Greens Farms, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Greens Farms is the oldest and seed neighborhood in the town of Westport
in Fairfield County
, Connecticut
, United States
.
. The Green's Farms Railroad Station
is located on New Creek Road. Exit 18 of Interstate 95
serves the neighborhood. Sherwood Island State Park
is at the western edge of Greens Farms. The Nyala Farms Corporate Center, north of Sherwood Island, is home to Terex Corporation, a Fortune 500
company, and Pequot Capital Management
, a large hedge fund
.
Green's Farms Elementary School
serves students in kindergarten through Grade 5 in a Gothic-style building with a newer wing on the back containing a library-media center, computer lab and gymnasium.
, were known as Green's Farm by 1699. In 1732 the area was officially renamed Green's Farms.
Within the area of Greens Farms is Frost Point named after one of the other Bankside Farmers Daniel Frost.
Greens Farms is rarely spelled in its original form, Green's Farms.
The First Congregational Church of Green's Farms, Green's Farms Railroad Station
and The New York Times
all use the apostrophe in the neighborhood name, which is used about half of the time. The Town of Westport, Connecticut state government and local newspapers do not.
people were living in. The Bankside Farmers purchased the land from the Pequot who called it Machamux ("beautiful land"). The land that the Pequot sold, then within the original boundaries of the Town of Fairfield
, stretched from "Frost Point an English mile along the seacoast toward Compaw, and six or seven miles inland." The Pequot moved to an area "elevated back east of this strip".
The first three settlers were Thomas Newton, Henry Gray and John Green. Daniel Frost and Francis Andrews later joined the Bankside Farmers making five in total.
They lived at the western end of what is now Beachside Avenue.
On Green's Farms Road near Morningside Drive is the site of the first West Parish Common, the first schoolhouse, and the first meeting house. A small park is now there with a monument called Machamux Boulder.
Over the next 50 years, more land was bought from the Indians and the community grew. In 1711 the "West Parish of Fairfield" was established with church and civil functions. In 1732, the area was renamed "Green's Farms" in honor of John Green, one of the original five Bankside Farmers.
During the American Revolution, British soldiers burned down the Meeting House in a raid that also destroyed 15 houses and 11 barns. The only church property saved was the communion service that Deacon Ebenezer Jesup rescued by hiding it in his well. For the next 10 years, members of the church met in private homes. In 1789 a new church building was erected at the church's current site at Hillandale Road. To raise money, pews were auctioned off. That building was replaced and, in April 1852, a fire forced another replacement the next year.
Burial Hill Beach was acquired by the Town of Westport in 1893.
In 1950, strong winds toppled the Congregational Church steeple, sending it through the roof of the Sunday School room, now the church parlor. The repair effort was expanded to include lighting for the steeple and a new Sunday School room which would double as a church social hall and the construction of a Sunday School wing. In 1961, the present social hall was added, together with more classrooms, a church office, ministers' offices and a choir room.
and her husband, Phil Donahue
, and the radio talk-show host Don Imus
. Martha Stewart
once owned a home on Turkey Hill Road, from which she taped a television program, but she moved after long-running controversies about the effect of her television production business on the neighborhood.
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
in Fairfield County
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Boundary
The boundaries of the neighborhood, like those of most neighborhoods with no governmental status, are vague, but according to a New York Times article in 2001, "generally, a resident can confidently claim a Green's Farms address if the property lies within the area bounded by Hillspoint Road, the Fairfield town line and the Post Road". According to the same article, Turkey Hill Road and Morningside Drive are the heart of the neighborhood.Education, Transport, & Economy
Greens Farms is the home to a private coeducational K-12 institution that bears its namesake: Greens Farms AcademyGreens Farms Academy
Greens Farms Academy is a K-12 independent preparatory co-educational day school in the Greens Farms section of Westport, Connecticut, drawing 650 students from numerous towns of central southern Fairfield County. Greens Farms Academy is located on a campus near Long Island Sound, a salt marsh and...
