Norwalk, CT, February 17, 2025- The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is pleased to announce that Ernest F. DesRochers will join the Board of Trustees.

LMMM Chairman of the Board Douglas E. Hempstead said: “I have known Ernie DesRochers for a number of years and have always been impressed with his interpersonal skills, success, and determination. I am sure he will play a significant role in boosting the Mansion’s reach and capabilities.”

Mr. DesRochers holds an MBA from University of Connecticut and has been a senior real estate finance professional for over 35 years, originating, underwriting, placing, and closing commercial real estate debt and equity investments throughout the United States. In addition, he has over 28 years of experience managing P&L and personnel and having run several production offices for current and former employers. He has been ranked consistently in the top 10 percent of producers in fee income and production volume at NorthMarq.

A National Historic Landmark since 1971, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is an award-winning institution and regarded as one of the earliest and most significant Second Empire Style country houses in the United States. Built (1864-1868) for renowned financier and railroad baron LeGrand Lockwood, the Mansion was designed by architect Detlef Lienau with interiors by such notable cabinet makers as the Herter Brothers, Leon Marcotte, and George Platt.

Following Lockwood’s untimely death in 1872, Charles Drelincourt Mathews, a wealthy merchant from New York, purchased the Mansion as a summer home for his wife, Rebecca, and their four children. The eldest son, Charles T. Mathews, is known to have designed the Lady Chapel in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC.

The City of Norwalk purchased the property in 1941. Slated for demolition in the 1960s, the Mansion was saved by residents led by the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, Inc. and the Common Interest Group. Today, the Mansion stands as an iconic treasure, with Gilded Age interiors and furniture that illustrate magnificently the beauty and splendor of the Victorian era.

LMMM’s 2025 programs are made possible in part by LMMM’s Founding Patrons: The Estate of Mrs. Cynthia Clark Brown; LMMM’s Leadership Patrons: Dr. Michele and Attorney Miklos Koleszar and The Sealark Foundation; and LMMM’s 2025 Season Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk, The Maurice Goodman Foundation, and Lockwood-Mathews Foundation, Inc. For more information on tours and programs, please visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, email [email protected], or call 203-838-9799.