New Preston is a rural village and

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) in the northwest corner of the town of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the New Preston CDP was 1,182, out of 3,578 in the entire town of Washington.

Geography

The New Preston CDP includes the entire northwestern quadrant of the town of Washington, including the villages of New Preston and Marbledale, as well as Mount Bushnell and Meeker Swamp. The CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 6.47%, are water. The dominant geographic feature of New Preston is

Lake Waramaug Lake Waramaug is a lake occupying parts of the towns of Kent, Warren and Washington in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately north of Danbury. The lake is named after Chief Waramaug, who wintered in the area surrounding L ...

, which is situated just north of the New Preston village center and is the headwaters of the East Aspetuck River, which runs through the village center and over New Preston Falls. The terrain is characterized by steep hills and narrow valleys, with a preponderance of talus slopes and ledge rock.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,110 people, 439 households, and 303 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 563 housing units at an average density of 76.1 per square mile (29.4/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.84%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.36%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.18%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.27% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.26% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.17% of the population. There were 439 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $55,962, and the median income for a family was $69,000. Males had a median income of $45,673 versus $28,333 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $36,566. About 3.4% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over. Many of New Preston's inhabitants are part-time residents who principally reside in New York City, so census data may not accurately reflect the population's actual demography.

Transportation

The two main roads in New Preston are

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

and

Connecticut Route 45 Route 45 is a Connecticut state highway from U.S. Route 202, US 202 in Washington, Connecticut, Washington to U.S. Route 7, US 7 in Cornwall, Connecticut, Cornwall, in the rural northwest of the state. It is long and runs north–south. Ro ...

. US 202 leads northeast to Litchfield and southwest to New Milford, while Route 45 leads north to

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

. There is no public transportation.

History

Pre-colonial

Archeological evidence suggests that Native Americans first settled in the area around 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s at the conclusion of the last ice age. What is now known as New Preston came to be inhabited by the Wyantenock tribe of Native Americans, who spent summers at

, establishing a pattern of seasonal residence that is widely repeated by New Preston's present-day occupants.

Colonial

The signature of Chief Waramaug, who led the Wyantenock tribe in the early 18th century, appears on several local colonial-era property records, including the " New Milford North Purchase", which encompassed a substantial swath of southern Litchfield County, including contemporary New Preston. Colonists settled New Preston in 1741, and the General Assembly 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 settl ...

granted a petition for the establishment of the New Preston Ecclesiastical Society in 1753. In April 1778 the 270 families living in the area petitioned the General Assembly to be incorporated as a town. The petition was granted in January of the following year, incorporating the Town of Washington from the parishes of Judea and New Preston and taking from the towns of Woodbury, Litchfield, Kent, and New Milford. The action marked the first establishment of a municipality in Connecticut after the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

was signed. The town was named after

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, who, in his capacity as Commander of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, passed through the area several times. In May 1781, George Washington slept in New Preston at the Cogswell Tavern, which still stands on present-day Christian Street and is used as a private residence.

19th century

In the early decades of the 19th century (the era of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

), numerous mills and modestly scaled factories were constructed along the East Aspetuck River, which drops precipitously between its source at

and the New Preston village center, providing a robust source of

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

. New Preston housed an iron works, as well as manufacturers of twine, hats, cheese boxes, ax handles, shoes, and harnesses. However, with the advent of electricity, expansion of national rail networks, and the rise of larger, more accessible manufacturing centers during the latter part of the 19th century, industrial activity in New Preston decreased, eventually disappearing altogether. In the latter decades of the 19th century, New Preston began its transformation to a

summer colony The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes. In Canada, the term cottage countr ...

. With the arrival of the Shepaug Railroad in 1872, passenger service was introduced between New Preston Station and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which gave rise to the construction of summer homes and inns around the perimeter of Lake Waramaug.

20th century

The railroad ceased operation in 1948, and many of the large inns on the lake closed, giving way to single-family residences used primarily as vacation homes. By the 1970s, much of New Preston's diminutive village center had fallen into decline, with many shops left vacant and in various states of disrepair. Several buildings and locations in New Preston were used in the filming of the 1981 horror movie '' Friday the 13th, Part 2''. In the mid-1980s, a transformation of the village center began with the opening of a store specializing in antique gardening books and horticultural prints. Antique shops and other upscale retail establishments soon followed, and many of New Preston's historic commercial structures underwent renovation. The village's only grocery store, pharmacy, and gas station closed, leaving New Preston largely devoid of essential services. By the mid-1990s, the village center had been completely made over into a picturesque, high-end retail destination catering primarily to weekend residents and out-of-town visitors.

