History of Darien, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Darien, Connecticut
Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast", the population was 20,732 at the 2010 census. Darien was listed at #9 at CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2011...
, 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...
, has been shaped by its location on the shore of Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
as the main route from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, initially with sailing ships and dirt roads for transportation, and later with locomotives and highways. This aspect of the town continually influenced its development.
Colonial times
Siwanoy
The Native American Siwanoy or Sinanoy were a band of Algonquian-speaking people, the Wappinger, in what is now the New York City area. By the mid-17th century, when their territory became hotly contested between Dutch and English colonial interests, the Siwanoy were settled along the East River...
, an Agonquian-speaking sachemdom (or subtribe) of the Wappinger
Wappinger
The Wappinger were an American tribe native to eastern New York. The term "Wappinger" may also refer to:* Wappinger, New York, the Town of Wappinger named for the tribe...
tribe, originally occupied Darien and the surroundinng area. The Siwanoy controlled what is now much of the Bronx, Westchester County and the Connecticut "panhandle"
Connecticut Panhandle
The Connecticut Panhandle, informally known to locals as the Tail, is in southwestern Connecticut, where it abuts New York State. It is contained entirely in Fairfield County and includes all of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien, as well as part of Norwalk and containing some of the most...
as far east as Norwalk
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
and part of Wilton
Wilton, Connecticut
Wilton is a town nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It is located in Fairfield County. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 18,062. In 2007, it was voted as one of CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in the United States.Located along...
.
The land that became Darien was a part of Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
from the time Stamford was bought from the Indians until Darien was incorporated as a town in 1820. Settlement began in the late 17th century with permission from Stamford authorities to start building roads cut "in the woods". Originally, settlers congregated in three areas: around "Noroton Cove" (now "Holly Pond") in the southwest corner of town, settled in the 1680s; Gorham's Landing on Goodwives River in the south-central part of town; and at the head of Five Mile River, where the town today borders Norwalk.
The Noroton Cove settlement included a sawmill built by a dam on the Noroton River (a large stream and now the Darien-Stamford border) just north of where 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...
crosses over the river. A small shipyard was founded on the shore of Holly Pond near where the present site of the Darien YMCA. A local blacksmith, Nathaniel Pond, owned a home built in about 1696 in Saltbox
Saltbox
A saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...
style at the corner of what is now the Boston Post Road and Hollow Tree Ridge Road. It is now the oldest house in town.
In 1690, the Five Mile River settlement was started when John Reed and his son built a sawmill where today's Old Kings Highway crosses the river.
In 1703 a school district was set up in Noroton at what is now the southwest corner of Nearwater Lane and the Boston Post Road. The Hindley School is now across the street from the site, which is owned by the Noroton Fire Department. Five years later Scofield's Mill (afterward called Gorham's Mill) was built on Goodwive's River.
Moses Mather and Middlesex Parish
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
graduate (Class of 1739) originally from Lyme
Lyme, Connecticut
Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,016 at the 2000 census. Lyme and its neighboring town Old Lyme are the namesake for Lyme disease.-Geography:...
, where his father was a sea captain. He was hired for a two-year probationary period, officially became minister in 1744 while still in his mid-20s, and spent his entire 64-year career at the post, until his death in 1806.
The church that later became known as the First Congregational Church held its first meeting on June 15, 1739. Also that year, a meetinghouse was built.
Mather married three wives and became father to a total of 10 children. His first wife, Hannah Bell, of Darien, married him on September 10, 1746. After her death, Elizabeth Whiting followed, and after her death Mather married Rebecca Raymond.
Like most ministers in western Connecticut, Mather was an "Old Light" preacher, less interested in the emotional style of worship taken up by the "New Lights" more prevalent in eastern Connecticut. He was intellectually inclined and public spirited, with an interest in Enlightenment principals as they applied to politics. During and before the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
he was the most vigorous promoter of the Patriot cause from the pulpit of any of the nearby parishes.
