The Wainwright House was founded in 1951 by Fonrose Wainwright Condict, a Rye resident, with the help of the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale. Mrs. Condict was a member of the wealthy Wainwright family, which owned substantial property in the Milton Point area, including the mansion.

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Initially, it was home to the Laymen's Movement, an association of businessmen founded in 1941 to encourage spiritual values in the workplace. Among its members were John D. Rockefeller, J. C. Penney and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Shortly afterward, United Nations conferences on conflict resolution were held there. Dag Hammarskjold, secretary general of the United Nations at the time, gave Wainwright House a 300- year-old altar made from an African agma tree that still stands in the meditation room today.

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For almost 70 years, Wainwright House has been the site of hundreds of conferences, meetings and classes in a variety of disciplines, ranging from Far Eastern religions to Christianity, from relatively pragmatic self-help to mysticism-inspired philosophies. Those events have included Joseph Campbell, Deepak Chopra, Ram Das, Aldous Huxley and Dr. Bernie Siegel.

 

Upon her death in 1983, Fonrose Wainwright Condict donated the Wainwright House to be used for the continuation of her mission. At the time, it was known as the Wainwright House Center for the Development of Human Potential.

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Today, Wainwright House plays host to a variety of social and corporate events along with wellness and movement classes. The facilities include three buildings with meeting rooms, dining rooms, a meditation room, library, and solarium; as well as a Yoga Center with lodging for programs and retreats.

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Wainwright House is proud to be the oldest non-profit, non-sectarian holistic learning center in the United States. As a holistic learning center, we recognize that we are the sum of ALL of our parts and are dedicated to helping everyone in our community achieve balance in all aspects of life: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual

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Join us and experience tranquility and inspiration on Wainwright House's five acres of organic lawns and gardens overlooking Milton Harbor on Long Island Sound.

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