Rowayton is a coastal neighborhood in the city of

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

, roughly from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Association, the Historical Society, the Rowayton Library, a Gardeners Club, and a Parents Exchange. Rowayton annually plays host to a

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

an production at Pinkney Park, produced by Shakespeare on the Sound, and also has an active community of artists, many of whom are associated with the Rowayton Arts Center. The Rowayton station on the New Haven line of 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 ...

is located within the community, as is an elementary school, a public beach for residents and the Rowayton Public Library.

Coastline

The Rowayton coastline has been a source of inspiration for centuries. John Frederick Kensett, a famous 19th century landscape painter of the Hudson School, frequently painted this seascape in his later life. This tradition has been carried on in an active local arts scene. Rowayton is home to a number of private and semi-private beaches, three of which—The Roton Point Association, Bayley Beach, and a coastal outpost of Wee Burn Country Club—share a common history. In the early 20th century, the properties of all three made up the Roton Point Amusement Park. A boat landing attached to Sunset Rock, just to the West of Belle Island, allowed steam boats to bring day-trippers from New York City to the park. A trolley ran from both Darien and Norwalk, arriving at the Park via Highland Avenue and over present-day Langdon Preserve, located across from Farm Creek. At the amusement park, amenities included a bath house, a picnic grove, and rides ranging from the classic carousel to roller coasters with views of the beach.

"Rock Ledge" estate

The former ''Rock Ledge'' estate at 33 and 40-42 Highland Avenue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1910, James A. Farrell, later president of the

United States Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

Corporation, built a

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

mansion, which burned down in 1913 and was rebuilt in granite. The estate was later bought by the

Remington Rand Remington Rand, Inc. was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers. Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington ...

Corporation, developers of the

UNIVAC UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and ...

computer, of which General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

was Chairman of the Board in the 1950s, and which merged with

Sperry Corporation Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...

to form Sperry Rand. Since 1966, the Farrell family stables have been converted to the Rowayton Community Center and the Rowayton Library. In 1964, the main part of the estate was purchased by the Thomas School for girls, a day and boarding school founded by Mabel Thomas in 1922. The school eventually merged with another private school in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, later becoming coeducational King Low Heywood Thomas. The mansion and attached office building were subsequently owned by

Hewitt Associates Hewitt may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom * Hewitt (hill), Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand feet with a relative height of at least 30 metres ;United States * Hewitt, Minnesota, a city * Hewitt, Texas, a city * Hewit ...

. Currently, the main house of the estate is the headquarters of Graham Capital Management, L.P.

Notable people

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the ...

— Broadway and Hollywood producer/director/writer * Jerome Beatty Jr. — author for the ''Saturday Review'', ''Colliers'', and ''Esquire'' * David Bergamini — author of ''Japan's Imperial Conspiracy'' and Time-Life Books * Richard Bissell — novelist, some of whose works were adapted to be Broadway musicals *

Kay Boyle Kay Boyle (February 19, 1902 – December 27, 1992) was an American novelist, short story writer, educator, and political activist. Boyle is best known for her fiction, which often explored the intersections of personal and political themes. Her ...

— novelist and short story author, taught at Thomas School on Bluff Avenue *

Philip Caputo Philip Caputo (born June 10, 1941) is an American author and journalist. He is best known for '' A Rumor of War'' (1977), a best-selling memoir of his experiences during the Vietnam War. Caputo has written 18 books, including three memoirs, five ...

— author, '' A Rumor of War'' *

Brian Cashman Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has served as the general manager and senior vice president of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure ...

— general manager of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

* Ward Chamberlin — PBS executive * Leslie Charleson — TV actress * Kathryn Hays — TV actress *

Helen Oakley Dance Helen Margaret Oakley Dance, née Oakley (February 15, 1913 – May 27, 2001) was a Canadian-American jazz journalist, record producer, and music historian. She is perhaps best known for record production (including Duke Ellington) and for her biog ...

— writer and record producer *

Stanley Dance Stanley Frank Dance (15 September 1910 in Braintree, Essex – 23 February 1999 in Vista, California) was a British jazz writer, business manager, record producer, and historian of the Swing era. He was personally close to Duke Ellington over ...

— writer and record producer, biographer of Duke Ellington *

Jimmy Ernst Hans-Ulrich Ernst (June 24, 1920 – February 6, 1984), known as Jimmy Ernst, was an American painter born in Germany. Early life Jimmy Ernst was born in 1920 in Cologne, Germany, the son of German Surrealist painter Max Ernst and Luise St ...

— artist and teacher *

Ian Falconer Ian Woodward Falconer (August 25, 1959 – March 7, 2023) was an American author and illustrator of children's books as well as a designer of sets and costumes for the theater. He created 30 covers for ''The New Yorker'' and also for other publ ...

— children's book author, illustrator, and set/costume designer * Jim Flora — commercial illustrator *

Meg Foster Margaret "Meg" Foster (born May 10, 1948) is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of '' The Scarlet Letter'', and the films '' Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'' and '' ...

— actress * Joseph Franckenstein — diplomat and teacher *

Robert Griffith Robert Otis Griffith (born November 30, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs. He played 13 seasons in the NFL ...

— producer of Broadway shows *

Crockett Johnson Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip ''Barnaby (comics), Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harol ...

— cartoonist and creator of children's books, ''

Harold and the Purple Crayon ''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' is a 1955 Children's literature, children's picture book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, it is Johnson's most popular book, and has led to a series of other rel ...

'' * John Frederick Kensett — nineteenth-century artist * Ruth Krauss — author of children's books * Emily Levine — humorist * Albert Markov — violinist and composer *

Horace McMahon Horace McMahon (May 17, 1907 – August 17, 1971) was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies. McMahon began his acting career on Broadway, then appeared in many films and television series. In 1962, he received a Pri ...

— actor and little league umpire * Betsy Palmer — actress *

Gabor Peterdi Gabor Peterdi (1915 in Pestújhely, Hungary – 2001 in Stamford, Connecticut) was a Hungarian-American painter and printmaker who immigrated to the United States in 1939.

— artist *

Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program ''60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...

— author, humorist, television commentator * Emily Rooney — TV producer, journalist, and host *

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

— Ziegfeld impresario and theatrical showman, married to Fanny Brice * Stefan Schnabel — Broadway, film and television actor * Fred Schwed — humorist *

Treat Williams Richard Treat Williams Jr. (December 1, 1951 – June 12, 2025) was an American actor, whose career on stage and in film and television spanned five decades. He received many accolades for his work, including nominations for three Golden Globe ...

— film actor

Gallery

File:NorwalkCTRowaytonAveInDowntownRowayton08132007.JPG, Rowayton Avenue File:PostcardMainStRowaytonNorwalkCT1906.jpg, "Main Street" (Rowayton Avenue), circa 1906 File:PostcardMethodistChurchRowaytonCT1917.jpg, Methodist Church, 1917 File:NorwalkCTRowaytonFiveMileRiver08112007.JPG, Riverfront, downtown Rowayton File:PostcardGroveRotonPtNorwalkCT1905.jpg, The Grove, Roton Point, 1905 postcard File:PostcardBelleIslandNorwalkCT1907.jpg, Belle Island, 1907 postcard File:PostcardRowaytonCTRockledge1919.jpg, Original Tudor look of the Rockledge Estate

References

External links

Civic AssociationHistorical SocietyRowayton LibraryRowayton Arts CenterShakespeare on the SoundRowayton School Sale of 40 Highland Avenue a.k.a. "Rock Ledge Estate"
{{authority control Geography of Norwalk, Connecticut Neighborhoods in Connecticut Populated coastal places in Connecticut