. The Green's Farms Railroad Station
Green's Farms (Metro-North station)
Green's Farms Metro-North Railroad station is one of two New Haven Line stations serving the residents of Westport, Connecticut. The station is located in the Greens Farms area of Westport in the southeastern part of town, and the technically-incorrect apostrophe in the station name dates to New...
is located on New Creek Road. Exit 18 of Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Connecticut
Interstate 95, the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, runs in a general east–west compass direction for 111.57 miles in Connecticut from the Rhode Island state line to the New York State line. I-95 Southbound from East Lyme to the New York State...
serves the neighborhood. Sherwood Island State Park
Sherwood Island State Park
Sherwood Island State Park is a park on the shore of Long Island Sound, in the Greens Farms section of Westport, Connecticut.It covers of beach, wetlands and woodlands...
is at the western edge of Greens Farms. The Nyala Farms Corporate Center, north of Sherwood Island, is home to Terex Corporation, a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company, and Pequot Capital Management
Pequot Capital Management
Pequot Capital Management was a multi-billion dollar hedge fund sponsor founded in 1998 by Arthur J. Samberg that was forcibly terminated by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010. The firm's investment funds invested in a range of markets through a variety of strategies...
, a large hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
.
Green's Farms Elementary School
Greens Farms School
The Greens Farms School in Westport, Connecticut was built in 1925 and received an addition in 1950. It was designed by architect Charles Cutler in a Tudor Revival style, and is a fine example of such style. It is the only Tudor Revival school building in Westport...
serves students in kindergarten through Grade 5 in a Gothic-style building with a newer wing on the back containing a library-media center, computer lab and gymnasium.
Etymology
The land holdings of John Green, one of the first five settlers, known collectively as the Bankside FarmersBankside Farmers
The Bankside Farmers were a group of five men who established themselves along the Long Island Sound south of Fairfield, Connecticut in 1648. The area is now known as Greens Farms, a section of Westport, Connecticut....
, were known as Green's Farm by 1699. In 1732 the area was officially renamed Green's Farms.
Within the area of Greens Farms is Frost Point named after one of the other Bankside Farmers Daniel Frost.
Greens Farms is rarely spelled in its original form, Green's Farms.
The First Congregational Church of Green's Farms, Green's Farms Railroad Station
Green's Farms (Metro-North station)
Green's Farms Metro-North Railroad station is one of two New Haven Line stations serving the residents of Westport, Connecticut. The station is located in the Greens Farms area of Westport in the southeastern part of town, and the technically-incorrect apostrophe in the station name dates to New...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
all use the apostrophe in the neighborhood name, which is used about half of the time. The Town of Westport, Connecticut state government and local newspapers do not.
History
In 1648 the Town of Fairfield officially gave five farmers, collectively known as the Bankside Farmers, permission to settle the fertile land that the PequotPequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
people were living in. The Bankside Farmers purchased the land from the Pequot who called it Machamux ("beautiful land"). The land that the Pequot sold, then within the original boundaries of the Town of Fairfield
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
, stretched from "Frost Point an English mile along the seacoast toward Compaw, and six or seven miles inland." The Pequot moved to an area "elevated back east of this strip".
The first three settlers were Thomas Newton, Henry Gray and John Green. Daniel Frost and Francis Andrews later joined the Bankside Farmers making five in total.
They lived at the western end of what is now Beachside Avenue.
On Green's Farms Road near Morningside Drive is the site of the first West Parish Common, the first schoolhouse, and the first meeting house. A small park is now there with a monument called Machamux Boulder.
Over the next 50 years, more land was bought from the Indians and the community grew. In 1711 the "West Parish of Fairfield" was established with church and civil functions. In 1732, the area was renamed "Green's Farms" in honor of John Green, one of the original five Bankside Farmers.
During the American Revolution, British soldiers burned down the Meeting House in a raid that also destroyed 15 houses and 11 barns. The only church property saved was the communion service that Deacon Ebenezer Jesup rescued by hiding it in his well. For the next 10 years, members of the church met in private homes. In 1789 a new church building was erected at the church's current site at Hillandale Road. To raise money, pews were auctioned off. That building was replaced and, in April 1852, a fire forced another replacement the next year.
Burial Hill Beach was acquired by the Town of Westport in 1893.
In 1950, strong winds toppled the Congregational Church steeple, sending it through the roof of the Sunday School room, now the church parlor. The repair effort was expanded to include lighting for the steeple and a new Sunday School room which would double as a church social hall and the construction of a Sunday School wing. In 1961, the present social hall was added, together with more classrooms, a church office, ministers' offices and a choir room.
Notable People
Famous residents of the neighborhood include Marlo ThomasMarlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
and her husband, Phil Donahue
Phil Donahue
Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
, and the radio talk-show host Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
. Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
once owned a home on Turkey Hill Road, from which she taped a television program, but she moved after long-running controversies about the effect of her television production business on the neighborhood.