Guilford Historic Town Center is a large

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

encompassing the entire town center of Guilford, Connecticut, in the United States. It is centered on the town green, laid out in 1639, and extends north to

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...

, south to

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the E ...

, west to the West River, and east to East Creek. It includes more than 600 historic structures, most built between the late 17th and early 20th centuries, reflecting the town's growth and history during that time. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976. The town center has been listed as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) since 2008. As of the 2010 census, the Guilford Center CDP had a population of 2,597, out of 22,375 in the entire town of Guilford.

Description and history

The town of Guilford was settled by Englishmen of the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a sett ...

in 1639, after purchasing the land from Native Americans. The town green was laid out at that time, and the town developed an economy that was largely based on agriculture and fishing until the mid-20th century. It experienced a brief shipbuilding boom in the late 18th and early 19th century, but saw relatively little industrial activity, and is now a largely suburban residential community. The town center exhibits an architectural diversity that is reflective of 300 years of relatively gradual development, and has only been significantly encroached upon by the modern alignment of U.S. Route 1, which is lined with modern services, and the late 19th-century railroad tracks that are part of the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington ...

. With The historic district encompasses an area of about four square miles. Portions of this area near the eastern and western boundaries (East Creek and the West River, respectively) are still lined with

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominate ...

es, which hearken back to the area's agricultural economy. The district includes Connecticut's oldest stone house, the

Henry Whitfield House The Henry Whitfield House is a historic house located in Guilford, Connecticut, down the street from the town green. This house dates from 1639, having been built just before the town of Guilford was settled. It is the oldest house in Connecti ...

, built in 1639 and now a museum. Whitfield was the town's first minister, and his house was where Congregationalist services were held prior to construction of the first

colonial meeting house A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used by communities in colonial New England. Built using tax money, the colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct re ...

. The town green, whose shape is virtually unaltered since it was laid out in 1639, is lined with commercial, civic, and religious buildings that span the centuries in age. The current Congregational church, located at the north end of the green, dates to 1829. The town hall is on the east side of the common; it was built in the late 19th century, but was much altered in the 1940s, and no longer carries its historical Romanesque features.

References

{{authority control National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Colonial architecture in the United States Federal architecture in Connecticut Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut Guilford, Connecticut Census-designated places in New Haven County, Connecticut Census-designated places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References