The Greenwich mansion that was reportedly the birthplace of the Oreo cookie has been listed for sale at $15.9 million.
The 10,000-square-foot residence at 78 Mayo Ave. dates back to 1886 and was originally the home of Horace A. Hutchins, a co-founder of the Standard Oil Co. and a business partner of John D. Rockefeller.
But the home”™s claim to pop culture fame came when a subsequent owner ”“ Adolphus W. Green, chairman of the National Biscuit Co., the forerunner of Nabisco ”“ acquired the property as a summer home and used the kitchen to test new products, most notably the black-and-white Oreo cookie in 1912.
But Greenwich’s claim to cookie immortality is in dispute: Some sources place the Oreo”™s origin in New York City, while others point out Green”™s company did not develop the Oreo so much as they borrowed its distinctive black-and-white configuration from the popular Hydrox cookies that preceded it to market by four years.
Cookie history notwithstanding, the house is on a 1-acre property and has six bathrooms, 7 ½ bathrooms, a 51-foot by 22-foot pool with spa and cabana, and a geothermal HVAC system. The home was last sold in October 2013 for $6.45 million.
