A Program Of
Major Support Provided By
Other CT Humanities Programs
Now Viewing:
Fairfield
Black Loyalist Refugees: Toney Escapes During the Burning of Fairfield
The British burning of Fairfield during the Revolutionary War provided an opportunity for enslaved people to escape, including a man named Toney.
Read
Timothy Dwight Dies – Today in History: January 11
On January 11, 1817, Timothy Dwight (theologian, educator, poet, and eighth president of Yale) died in New Haven, Connecticut.
Read
A Beautiful and Goodly Tree: The Rise and Fall of the American Elm
Almost every Connecticut town of any size has an Elm Street, named for the popular trees that grew in abundance until a fungal infestation greatly diminished their numbers.
Read
Early Church Bell Founders
Church bells served many important functions in early New England. Consequently, skilled bellfounders in Connecticut found themselves in high demand.
Read
Caleb Brewster: A Patriot Against Freedom
Caleb Brewster—Fairfield, Connecticut’s resident member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War—was also an active participant in the African Slave Trade.
Read
Timothy Dwight Provides Religious, Military, and Educational Services for a Young Country
Timothy Dwight was an influential preacher, poet, and educator who served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War and later as the president of Yale College.
Read
British Burn Fairfield – Today in History: July 7
On July 7, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the British anchored a fleet of warships off the coast of Fairfield, Connecticut.
Read
P. T. Barnum: An Entertaining Life
Once declared “the most widely known American that ever lived,” this showman’s life story is as colorful as the entertainments he provided in the mid-1800s.
Read
Pepperidge Farm Opens Bakery – Today in History: July 4
On July 4, 1947, Margaret Rudkin of Fairfield opened a modern commercial bakery in Norwalk and gave it the name of her small bakery, Pepperidge Farm.
Read
Bigelow Tea–A Connecticut Tea Party
The Bigelow Tea Company was started as a small family business in Manhatten before moving to Norwalk and then Fairfield.
Read
Merritt Parkway Creates Scenic Gateway to New England
This Depression-era road improvement project sought to artfully balance the natural and built environments.
Read
Sarah Kemble Knight’s Journey through Colonial Connecticut
In 1704, when long distance travel was rare and roads crude, a Boston woman journeyed by horseback to New York City and recorded her views of Connecticut along the way.
Read
Slavery and the Pequot War
Diaries, letters, and other sources from the early colonial era document cases of Native enslavement, including during the Pequot War.
Read
Caleb Brewster and the Culper Spy Ring
Caleb Brewster used his knowledge of Long Island Sound to serve as a member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War.
Read
A Woman Ahead of Her Time: Mabel Osgood Wright
This writer and photographer founded the Connecticut Audubon Society and created Fairfield’s Birdcraft Sanctuary.
Read
Pepperidge Farm: Healthful Bread Builds a Business
Margaret Rudkin founded the popular brand Pepperidge Farm after finding out her son’s asthma was made worse by additives found in bread.
Read
Over Time: Fairfield’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
ReadMore Articles