The Putnam Hill Historic District encompasses a former town center of

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. Located on United States Route 1 between Milbank Avenue and Old Church Road, the district includes the churches of two historic congregations, a former tavern, and a collection of fine mid-Victorian residential architecture. The district 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 1979.

Description and history

Greenwich's Putnam Hill area became a secondary center to the town (after

Old Greenwich Old Greenwich is an affluent coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct section ...

) at least as early as 1702, when the Second Congregational Church was located there. It was also home to Greenwich's town hall between 1825 and 1874, which was located where the town's Civil War memorial now stands. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

it was the scene of an escape of

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 ...

General Israel Putnam from surrounding British forces by riding his horse down the steep hill from the

Putnam Cottage Putnam Cottage was also known as Knapp Tavern during the American Revolution. It is located at 243 East Putnam Avenue (United States Route 1), on the former route of the Boston Post Road, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Early History Early records sh ...

, a feat that gave the area its present name. The Putnam Cottage, formerly Knapp's Tavern, was built about 1700, and is now a museum. In the years after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the area developed as a fashionable residential area, with several fine period residences surviving, including the Chateauesque Tomes-Higgins House, which was designed by architect Calvert Vaux. It was also where

Boss Tweed William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...

had his country estate. The district is basically linear in extent, running from Milbank Avenue in the west to Old Church Road in the east. The district has 21

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, most of which are residential. They include two churches: the Second Congregational Church and Christ Episcopal Church. Other features of the district are two small parks, a stone marker placed by the DAR commemorating Putnam's ride, the imposing bluestone wall built by Tweed, and the gateway to the former Jeremiah Milbank estate. and

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Historic districts in Fairfield County, Connecticut Greenwich, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References