Ridgefield is an affluent

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Fairfield County,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and on the New York state border, Ridgefield had a population of 25,033 as of the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. The town center, which was formerly a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

. The town was settled then quickly incorporated by 1709.

History

Ridgefield was first settled by English colonists from Norwalk in 1708, when a group of settlers purchased land from Chief Catoonah of the Ramapo tribe. The town was incorporated under a royal charter from the Connecticut General Assembly issued in 1709. Ridgefield was descriptively named. The most notable 18th-century event was the

Battle of Ridgefield The Battle of Ridgefield was a series of American Revolutionary War skirmishes in Danbury, Connecticut and Ridgefield, Connecticut. History On April 25, a British Army during the American Revolutionary War, British force under the command of th ...

on April 27, 1777. This

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

skirmish involved a small colonial militia force (state militia and some

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

soldiers), led by, among others, General David Wooster, who died in the engagement, and

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

, whose horse was shot from under him. They faced a larger British force that had landed at Westport and was returning from a raid on the colonial supply depot in Danbury. The battle was a tactical victory for the British but a strategic one for the Colonials because the British would never again conduct inland operations in Connecticut, despite western Connecticut's strategic importance in securing the Hudson River Valley. Today, the dead from both sides are buried together in a small cemetery on Main Street on the right of the entrance to Casagmo condominiums: "...foes in arms, brothers in death...". The Keeler Tavern, a local inn and museum, features a British cannonball still lodged in the side of the building. There are many other landmarks from the Revolutionary War in the town, with most along Main Street. In the summer of 1781, the French army under the Comte de Rochambeau marched through Connecticut, encamping in the Ridgebury section of town, where the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mass in Ridgefield was offered. RidgefieldCTMainSt1875

For much of its three centuries, Ridgefield was a farming community. Among the important families in the 19th century were the Rockwells and Lounsburys, which intermarried. They produced two Connecticut governors, brothers and business partners George Lounsbury and Phineas Lounsbury. The Ridgefield Veterans Memorial Community Center on Main Street, also called the Lounsbury House, was built by Gov. Phineas Chapman Lounsbury around 1896 as his primary residence. The Lounsbury Farm near the Florida section of Ridgefield is one of the only remaining operational farms in Ridgefield. In the late 19th century, spurred by the new railroad connection to its lofty village and the fact that nearby countryside reaches above sea level, Ridgefield began to be discovered by wealthy New York City residents, who assembled large estates and built huge "summer cottages" throughout the higher sections of town. Among the more noteworthy estates were Col. Louis D. Conley's "Outpost Farm", which at one point totaled nearly , some of which is now Bennett's Pond State Park; Seth Low Pierrepont's "Twixthills", more than , much of which is now Pierrepont State Park; Frederic E. Lewis's "Upagenstit", that became Grey Court College in the 1940s, but is now mostly subdivisions; and Col. Edward M. Knox's "Downesbury Manor", whose included a 45-room mansion that

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

often visited. These and dozens of other estates became unaffordable and unwieldy during and after the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and most were broken up. Many mansions were razed. In their place came subdivisions of one- and lots that turned the town into a suburban, bedroom community in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. However, strict planning and zoning has frozen development and locked in the aesthetic appearance of the 19th- and early 20th-century through to the 21st-century, especially along its famous mile-long Main Street. In 1946, Ridgefield was one of the locations considered for the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

building, but was not chosen due to its relative inaccessibility.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.52%, is water. Ridgefield is bordered by the towns of North Salem and Lewisboro in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

and the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York to the west, Danbury to the north, Wilton to the south and Redding to the east. The

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

's Branchville station is in the Branchville corner of town. The census-designated place (CDP) corresponding to the town center covers a total area of , of which 0.16% is water. Other locales within the town include Titicus on Route 116 just north of the village; Ridgebury in the northern section of town; Scotland, which is south of Ridgebury; Farmingville, located northeast and east of the town center; Limestone, located northeast of the town center; Flat Rock, located south of the town center; and Florida, located just north of Branchville.

