Little Danbury, Connecticut

Little Danbury was a beachfront settlement on Long Island Sound in what is today southeast Fairfield.[1]

Little Danbury
Little Danbury
Location within the state of Connecticut
Little Danbury
Little Danbury (the United States)
Coordinates: 41°07′39″N 73°14′50″W
Country United States
U.S. state Connecticut
CountyFairfield
TownFairfield
Elevation
0.9 m (3 ft)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
GNIS feature ID1942407[1]

History

The Fairfield area had no permanent beachfront living structures prior to the late 1800s. Shacks would be erected at the start of the vacation season and then dismantled and stored for the winter. In the late 1890s, "rustic" inexpensive permanent cottages were built in a settlement called "Little Danbury".[2][3]

The cottages were popular with "average folks who traveled down from Danbury", while wealthy vacationers—who arrived daily by train from New York—did not consider beachfront cottages fashionable and instead stayed at the inland Fairfield House resort.[2][3]

Reef Road was built to reach Little Danbury, and soon after, a cluster of inexpensive cottages known as "Little Bridgeport" was established at nearby Pine Creek.[2]

Many of the properties at Little Danbury were destroyed in the 1938 New England hurricane.[2]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Danbury (historical)
  2. Rose, Elizabeth (2014). "1800s: Life's a Beach". TownVibe Fairfield.
  3. Provost, Lisa (July 3, 2005). "The Fairfield, Conn., Beach Area; A Beach Community in an Awkward Transition". The New York Times.
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