Gorham’s Pond Bridge, Darien

Located in lower Fairfield County on Long Island Sound, Darien, which incorporated in 1820, was originally the Middlesex Parish area of Stamford. Coastal trading and agriculture supported the early community; its location on the post (or postal) road, established in the late 1600s between New York and Boston, also enlivened the local economy. In time, new routes carried people and commerce to, and through, Darien: the New York & New Haven railroad line in 1848 and the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) in 1958. As the affluent increasingly called Darien home, either for the summer or year round, the rural town became part of the state’s “Gold Coast,” an area distinguished by its residents’ wealth.

More on Darien from the CT Digital Archive

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Places

Darien Historical Society. “Bates Schofield House,” 2016. Link.
“Darien Historical Society,” 2016. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Darien - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2016. Link.
“Darien Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
Hawley, Abijah. “The Ex-Soldiers’ Lament: From Ex-Soldiers at Noroton, Darien, Conn,” 1896. Link.

Books

McCain, Diana. Connecticut Coast: A Town-by-Town Illustrated History. Guilford,  CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2009.
Darien Historical Society. Darien, 1641-1820-1970 Historical Sketches. Darien,  CT: Darien Historical Society, 1970.
Hurd, D. Hamilton, ed. History of Fairfield County, Connecticut with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Company, 1881. Link.
Huntington, E. B. History of Stamford, Connecticut from Its Settlement in 1641, to the Present Time, Including Darien, Which Was One of Its Parishes Until 1820. Stamford, CT: E. B. Huntington, 1868. Link.
Darien Historical Society, and Patricia Wall. In Search of the Past: A Self-Guided Tour of Darien. Darien,  CT: Darien Historical Society, 1986.
Darien Historical Society, and Edmund Schmidt. Noroton Heights, a Neighborhood for Generations: An Oral and Pictorial History. Darien,  CT: Darien Historical Society, 1992.
Darien Historical Society, and Kenneth Reiss. The Story of Darien Connecticut. Darien,  CT: Darien Historical Society, 2009.