Geology

Ridgefield consists of hilly, rocky terrain, ranging from above sea level (at Pine Mountain) to at Branchville. Its average village elevation is above sea level. The landscape is strewn with countless rocks deposited by

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s, and among the town's bodies of water is Round Pond, formed in a

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle''. There are two main types: the ''stovetop kettle'', which uses heat from a cooktop, hob, and the ...

left by the last glacier 20,000 years ago. Another interesting body of water in the town is Mamanasco Lake, an lake near Ridgefield High School. A particularly interesting feature is

Cameron's Line Cameron's Line is an Ordovician suture fault in the northeast United States that formed as part of the continental collision known as the Taconic orogeny around 450 million years ago. Named after geologist Eugene N. Cameron, who first publishe ...

, named for Eugene N. Cameron, who discovered that rocks west of the line differed greatly from those east of it. This fault line was formed some 250 million years ago by the collision of "Proto

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

" and "Proto

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

", and there are still occasional light earthquakes felt along its length. The line bisects the southern half of the town, running generally north of West Lane, across the north end of the village, past the south end of Great Swamp and generally easterly into Redding in the Topstone area. North of Cameron's Line, the town is rich in

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The mineral was extensively mined, and remnants of several limekilns exist today. Also mined here in the 19th century was

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

pegmatite A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic c ...

, and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, as well as gemstones such as

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

and

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

, have been found here, and dozens of minerals have been unearthed at the old Branchville Mica Quarry.

Uraninite Uraninite, also known as pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium c ...

, a source of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

, is found here, too.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 23,643 people, 8,433 households, and 6,611 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 8,877 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.12%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.62%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.36% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population. There were 8,433 households, out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $107,351, and the median income for a family was $127,981 (these figures had risen to $125,909 and $154,346 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,236 for females. The per capita income for the town was $51,795. About 1.3% of families and 2.4% 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 ...

, 5.3% of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,212 people, 2,933 households, and 1,994 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 3,078 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.52% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races, while 2.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,933 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. Of all households, 28.5% were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $81,179, and the median income for a family was $127,327. Males had a median income of $93,084 versus $47,232 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $46,843. 3.2% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the

. Out of the total population, 1.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Arts and culture

The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, formerly called the Ridgefield Symphony Youth Orchestra, has performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and Avery Fisher Hall at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra began as the "Ridgefield Symphonette" in 1965 with 20 players, only a third of them professionals. It became fully professional by the end of the decade and today has 75 musicians and draws soloists of international reputation. In 1984, Maxim Shostakovich, then a Ridgefielder, conducted a sold-out concert of music by his father,

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

, with the composer's grandson, Dmitri, performing as piano soloist. The Keeler Tavern Museum preserves an early 18th-century house that, by the time of the Revolution, had become a tavern and inn. The tavern was a center of community activities, an early post office, and a stop on the northern New York to Boston post road. In the early 20th century, it was the home of noted architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...

. The tavern is open several days a week, offers tours, and has a gift shop. The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is a leading venue for the world's best contemporary artists. Its exhibitions have attracted national attention and respect. The museum was redesigned and expanded in 2004, and offers many special programs, including concerts. Schoolhouse2

The Ridgefield Playhouse, opened in December 2000, is housed in the former Ridgefield Alternate High School auditorium, and was remodeled as a playhouse. It is the year-round venue for dozens of concerts and other performances, many by internationally known artists. The Playhouse also shows movies, many of them first-run. Weir Farm National Historic Site, which straddles the Ridgefield- Wilton border, preserves much of the farm of J. Alden Weir (1852–1919), a painter of the

American Impressionism American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose ...

style. The property was later used by his son-in-law, Mahonri Young (1877–1957), noted sculptor and a grandson of

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

. The site includes the Weir Farm Art Center and a gallery, and many special events take place there, including shows by visiting artists in residence. Weir Farm is one of only two official National Park Service units in the state. The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance was founded as the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet in 1965 by Patricia Schuster. In 2002 it became the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The Conservatory is home to three pre-professional performance companies: the Ridgefield Civic Ballet, The Junior Dance Ensemble, and the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. The conservatory presents ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'' annually at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Ridgefieldgolfcoursefifteenthholemensteebox

