Brief History of Litchfield

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="042fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <I><B>Litchfield Economic Development Commission</B></I><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B><B> |   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>  </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Litchfield Economic Development Commissi"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="043d2b03.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Business Activity"><U>Business Activity</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Commercial Properties"><U>Commercial Properties</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDC Information"><U>EDC Information</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Employment Opportunities"><U>Employment Opportunities</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Local Contact Info"><U>Local Contact Info</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id379.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PZ Regulations"><U>P&Z Regulations</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Statistics"><U>Statistics</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Brief History of Litchfield</I></div> <div> “Litchfield is probably New England's finest surviving example of a typical late 18th century New England town,” stated a survey published by the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior.</div> <bR> <div> Litchfield was incorporated in 1719 by an act of the Colonial Assembly of Connecticut on lands bought in 1716 from Tunxis Indians for 15 pounds.</div> <bR> <div> In 1720 the first settlers arrived from Hartford, Farmington, Windsor, Lebanon and neighboring towns, to take up the 60 home lots that had been laid out in and around what later became the Borough of Litchfield. They built houses and erected five forts for protection against Indians, who were mainly friendly.</div> <bR> <div> The settlement grew and prospered. Many industries flourished. Later, Litchfield became an important stop for New Haven-Albany and Boston-Hartford stagecoach lines. It was during this time that many fine colonial and federal houses were built in the Borough and nearby villages. The Litchfield China Company's great clipper Trident, owned by Col. Benjamin Talmadge, Gov. Oliver Wolcott and Julius Deming, brought from the Orient and Indies hundreds of fine products, from silks to spirits.</div> <bR> <div> By 1810 Litchfield's population reached 4,639. It was the fourth largest town in Connecticut. But change took place when railways came up the Housatonic and Naugatuck valleys. Areas with abundant water power were opened up, turning the wheels of industry. Litchfield's small industries, unable to meet such competition, were gradually abandoned. Population dwindled to 3,500 in 1910. Today it is 8,300. For many years the town and surrounding area were a fashionable summer resort.</div> <bR> <div> In 1919, the Hartford - Litchfield Stagecoach Road, was closed.</div> <bR> <div> Two world wars brought some of the changes that other New England towns underwent. Families move more often. New families joined us, many of whom live in our historic houses and take pride in them and in Litchfield. Our famous houses are not pointed out just as monuments to a time long gone; they are lived in. For this reason they are not open to the public except on the well-publicized Open House Day in July, benefiting the Connecticut Junior Republic. </div> <bR> <div> On May 15, 1959, Special Act. No. 132 of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Central Assembly of Connecticut established all the Borough of Litchfield as a Historic District.</div> <bR> <div> Ten years later on July 4, 1969, the town was presented with a plaque marking a portion of the District as a National Historic Landmark, registered in the Federal Register of Historic Places. The ceremony opened the three-day celebration of Litchfield's 250th anniversary, which attracted 65,000 visitors to our town.</div> <bR> <div> The Town of Litchfield includes the villages of Bantam, East Litchfield, Northfield and Milton. They should be included in a visit for their own beauty and history. The road to Northfield offers some of the most beautiful views in the county.</div> <bR> <div> Today Litchfield offers beauty of the past, but a past filled with the life of the present generation - truly a remarkable combination.</div> <bR> <div> <I>* Information Source - Litchfield Area Business Association Directory 2006</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="298" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 26 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.o"><U><B>Litchfield Historical Society</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Litchfield Economic Development Commissi"><U><I><B> <img src="HTMLobj-383/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="35" height="29">  </B></I></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>