rd.?
I left a message with the city of Stamford in hopes they can give me the exact dates and purchase amounts.
intervalmagic.wordpress.com 
Great work as always, Tom. Do we know Houdini’s exact purchase and sell dates of this property?
Thanks, John. I plan on doing an update later today or tomorrow based on information I should have included, but the only documentation I have so far for its purchase and sell dates is the following:
PURCHASE
Date: Thursday, September 22, 1904
Parties: Leopold Weiss to Ehrich Weiss
Area: Three tracts of land
Price: $1.00
(Source: Stamford Advocate, October 30, 2016, citing Renee Kahn)
SELL
Date: October 1905 (approximate; see below)
Parties: Erich Weiss to Nathan M. Parker (see below)
Area: 68 acres (see below)
Price: TBD (see below)
(Source: Stamford Advocate, Oct. 19, 1905, p. 1)
Regarding the house’s selling, here’s the original text from the Stamford Advocate, Thursday, Oct. 19, 1905, Vol. 77 No. 9., p. 1, under “Transfers of Real Estate”:
I have a few questions, so I plan to do more research when I have time:
I left a message with the city of Stamford in hopes they can give me the exact dates and purchase amounts.
Thank you Tom!