2/5/2019 Ridgefield, Connecticut - Wikipedia Coordinates: 41°18′19″N 73°30′05″W Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old Ridgefield, Connecticut community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census.[1] The town Town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place. Contents History Geography Geology Climate Demographics Ridgefield Town Hall Arts and culture Annual events On the National Register of Historic Places Government Education Seal Infrastructure Notable people In popular culture References Footnotes External links History Ridgefield was first settled by English colonists from Norwalk and Milford in 1708, when a group of settlers purchased land from Chief Catoonah of Location in Fairfield County and the the Ramapo tribe. The town was incorporated under a royal charter from state of Connecticut. [2] the Connecticut General Assembly issued in 1709. Ridgefield was Coordinates: 41°18′19″N 73°30′05″W descriptively named.[3] The most notable 18th-century event was the Country United States Battle of Ridgefield on April 27, 1777. This American Revolutionary War U.S. state Connecticut skirmish involved a small colonial militia force (state militia and some County Fairfield Continental Army soldiers), led by, among others, General David Metropolitan Bridgeport- [4] Wooster, who died in the engagement, and Benedict Arnold, whose area Stamford horse was shot from under him. They faced a larger British force that had Incorporated 1709 landed at Westport and was returning from a raid on the colonial supply Government depot in Danbury. The battle was a tactical victory for the British but a • Type Selectman-town https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgefield,_Connecticut#Demographics 1/10 2/5/2019 Ridgefield, Connecticut - Wikipedia strategic one for the Colonials because the British would never again meeting conduct inland operations in Connecticut, despite western Connecticut's • First Rudy Marconi (D) selectman strategic importance in securing the Hudson River Valley.[5] Today, the • Selectmen Barbara Manners dead from both sides are buried together in a small cemetery on Main (D) Street on the right of the entrance to Casagmo condominiums: "...foes in Steve Zemo (D) arms, brothers in death...". The Keeler Tavern, a local inn and museum, Bob Hebert (R) features a British cannonball still lodged in the side of the building. There Maureen Kozlark (R) are many other landmarks from the Revolutionary War in the town, with most along Main Street. Area • Total 35.0 sq mi In the summer of 1781, the French army under the Comte de Rochambeau (90.6 km2) marched through Connecticut, encamping in the Ridgebury section of • Land 34.4 sq mi 2 town, where the first Catholic mass in Ridgefield was offered. (89.2 km ) • Water 0.5 sq mi 2 For much of its three (1.4 km ) centuries, Ridgefield was a Elevation 659 ft (201 m) farming community. Among Population (2010) the important families in the • Total 24,638 19th century were the • Density 703.9/sq mi Rockwells and Lounsburys, (271.8/km2) which intermarried. They Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern) produced two Connecticut • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (Eastern) Main Street, looking south, 1875 governors, George Lounsbury ZIP code 06877 and Phineas Lounsbury. The Area code(s) 203/475 Ridgefield Veterans Memorial Community Center on Main Street, also FIPS code 09-63970 called the Lounsbury House, was built by Gov. Phineas Chapman GNIS feature ID 0213496 Lounsbury around 1896 as his primary residence. The Lounsbury Farm Website www.ridgefieldct near the Florida section of Ridgefield is one of the only remaining .org (http://www.ri operational farms in Ridgefield. dgefieldct.org/) In the late 19th century, spurred by the new railroad connection to its lofty village and the fact that nearby countryside reaches 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, Ridgefield began to be discovered by wealthy New York City residents, who assembled large estates and built huge "summer cottages" throughout the higher sections of town. Among the more noteworthy estates were Col. Louis D. Conley's "Outpost Farm", which at one point totalled nearly 2,000 acres (8.1 km2), some of which is now Bennett's Pond State Park; Seth Main Street, looking south from Branchville Road, about 1906 Low Pierrepont's "Twixthills", more than 600 acres (2.4 km2), much of which is now Pierrepont State Park; Frederic E. Lewis's "Upagenstit", 100 acres (0.40 km2) that became Grey Court College in the 1940s, but is now mostly subdivisions; and Col. Edward M. Knox's "Downesbury Manor", whose 300 acres (1.2 km2) included a 45-room mansion that Mark Twain often visited. These and dozens of other estates became unaffordable and unwieldy during and after the Great Depression, and most were broken up. Many mansions were razed. In their place came subdivisions of one- and 2-acre (8,100 m2) lots that turned the town into a suburban, bedroom community in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. However, strong planning and zoning has maintained much of the 19th- and early 20th-century charm of the town, especially along its famous mile-long Main Street. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgefield,_Connecticut#Demographics 2/10 2/5/2019 Ridgefield, Connecticut - Wikipedia In 1946, Ridgefield was one of the locations considered for the United Nations secretariat building,[6] but was not chosen due to its relative inaccessibility. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.0 square miles (91 km2), of which 34.4 square miles (89 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), or 1.52%, is water. The town is bordered by the towns of North Salem and Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York to the west, The Ridgefield School (postcard sent in 1909) Danbury to the north, Wilton to the south and Redding to the east. The town has a Metro-North Railroad station called Branchville in the Branchville corner of town. The Census designated place (CDP) corresponding to the town center covers a total area of 6.4 square miles (17 km2), of which 0.16% is water. Other locales within the town include Titicus on Route 116 just north of the village; Ridgebury in the northern section of town; Scotland, which is south of Ridgebury; Farmingville, located northeast and east of the town center; Limestone, located northeast of the town center; Flat Rock, located south of the town center; and Florida, located just north of Branchville. Geology Ridgefield consists of hilly, rocky terrain, ranging from 1,060 feet (320 m) above sea level (at Pine Mountain) to 342 feet (104 m) at Branchville. Its average village elevation is 725 feet (221 m) above sea level.[7] The landscape is strewn with countless rocks deposited by glaciers, and among the town's bodies of water is Round Pond, formed in a kettle left by the last glacier 20,000 years ago. A particularly interesting feature is Cameron's Line, named for Eugene N. Cameron, who discovered that rocks west of the line differed greatly from those east of it. This fault line was formed some 250 million years ago by the collision of "Proto North America" and "Proto Africa", and there are still occasional light earthquakes felt along its length. The line bisects the southern half of the town, running generally north of West Lane, across the north end of the village, past the south end of Great Swamp and generally easterly into Redding in the Topstone area.[8] North of Cameron's Line, the town is rich in limestone. The mineral was extensively mined, and remnants of several limekilns exist today. Also mined here in the 19th century was mica, pegmatite, and quartz. Gold, as well as gemstones such as garnet and beryl, have been found here, and dozens of minerals have been unearthed at the old Branchville Mica Quarry. Uraninite, a source of uranium, is found here, too. Climate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgefield,_Connecticut#Demographics 3/10 2/5/2019 Ridgefield, Connecticut - Wikipedia Climate data for Ridgefield, Connecticut Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record 71 77 92 95 97 98 106 103 100 89 82 76 106 high °F (22) (25) (33) (35) (36) (37) (41) (39) (38) (32) (28) (24) (41) (°C) Average 36 40 49 61 72 81 85 83 75 63 51 40 61 high °F (2) (4) (9) (16) (22) (27) (29) (28) (24) (17) (11) (4) (16) (°C) Average 19 22 29 39 48 59 64 62 53 42 34 25 41 low °F (−7) (−6) (−2) (4) (9) (15) (18) (17) (12) (6) (1) (−4) (5) (°C) Record −18 −10 −9 14 26 36 40 38 28 19 10 −11 −18 low °F (−28) (−23) (−23) (−10) (−3) (2) (4) (3) (−2) (−7) (−12) (−24) (−28) (°C) Average rainfall 3.76 3.30 4.43 4.36 4.57 4.74 4.99 4.55 4.66 4.89 4.54 4.16 52.95 inches (96) (84) (113) (111) (116) (120) (127) (116) (118) (124) (115) (106) (1,345) (mm) Source: [9] Demographics [12] As of the census of 2000, there were 23,643 people, 8,433 households, and Historical population 6,611 families residing in the town. The population density was 686.7 people per square mile (265.1/km²). There were 8,877 housing units at an average density of Census Pop. %± 257.8 per square mile (99.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.12% 1790 1,947 — White, 0.62% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 1800 2,025 4.0% 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more 1810 2,103 3.9% races.