"There is a pre-Revolutionary broadside attributed to Rev. Mather," according to Marian M. Castellon who delivered a lecture on Mather in 2001. "In 1764 he delivered an election sermon in Hartford, America's Appeal to the Impartial World, in which he deals with Patriotism, Described and Recommended, and how America should fight for the rights of all freemen."
According to Castellon, Mather "was described as 'of medium height, slender, distinguished for learning, piety, free and easy in conver-sation, with a good business sense.' He had great humor and tremendous patriotism, and stood out in a crowd because a long Quaker like coat he always wore."
Mather was a fellow at Yale from 1777 to 1790 and in 1791 he received a doctor of divinity degree from Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(formerly College of New Jersey).
Middlesex Parish in the American Revolution
| Historical population of Darienhttp://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionVII/SecVIITOC.htm |
|
| 1820 | 1,126 |
| 1830 | 1,212 |
| 1840 | 1,080 |
| 1850 | 1,454 |
| 1860 | 1,705 |
| 1870 | 1,808 |
| 1880 | 1,949 |
| 1890 | 2,276 |
| 1900 | 3,116 |
| 1910 | 3,946 |
| 1920 | 4,184 |
| 1930 | 6,951 |
| 1940 | 9,222 |
| 1950 | 11,767 |
| 1960 | 18,437 |
| 1970 | 20,336 |
| 1980 | 18,892 |
| 1990 | 18,196 |
| 2000 | 19,607 |
Near the start of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and 19,000 of his men marched from Boston to New York City, passing through Middlesex Parish. The main road then was the route that was named "Old Kings Highway" in the early 20th century, although back then it was called the Country Road in Middlesex Parish (the Country Road followed the route of the present Post Road west of the intersection of the Post Road and present Old Kings Highway and east of that it ran along the route of today's Old Kings Highway). It becomes Flax Hill Road in Norwalk, another part of the route Washington's army followed.
During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Middlesex Parish was controlled by Patriots but frequently raided by local Tories who had fled to British-controlled Lloyd's Neck on Long Island. Often, their property had been confiscated and the raids offered them vengeance, recompense or both. They would row across the Sound on whaleboats to steal food and clothes for their families. The raids could be deadly, and on foggy or moonless nights Patriots had to keep especially wary.
At about the time of the American Revolution, Middlesex Parish had 67 Anglican families and 86 who were members of the Middlesex Society (the Congregational church). Anglicans tended to be Tories while Congregationalists tended toward the Patriot cause.
Shortly after the raid at the meetinghouse, on the night of Aug. 2, 1781, another raid took place. Hoping to ambush the Tories, Patriots hid behind a stone wall at the southeast corner of Nearwater Lane and the Boston Post Road. But the Tories got wind of the impending ambush and sneaked up themselves behind a wall on the opposite side. Gunfire ensued and when the smoke cleared several men were dead on both sides. The Tories were able to get to shore to row back across the sound in their whaleboats.
On July 4, 1778, the Rev. Mather's son, Joseph, along with his wife and daughter, moved into the home he had just built on the northwest corner of what is now Mansfield Road and Brookside Road (then called "Gracious Street"). Since it was farther from the shore, the family thought they would be safe from Tory raiders, and Mrs. Mather encouraged friends and family to store valuables there for the duration of the war. That was a mistake.
One night in March 1781, Tories went up Brookside Road and robbed the place, forcing the Mathers to reveal where the cache was stashed. Legend has it that they even forced Mrs. Mather to cook supper for them. Several neighbors on Brookside Road had sent sons off to fight in the war—for the British—and that may have been how the Tories heard about the good pickings.
Early Nineteenth century
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, suggested the name Darien, which was eventually adopted by the people of the town.
Until the advent of the railroad in 1848, Darien remained a small, rural community of about 1,000 farmers, shoemakers, fishermen, and merchants engaged in coastal trading. By the 1790s, Holly Pond was no longer fully open to the Sound, but at Gorham's Landing, where Rings End Road meets the Goodwives River, small sailing vessels from New York, Eastern Connecticut and even the West Indies would pull up during high tide for trade with local merchants.
