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e are going there to hide.” cupies the northwest corner of Connecticut. The landscape is sto- The e-mail response— rybook New England, with rolling hills, endless woodlands, green from a New York art world fields, and streams. It’s just about two and a half hours by car from heavyweight about his de ci- Manhattan, almost three from Boston. The most recent U.S. census sion to buy a home in Litch- marks the area as the least densely populated in Connecticut. But field County, Connecticut— those are just numbers. The Litchfield list of names tells a different was de cidedly curt. And yet a story. They’re not movie stars (for the most part) or party girls, but theme emerged. Samantha Gregory, vice president of global com- the county is undeniably packed with what used to be known as munications for Tory Burch and an infinitely more forthcom- men and women of substance: Diane von Furstenberg is in New ing Litchfield County habitué, Milford, Philip Roth in War- nde scribes a typical weekend at ren, Graydon Carter in Rox- her home in the town of New bury, Jasper Johns in Sharon, Preston: “We [her husband is Henry Kissinger, Anne Bass, Weeds executive producer Ro- Agnes Gund, and Oscar de la berto Benabib] leave Manhat- Renta in Kent, Danny Meyer tan at about 5:30 p.m. on Fri- and Joan Rivers in Washing- day. We stop at G. W. Tavern in ton, Meryl Streep in Salisbury. Washington Depot, where the So just how did this owners always save us a booth. 920-square-mile stretch of Saturday we get breakfast at Con necticut with such a Marty’s coffee shop. Then we’ll high-powered citizenship and walk around Lake Waramaug, close proximity to Manhattan stop by the Pantry for take- become the red-hot center of out, go back home and read the simple life? by the fire. Every Saturday at This is a place where 7:30 we go to Oliva restaurant George Malkemus, the pres- and I order the Gorgonzola– ident of Manolo Blahnik, and–caramelized onion pizza. breeds prizewinning cattle at Sunday morning we are back his Arethusa Farm in Litch- at Marty’s, then maybe the field. New York investor Hickory Stick Bookshop, or Terry Fitzgerald and his wife, the Smithy market for organic Libby, raise all-natural Black vegetables and a pie, then home Angus beef at their Greyledge again. My favorite part? If we Farm in Bridgewater. People don’t want to talk to anyone JXdXek_X>i\^fipXe[IfY\ikf get their coffee at Marty’s in at any of these places, we don’t 9\eXY`YXk_fd\`eE\nGi\jkfe% Washington Depot or Nine have to. Don’t have to socialize J`kk`e^j\[`kfi1N\e[p>ff[dXe% Main in New Preston. The at all, in fact, and it’s absolutely 96-year-old Goshen Fair— okay. Everyone here is on the garden tractor pull at 10 a.m.! same page.” Writer Celia McGee has been weekending in Gos- Rabbit judging at 12! Woodcutting demonstration at 5!—is a hen for nearly 25 years and describes the Litchfield scene as one mainstay of the summer calendar. And the hot list to be on is that would “probably horrify the professional social climbers, Marble Valley Farm’s weekly e-mail update of what’s in season name-droppers, and partygoers in the Hamptons.” (“the organic blueberries are here!”), recipes included. “Discretion,” advises decorator and architect Robert Couturier from his home in Kent, “is very important here.” Interior designer he secret behind Litchfield County’s bucolic preservation Alexandra Champalimaud (who has a historic home in the town is equal parts natural selection and concerted effort. Lo- of Litchfield and a lake house in Kent) puts it this way: “Any- cals point to George Black’s book The Trout Pool Paradox: È=I@ the Yale University School of Art holds its summer program on live in Roxbury, and she runs a photography gallery in Washing- the same Norfolk estate where the university hosts its Chamber ton Depot called KMR Arts. And Belgian-born architect Harold Music Festival. In the early eighties a New York furrier named Tittmann, who went to Kent School, moved into a self-designed Jacques Kaplan bought a house in Kent, decided it could be the house on 20 acres in Morris three years ago, after nearly ten years in art capital of Connecticut, and opened the Paris New York Kent NoLIta. Real estate broker Peter Klemm (son of Carolyn) says that Gallery. It closed in 2006 and Kaplan, a beloved figure, died last until recently, “you got no sense of young people here. Our buyer year, but the Kent Art Association is still going strong. The novel- profile then was, to be honest, blue hairs or older weekenders. Now ist Dani Shapiro moved to Litchfield County full-time six years the average age is around fortysomething. They’re ex-Hamptonites ago, drawn partly because of its status as an artistic haven. “There’s who now have two kids and want out of that scene. Others are such a rich history,” she says. “Alexander Calder lived here. Arthur lured by the size of the properties and the privacy that comes with Miller. William Styron. We have Frank McCourt, Larry Kramer, it. I have listings right now for houses on forty and fifty acres. And Francine du Plessix Gray, Milos Forman. It’s a place where people the zoning is so strong that you often get lucky and buy a house on who need to be connected to New York can be, while still feeling sixteen acres adjacent to a land trust that can’t be developed,” says like they live in a small town. And there aren’t a million options Klemm. “Plus, between all these new people you could be at a din- of what to do. It lets you be more meditative. And, of course, ner party every weekend.” Still, Shapiro admits, “Friends who visit there is the fact that you actually have the room to think.” us sometimes look around and ask, ‘What do you all do up here?’ ” Sculptor Mark Mennin has a veritable stone quarry on the acres of land behind his Bethlehem home: Forty tons of Paki- s much as locals insist there is no regular social circuit, stani onyx, huge chunks of Turkish travertine, and pieces of white there are certain events—the Housatonic Valley Associa- marble from Vermont sit between his prototypes of carvings for tion Auction, the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days pri- a wine pavilion for the Vineyard at Strawberry Ridge on Lake 8 vate garden tours, the Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust Waramaug, along with a forklift, drills, and jackhammers. The dinner—that are very well attended, and regular haunts (the bar at Iowa-born, Princeton-educated Mennin moved to Litchfield Mayflower Inn & Spa, G. W. Tavern, West Street Grill) that are al- County from New York six years ago after realizing that he could ways packed. “I mean, it’s not Colonial Williamsburg,” sniped one 117 K_\^Xi[\ejf]IfY\ik:flkli`\iËj_flj\`e B\ekn\i\`ejg`i\[Ypk_\`[\XkfZi\Xk\ closets. At R. T. Facts (22 S. Main St.; Xd`e`M\ijX`cc\j#gcXee\[YpcXe[jZXg\ rtfacts.com) down the street, Greg and [\j`^e\iD`iXe[X9iffbjXe[\o\Zlk\[ Natalie Randall have an eclectic mix— YpcfZXc^Xi[\e[\j`^e\i:c`m\Cf[^\% A U R 4bVQR 19th-century doors, footed bathtubs, Ital- itchfield County insiders may prize ian garden sculpture. A few doors away the re gion’s peace and privacy, but is Belgique for chocolates (1 Bridge St.; C there are still plenty of reasons for visi- 860-927-3681). Richard J. Lindsey tors to come. And plenty do. They drive Book seller (15 N. Main St.; 860-927- about two and a half hours from Man- 3025) spe cializes in out-of-print titles like hattan (not including a burger–and–onion Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s Les Roses ($4,000). rings break at the Red Rooster Drive-In And if a weekend cannot go by with out on Route 22 in Brewster, New York) or a Pilates session, Victoria Schumacher about three hours from Bos ton. Their long offers private classes at her Bedford weekend should, invariably, include stops Studio off the main street ($95 for one at the following (starting from the south). hour; 14 Old Barn Rd.; 860-927-5232). N8J?@E>KFE; 118 000