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English: Wyndygoul, located in Cos Cob, Connecticut, was the home of Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946), the renowned naturalist, author, explorer, lecturer and artist who lived there from 1901 to 1912, during which time he played an important role in the formation of the Boy Scouts of America (1910), writing its original handbook and serving as Chief Scout until 1915. On this property he founded the Woodcraft Indians, a movement emphasizing Native American ways, camp craft and outdoor education, which served as one of the primary inspirations for the formation of the Boy Scouts and similar organizations.

Seton sold his Cos Cob estate to financier Maurice Wertheim (1886-1950) in 1912. Wertheim owned the property until his death, utilizing it as his summer residence.

On June 7, 1942, Zionist and selected American Jewish Committee leaders met informally at Wertheim’s Cos Cob home (among the attendees was the future prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion) and drafted the “Cos Cob Formula,” that advocated “unrestricted Jewish immigration to Palestine which a Jewish majority may organize into an autonomous commonwealth”. The “Cos Cob Formula” caused a great deal of controversy amongst the AJC leadership and was rejected which ultimately led to Wertheim not seeking re-election of the presidency of AJC. Only after World War II when the full extent of the Holocaust became known and no refuge was found for its survivors did the dissenting factions join in an effort to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.