For many years, people driving up and down the Ridge Road that runs between Randolph Center and Brookfield, Vermont could not help but notice that the Cooley house, a once lovely little farmhouse perched on a knoll with a breathtaking view, was falling into disrepair. The house, purchased by Harry and Gertrude Cooley in 1953, had so deteriorated by the time their son Charles died in 2017 that a proper restoration was out of the question. And yet the home held many memories for a sprawling network of family members who wished to see it preserved. What to do? As Charles’s heirs pondered the situation and housing costs soared, the Ridge Road property continued to deteriorate. It would take an extraordinary person to save it. A visionary, to be sure, but also one with adequate resources and enormous resolve.
That person turned out to be Sylvia Shepard Cooley, Charles’s daughter-in-law. Her story is told in her blog, Ridge Road House (ridgeroadhouse.blog), and in the pages of this ebook. Volume 1 is a compilation of Sylvia's blog posts from November 2023, when the project began, to April 2026, when it was well on its way to completion. Sylvia and Dan and their menagerie—which includes at present a Morgan horse, a mini horse, a donkey, two barn cats, and a couple of dachsunds—are scheduled to move in sometime in 2028. To receive updates on the Ridge Road House story and to leave comments for Sylvia, subscribe to RidgeRoadHouse.blog.