The area retained some businesses even into the 20th century, but none remain—at least none remain there. Rings End Lumber, now a thriving company on West Avenue which has expanded to other locations in Connecticut, had its start at Gorham's Landing as the Rings End Lumber and Coal Company. A gradual increase in population occurred with the arrival of emigrants from Ireland and later from Italy.
In what is now the Hindley School playing fields, close to the Boston Post Road, a "Union Chapel" was created in the 1830s for religious groups other than the original Congregationalists. St. Luke's Episcopal Church (organized August 30, 1855) and the Darien Methodist Church (organized by the 1860s) grew out of meetings there. Across the street, the Noroton Presbyterian Church was organzied on November 4, 1863. Union Chapel was no longer around when Irish Roman Catholics founded St. John Church next door in 1888 (dedicated on December 15, 1889).
Talmage Hill Community Church, a tiny chapel located at the far northern end of town, was organized in 1870.
The Darien train station
Darien (Metro-North station)
The Darien Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of Darien, Connecticut via the New Haven Line. It is 37.7 miles from Grand Central Terminal. A small station house is located on the north side of the tracks...
was opened at about the same time as the one in Rowayton, and was later followed by the establishment of a train station in Noroton Heights
Noroton Heights (Metro-North station)
The Noroton Heights Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of Darien, Connecticut via the New Haven Line. It is 36.2 miles from Grand Central Terminal.The station is located near Exit 10 on Interstate 95...
and one in the Glenbrook section of Stamford.
Late Nineteenth century
In 1864 during the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the first home for disabled veterans and soldier's orphans in the United States was built on a 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) tract at Noroton Heights. It was named after its founder, Benjamin Fitch of Darien, who funded almost the entire project. the state provided limited aid until 1883. In 1887 the state took over control and formally named the institution "Fitch's Home for Soldiers." The home, which housed veterans and the children of veterans, was dedicated July 4, 1864. Veterans of the Civil War, then the Spanish American War and finally World War I were cared for at the home. After World War II the institution's services were transferred to the larger Veterans Home and Hospital Rocky Hill
Rocky Hill, Connecticut
Rocky Hill is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,966 at the 2000 census. Rocky Hill was part of Wethersfield, the neighboring town to the north, until it was independently incorporated in 1849....
, 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...
.
Pictures of Fitch home from a March 17, 1866, Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
:
Until the 1870s, the center of Noroton, around where Noroton Avenue meets the Boston Post Road, was considered the commercial center of Darien and the area north of Interstate 95 that is now considered Noroton Heights was called "Noroton." The current center of town, where the railroad tracks cross the Boston Post Road
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
, was called "Darien Depot." But when the Town Hall was established there, that area became "Darien" and "Noroton" was adopted by the old commercial center. The name "Noroton Heights" was used after a post office with that name was established there.
Following the war, the train connection allowed Darien to became a popular resort for prosperous New Yorkers who built summer homes in Tokeneke, Long Neck Point, and Noroton (this pattern was repeated elsewhere along the Connecticut shore and inland). A few daily commuters to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
then were forerunners of the many who have settled here and changed Darien into a residential suburb of metropolitan New York.
In 1896, Glenbreekin, a home sitting in a 200 acre (0.809372 km²) sheep farm, was built on the banks of the Goodwives River in Darien. By 2000 all the land except for 3.5 acres (14,164 m²) had been sold off. The house itself was expanded in 1921 with a living room designed by the architect who created the Wrigley Building
Wrigley Building
The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile...
in Chicago and built by the contractor who constructed the pulpit of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. The house was expanded again in 1994.
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
is said to have written An American Tragedy in a Mediterranean-style estate in Tokeneke.
Twentieth century
In 1902, Anson Phelps StokesAnson Phelps Stokes
For other men with the same name, see Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes was a merchant, banker, publicist, philanthropist, and became a multimillionaire. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes; brother of William Earl Dodge Stokes and Olivia Eggleston...
, a New York merchant, banker and philanthropist, bought the southern tip of Long Neck and built "Brick House" where he and his family lived for "many years," according to Henry Case and Simon Cooper. "During Stokes's ownership of Brick House, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
occupied it several summers," they wrote.
