Westport History
Posted on January 11, 2008
Filed Under Westport, Connecticut - Events and Activities | Leave a Comment
Like many other towns in New England, Westport’s roots stem back to the Native Americans. During the Revolutionary War on April 25, 1777, British soldiers landed on Compo Beach and marched up Compo Road burning homesteads and barns. After a battle at Ridgefield, the British returned and fought the local militia in a battle at Compo Hill. The Minuteman statue commemorates this event. After the Revolutionary War, with the economy growing due to coastal shipping and onion farming, a charter was granted in 1835 to incorporate Westport as a town.
When the era of mills and farms was ending, Westport began its second renaissance. Famous writers, artists and theater people set the pace. Seeking a retreat from the noise of New York City, they found another world just “up the mainline” into Connecticut. Here by the seacoast and the green woods was escape. Inevitably though, they brought change with them.
Beginning in the 1920’s, the growing stream of glittering newcomers was making Westport’s legend. Through the next decades, the town began to figure in the plays, novels, artwork and movies generated by this talented coterie. From F. Scott Fitzgerald to Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Michael Bolton, from the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit to I Love Lucy, from the Westport Famous Writers’ Photographers’ and Artists’ Schools to Stevan Dohanos’ famous covers for the Saturday Evening Post, Westport’s sparks were flying.
The images of the town defined a lifestyle, invented a new vocabulary and forever fixed Westport in the American imagination. Commuters and bedroom communities came to stay. Westport still retains its cultural vibrancy. The population has grown and executives and professionals from the arenas of advertising, communications, national and international businesses have created a new diversity.
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