Thrown Stone Theatre Company is a professional theatre company in town that focuses primarily on new work. Located at the intersection of West Lane and Route 35, the Peter Parley Schoolhouse (), also known as the Little Red Schoolhouse or the West Lane Schoolhouse, is a one-room schoolhouse in use by the town until 1913. The site and grounds are maintained by the Ridgefield Garden Club. The building is open certain Sundays and displays the desks, slates, and books the children used. Ridgefield's public open space includes Aldrich Park, Bennett's Pond State Park, Brewster Farm, Florida Refuge, Hemlock Hills/Lake Windwing, Pine Mountain, Seth Low Pierrepont State Park, and the Weir Farm National Historic Site. Its public open spaces make up , accounting for 23% of the towns overall land. Ridgefield Golf Course is the town's municipal 18 hole golf course designed by George Fazio and Tom Fazio and opened in 1974. The town's largest industry is

Boehringer Ingelheim C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer (1861–1939) in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's List of la ...

Pharmaceuticals, whose United States headquarters are located in the Ridgebury section of town. In 2006, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree selected to be displayed in New York's

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

for the Christmas season came from Ridgefield. The town also features a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...

, owned by the town and maintained by the town's parks and recreation service, in which both

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

and

aggressive inline skating Aggressive inline skating is a sub-discipline of inline skating in the action sports canon. Aggressive inline skates are specially modified to accommodate grinds and jumps. Aggressive skating can take place on found street obstacles or at skate p ...

are done. In 2010 the skatepark was rebuilt and expanded as a result of the need to expand the Ridgefield Playhouse parking lot.

Annual events

*The Nutmeg Festival on Main Street is in August. It has been organized by St. Stephen's Church and held on its grounds since 1906, when it was started there as an "apron and cake sale" by the Ladies Guild to raise money for charity. The event has recently been transformed into Nutmeg and Neighbors, a fundraising event. *The Antiques Flea Market is held every June outdoors on the grounds of the Veterans Memorial Community Center. * A local farmers market is held every Thursday during the summer months.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Part of the town center is a

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

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) as Ridgefield Center Historic District. The district was added to the Register in 1984 and includes representations of mid-19th-century revival, Late Victorian, and Colonial revival architectural styles. Noted architect

purchased historic Keeler Tavern within the district and renovated it for his use as a summer home. Roughly bounded by Pound Street, Fairview Avenue, Prospect Ridge, and Whipstick Roads, the district was added on October 7, 1984. In addition to the town center historic district, there are a number of individual properties and at least one other historic district in the town that are NRHP-listed: * Benedict House and Shop: 57 Rockwell Road (added 1998) * Branchville Railroad Tenement: Old Main Highway (added 1982) * Frederic Remington House: 154 Barry Ave. (added 1966) * Hugh Cain Fulling Mill and Elias Glover Woolen Mill Archeological Site (added 1985) * J. Alden Weir Farm Historic District: 735 Nod Hill Road and Pelham Lane (added 1984; see ''Weir Farm National Historic Site'', below) * Keeler Tavern: 132 Main St. (added 1982) * Lewis June House: 478 N. Salem Road (added 1984) * March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Ridgebury Road: Ridgebury Road, from intersection with Old Stagecoach South (added 2003) * Phineas Chapman Lounsbury House: 316 Main Street, also known as the Ridgefield Veterans Memorial Community Center (added 1975) * Ridgebury Congregational Church: Ridgebury Road and George Washington Highway (added 1984) * Thomas Hyatt House: 11 Barlow Mountain Road (added 1984) * West Mountain Historic District: state road 855 (formerly Route 102) (added 1984)

Government and politics

Ridgefield has a traditional New England Board of Selectmen–Town Meeting form of government, which is created by Town Charter and approved by the voters. The Charter calls for an annual Town and Budget Meeting to be held on the first Monday of May each year. The following are the elective offices of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Selectmen, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer and Tax Collector. The following are the elective boards and commissions of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Appeals on Zoning, Board of Tax Review, Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Finance. The chief executive is The First Selectman, who also serves a legislative function as a member of the Board of Selectmen. The current First Selectman, Rudy Marconi (D), was first elected in 1999.