In 1916, Carnegie's wife, Louise, wrote a friend:
- We leave in 10 days for Brick House, Noroton, Connecticut right on Long Island Sound where the yacht will be within hailing distance all the time and I expect we shall be on the water as much as on land this summer.
The property was later occupied by the Convent of the Sacred Heart which once ran an elite girl's school there. Sisters of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
were educated there, including Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics...
and Kathleen Kennedy
Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington
Kathleen Agnes "Kick" Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington , born Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, was the fourth child and second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Kennedy. She was a sister of future U.S. President John F. Kennedy and widow of the heir to the Dukedom of Devonshire.-Biography:When...
. In 1969 The Darien Community YMCA was built
G. Emerson Cole
George Emerson Cole is an American radio, television, and special events producer/announcer pioneer whose weekly radio program "The Big Bands Are Back" is now in its 32nd consecutive year in Pinehurst, North Carolina...
on the property.
On September 5, 1929, the town's theater opened with a seating capacity of 700. It attracted moviegoers from surrounding towns as well, and community events were sometimes held there.
St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church was established on September 16, 1966. Originally the home of St. John's Parochial School, the property which became the new parish originally included the school, a rectory and a convent. A fund-raising campaign to construct a church building began in 1971, and the building was dedicated on October 27, 1973.
In 1970, Post 53, a scout Explorer post and the town's ambulance service, began operation.
Development
Starting after the turn of the century, various areas of town were developed for residential uses.Development of Tokeneke
The Tokeneke Corp. in 1901 was one of the first companies to start offering lots and summer homes. In 1904 it built the Tokeneke Inn (later converted into a private residence) for visitors to see the area, and started the Tokeneke Beach Club in 1909 so landowners without waterfront property could be assured they could enjoy the shoreline.The company eventually went under and a property owner's association took control of the narrow, winding roads, which followed old trails and cattle paths. The town refused to take over the roads because they didn't meet town standards.
In 1914, Tokeneke Road was built from Railroad Avenue to Old Farm Road, along the path of trolley tracks that led to Rowayton. When it was paved in 1919, Tokeneke residents started using the Darien railroad station instead of the one in Rowayton.
Noroton Shores
In January 1926, Noroton Shores Inc. was formed and started developing the peninsula around Nearwater Lane and the surrounding water. In early March of that year, the company dredged about 500000 cubic yards (382,277.4 m³) from the Good Wives River on the eastern side of the peninsula. A crew of about 25 men from the Arundel Corp. of Baltimore worked 24 hours a day for about 11 months on the dredging, and a 160 feet (48.8 m) stone breaker was created, running eastward. Later, 300 feet (91.4 m) of waterfront was sold to the Noroton Yacht Club. In 1928, a second pier on the southwest of the peninsula was built, extending 300 feet (91.4 m).The company also provided paved roads and an 8 inches (203.2 mm) water line running down Nearwater Lane, with 6 inches (152.4 mm) lines on the streets branching off it.
Three smaller developments along the coast
A tract of 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) near Tokeneke, formerly part of the Delafield estate and the adjoining Waterbury and Bell property, named "Ceder Gate" was developed starting by 1912. In 1927, development of "Salem Straits" started on 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) of rugged woodland on the west side of Scott's Cove. The purchase of property came with restrictions on the design of the buildings and minimum sizes for the lots. Between Salem Straits and Cedar Gate, the Delafield Estates Association was formed for property owners. The area was originally part of the Delafield family's estate, which resided there since 1859, when Dr. Edward Delafield, from New York City, bought the land. Tory Hole, a cave where Tories and criminal bands called "cowboys" would hide out, is in the Delafield area.Exclusivity and racism
The Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, which preached a doctrine of Protestant control of America and suppression of blacks, Jews and Catholics, had a following in Connecticut and Darien in the 1920s. The A Darien resident, Harry Lutterman, was Grand Dragon in the state. The Connecticut Klan's popularity peaked in 1925 when it had a statewide membership of 15,000.