Contemporary

During the booming economy of the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century, the

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of New Preston shifted into high gear. Modest lake cottages around

were torn down and replaced with larger, more luxurious homes, and other lake houses underwent substantial renovation and expansion. Two of the four remaining inns on the lake—The Inn at Lake Waramaug and The Birches Inn—were converted into lavish single-family residences.

Architecture

New Preston is known for its traditional rural New England architecture, which includes many well-preserved 18th and 19th century homes built in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

, and Shingle styles, as well as several 19th century mill structures along the East Aspetuck River. Antique barns and other agricultural outbuildings are also widely prevalent. Because New Preston's steep, rocky terrain presents significant constraints to development, most viable development sites were utilized prior to 1900, making contemporary construction of new homes and businesses rare. As a consequence, New Preston exhibits a high degree of architectural and aesthetic cohesion. When new construction does occur, it generally follows—or attempts to follow—the historic vernacular. Portions of New Preston Hill Road and Findlay Road, three quarters of a mile west of the village center, are included in the New Preston Hill Historic District, which 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 v ...

in 1985. The more prominent buildings in that district include Hill Congregational Church, the Rev. Samuel Whittlesey House (1808), and the John Ferris House (1800). and

Open space

A substantial portion of the land in and around New Preston is permanently protected open space, which consists of state parks, local

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

holdings, and privately owned parcels under

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...

. Public open space areas include the Macricostas Preserve,

Mount Bushnell State Park Mount Bushnell State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area located south of Lake Waramaug in the New England town of Washington, Connecticut. The state park provides for hiking. The park had its genesis in the state's purchase of 70 a ...

, and a parcel adjacent to the New Preston village center, which the town of Washington purchased in 2010 with money from its open space fund.

Scenic roads

In 1996, the

Connecticut Department of Transportation The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...

designated the of perimeter roads around

as state scenic roads, affording them a legal status that discourages maintenance or improvements that would detract from the roads' scenic qualities. In 2010, New Preston's main commercial thoroughfare, East Shore Road (also known as

), was designated a state scenic road, together with a portion of Route 202 extending northeast from the junction with Route 45 to Rabbit Hill Road. The town of Washington has also given municipal scenic road designations in New Preston to Rabbit Hill Road, Couch Road, Gunn Hill Road, and Whittlesey Road.

Postal addresses, municipalities, and nomenclature

Although the village of New Preston and the New Preston CDP are entirely within the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Washington, U.S. Postal Service addressing practices result in the name being applied to the Marble Dale section of Washington, and to portions of the adjacent town of

. While New Preston village once had its own post office, it is now served by a combined New Preston-Marble Dale post office, which is located in Marble Dale, and also serves the southern portion of Warren. Further confusing matters, there are three separate

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

s in the town of Washington, each with a unique ZIP code: Washington (06793), Washington Depot (06794), and New Preston-Marble Dale (06777).

Notable people

Many high-profile New York City residents and expatriates maintain homes in New Preston. Current inhabitants of note include

Graydon Carter Edward Graydon Carter, CM (born July 14, 1949) is a Canadian journalist who served as the editor of '' Vanity Fair'' from 1992 until 2017. He also co-founded, with Kurt Andersen and Tom Phillips, the satirical monthly magazine '' Spy'' in 1986 ...

, the editor of the magazine '' Vanity Fair'', actress

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She is a 15-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 1995 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' ...

, and bandleader

Peter Duchin Peter Oelrichs Duchin (born July 28, 1937) is an American pianist and band leader. Early life and education Duchin was born in New York City, the son of pianist and band leader Eddy Duchin. His mother was Marjorie Oelrichs, a Newport, Rhod ...

. Past notable residents include the fashion designer

Bill Blass William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Early ...

, comedian

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

, and theologian

Horace Bushnell Horace Bushnell (April 14, 1802February 17, 1876) was an American Congregational minister and theologian. Life Bushnell was born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with fu ...

. Former US Congressman

Frederick Whittlesey Frederick Whittlesey (June 12, 1799 – September 19, 1851) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from New York (state), New York, cousin of Elisha Whittlesey and Thomas Tucker Whittlesey. Born in New Preston, Connec ...

was born here.

References

{{authority control Washington, Connecticut Census-designated places in Litchfield County, Connecticut Villages in Connecticut Villages in Litchfield County, Connecticut Census-designated places in Connecticut