Education

Ridgefield has nine public schools and two private schools. The public schools are managed by Ridgefield Public Schools. The six public

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s are Veterans Park, Branchville, Farmingville, Scotland, Barlow Mountain, and Ridgebury. Scotts Ridge Middle School (Ridgefield's newest school) and East Ridge are the town's two

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s. The

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

is Ridgefield High School. The high school's teams are called the Tigers. Ridgefield's Roman Catholic schools are St. Mary, serving preschool through eighth grade, and St. Padre Pio Academy, serving kindergarten through eighth grade and run by the Society of St. Pius X. Ridgefield Academy is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

serving preschool through eighth grade, situated on a turn-of-the-20th-century estate on West Mountain that was once home to the Congregation de Notre Dame. There are also various preschools and a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

school.

Infrastructure

*Electricity Eversource Energy *Water Aquarion serves central and west parts of town (down Route 33 south to St. Johns Road, north along Route 35 to Farmingville, west to the Eleven Levels area and West Lane). Small water companies serve some other parts of town. The water line was recently extended up North Street to Barlow Mountain and Scotland Elementary Schools, a proposal that took years to pass. *Telephone/internet

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. is an American telecommunications company. Known as Citizens Utilities Company until 2000, Citizens Communications Company until 2008, and Frontier Communications Corporation until 2020, as a communications pr ...

*Cable television/telephone/internet Comcast Cable in Danbury *Local newspaper''

The Ridgefield Press ''The Ridgefield Press'' is an American weekly newspaper published each Thursday for Ridgefield, Connecticut. The newspaper was established in 1875, and has a paid circulation of about 4,753 copies. It is currently owned by Hearst Media, whic ...

'' *Public transportation by trainthe

Danbury Branch The Danbury Branch is a 23.9-mile (38 km) long branch line of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line in the U.S. state of Connecticut, running from downtown Norwalk north to Danbury. All trains along the branch make stops at the line ...

, which is a part of the

New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...

, serves Branchville station, a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

stop. Northbound diesel trains will travel to Danbury station, and southbound trains will travel to South Norwalk station. During peak hours on weekdays, some trains will travel as far as Stamford Transportation Center, and express trains to

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

. *Public transportation by bus Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART), the bus system serving Greater Danbury. HART operates a weekday commuter shuttle between Katonah station and the

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lots at 207 Main St. and 58 Prospect Ridge.

Neighborhoods

Ridgefield is predominantly made up of 19 encompassing neighborhoods. Ridgefield, Main Street, Branchville, Titicus, Farmingville, Ridgebury, Topstone, West Mountain, Cooper Hill, Ramapoo, Route 7, Georgetown, Deer Run, Peaceable Hill, Quail Ride, Westmoreland, Twixt Hills, Long Ridge, and Starrs/Picketts Ridge.

Notable people

''See:'' List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut

References

*''Images of America: Ridgefield'' (1999) 127 pages; 1890s to 1950s. *''Ridgefield 1900–1950'', by Jack Sanders (2003) 126 pages *''Farmers against the Crown'', by Keith Jones. An account of the Battle of Ridgefield during the Revolutionary War. 162 pages, paperback (2002) *''The Farms of Farmingville'', by Keith Marshall Jones, 509 pages (2001) *''Five Village Walks'', by Jack Sanders, 56 pages *''Ridgefield in Review'', by Silvio A. Bedini (1958) Out of print, but used copies often available locally *''History of Ridgefield'', by George L. Rockwell, 583 pages, long out of print *''The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Records, Volume 36'', an index to Ridgefield births, marriages and deaths from 1709 to 1850. Genealogical Publishing Company (2000) *''The History of Ridgefield, Connecticut'', by the Rev. Daniel Teller (1878), 251 pages. Teller was pastor of the First Congregational Church. *''The Proprietors of Ridgefield'', by Glenna M. Welsh (1976) *''St. Stephen's Church: Its History for 250 years: 1725 to 1975'', by Robert S. Haight, 220 pages, *''Saint Stephen's Church Reaches the Millennium'', by Dirk Bollenback, 114 pages, covers 1975 to 2000. *''Lost in Place: Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia'', by Mark Salzman (1996), 288 pages, Ridgefield native reflects on the idiosyncrasies and absurdities of suburban Connecticut life.

Footnotes

External links

Town of Ridgefield official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1708 Towns in Connecticut Towns in Fairfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area 1709 establishments in Connecticut Towns in Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut