Historic Plaque for Newtown Turnpike Home

The newest recipients of an historical designation plaque from the Westport Historical Society are Jeremy and Tracy Benton. Bob Weingarten, house historian of the Westport Historical Society, presented the plaque, which signifies their 169 Newtown Turnpike house was constructed in 1839 by John Goodsell. The Bentons, parents of four boys under the age of 6, said they purchased the house in 2008 from the Gordon and Edna Manning Trust. Gordon Manning, who died in 2006, was a CBS News vice president in the early years of “60 Minutes” who later went on to NBC News. Prior to the Mannings, it was the home of New Yorker Magazine illustrator Tom Funk (1911-2003) and his wife Edna Eicke, also an illustrator, according to the Bentons’ research. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com