The nearby Stamford Republican Party used its Lincoln Republican Club as a front for all Klan activities in the area. During the 1924 election, one of the largest Klan meetings in the state took place in Stamford and was organzied by Lutterman. The Stamford Advocate published an advertisement signed by local Democrats (who relied on the Catholic vote) protesting the meeting. The Klan published an advertisement in response, noting the "un-American" names of some of those who signed the Democrats' statement.
By 1926, the Klan leadership in the state was divided, and it lost strength, although it continued to maintain small, local branches for years afterward in Darien, as well as in Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
, Greenwich
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
and Norwalk
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
.
Darien used to be a sundown town
Sundown town
A sundown town is a town that is or was purposely all-White. The term is widely used in the United States in areas from Ohio to Oregon and well into the South. The term came from signs that were allegedly posted stating that people of color had to leave the town by sundown...
- a town which forbade African Americans to remain overnight via unwritten rules. Laura Z. Hobson
Laura Z. Hobson
Laura Z. Hobson was an American novelist best known for her novel, Gentleman's Agreement.Born Laura Kean Zametkin in New York City, the daughter of Jewish socialist immigrants, she graduated from Cornell University. On July 23, 1930, she married Francis Thayer Hobson, owner of William Morrow and...
's bestselling 1947 novel Gentleman's Agreement
Gentleman's Agreement
Gentleman's Agreement is a 1947 drama film about a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposé on antisemitism in New York City and the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut...
was set in Darien to highlight American anti-Semitism via an unwritten covenant that prohibited real estate sales to Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
starred in the film version, directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, which won the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for best picture.
As the 20th century wore on, Darien became less homogeneous. Its private clubs and institutions opened to a wide array of religions and ethnicities, where socio-economic class and wealth were the defining characteristics of membership. Beginning the early 1980s, Darien High School and neighboring New Canaan High School took part in the A Better Chance (ABC), a program that sends minority teenagers to prep schools and affluent suburban high schools to prepare them to enter superior colleges.
Twenty-first century
On September 11, 2001, six Darien residents died in the terrorist attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. All of them were at the World Trade Center in New York City.
On July 11, 2006, lightning struck the Convent of St. Birgitta on 4 Runkenage Road in Tokeneke, causing extensive damage. As of early 2007 the convent was still trying to raise money for repairs and to make the building more handicapped-accessible.
On the National Register of Historic Places
- Boston Post Road Historic District — 567-728 Boston Post Rd., 1-25 Brookside Rd., and 45-70 Old Kingshighway N. (added 1982)
- Meadowlands — 274 Middlesex Road; the Darien Community Association headquarters. (added November 6, 1987)
- Pond-Weed HousePond-Weed HouseBuilt in 1700, the Pond-Weed House is located on the corner of the old Boston Post Road and Hollow Tree Ridge Road in the Noroton section of Darien, Connecticut. It has also been known as The House Under the Hill and Half-Way House. The house is a classic saltbox and is considered to be the oldest...
— 2591 Post Road (corner of Post Road and Hollow Tree Ridge Road), a SaltboxSaltboxA saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...
style home and the oldest house in town. (added November 11, 1978) - Stephen Tyng Mather House — 19 Stephen Mather Rd. (added November 15, 1966)
For further reference
- Our Interesting Neighbors, by Beatrice Colgate, "Reprinted from the Darien Review/Darien, Connecticut/1954-1957,"
- Darien: 1641-1820-1970: Historical Sketches, published by the Darien Historical Society in association with The Peaquot Press Inc. (Essex, Connecticut), 1970
- "In Search of the Past: A self-Guided Tour of Darien" by Patricia Q. Wall, a 20-page booklet published by the Darien Historical Society in 1986
- Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism, by James Loewen, New Press, 2005
- Town of Darien: Founded 1641, Incorporated 1820, by Henry Jay Case and Simon W. Cooper, published by the Darien Community Association, printed by Quinn & Biden Company Inc., Rahway, N.J., 1935
- Our Place Darien by Chris Gorman and Michelle Morfiit, a 40 page children's book about the history of Darien, published by Hometown 520, www.ourplacebooks.com