Redding, Connecticut

At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present-day Redding, Native American trails crossed through portions of the area, including the Berkshire Path running north–south.[2]

In 1639, Roger Ludlow (also referenced as Roger Ludlowe in many accounts) purchased land from local Native Americans to establish Fairfield,[3] and in 1668 Fairfield purchased another tract of land then called Northfield, which comprised land that is now part of Redding.[4]

For settlement purposes, Fairfield authorities divided the newly available land into parcels dubbed "long lots" at the time, which north–south measured no more than a third of a mile wide but extended east–west as long as 15 miles.[5] Immediately north of the long lots was a similar-sized parcel of land known as The Oblong.[6]

There are varying accounts as to the first colonial landholder in the Redding area; multiple citations suggest a Fairfield man named Richard Osborn obtained land there in 1671, while differing on how many acres he secured.[4] Nathan Gold, a Fairfield man who would serve as deputy governor of Connecticut from 1708 to 1723, received a land grant for 800 acres in 1681.[7]

The first colonials to settle in the area of present-day Redding lived near a Native American village led by Chickens Warrups (also referenced as Chicken Warrups or Sam Mohawk in some accounts), whose name is included on multiple land deeds secured by settlers throughout the area.[7]

According to Fairfield County and state records from the time Redding was formed, the original name of the town was Reading, after the town in Berkshire, England. Probably more accurately, however, town history attributes the name to John Read,[8] an early major landholder who was a prominent lawyer in Boston as well as a former Congregationalist preacher who converted to Anglicanism. Read helped in demarcating the boundaries of the town and in getting it recognized as a parish of Fairfield[9] in 1729. In 1767, soon after incorporation, the name was changed to its current spelling of Redding to better reflect its pronunciation.

In 1809, Congress granted Redding its first U.S. Post Office,[10] which made official in 1844 the spelling of the town's name.[11]

In the years preceding the Declaration of Independence, tensions escalated in Redding between Tory loyalists and larger numbers of those supporting the resolutions of the Continental Congress, with some Tories fleeing to escape retribution.[5] Some 100 Redding men volunteered to serve under Captain Zalmon Read in a company of the new 5th Connecticut Regiment, which participated in the siege of Quebec's Fort Saint-Jean during the autumn of 1775 before the volunteers' terms of service expired in late November.[5]

In 1777, the Continental Congress created a new Continental Army with enlistments lasting three years. The 5th Connecticut Regiment was reformed, enlisting some men from Redding, and assigned to guard military stores in Danbury, Connecticut.[5] Getting word of the depot, the British dispatched a force of some 2,000 soldiers to destroy the stores, landing April 26 at present-day Westport and undertaking a 23-mile march north. The column halted on Redding Ridge for a two-hour respite, with many residents having fled to a wooded, rocky area dubbed the Devil's Den. The British column resumed its march to Danbury where soldiers destroyed the supplies, then skirmished Continental Army and militia forces in Ridgefield while on the return march south.[12]

For the winter of 1778–1779, General George Washington decided to split the Continental Army into three divisions encircling New York City, where British General Sir Henry Clinton had taken up winter quarters.[13] Major General Israel Putnam chose Redding as the winter encampment quarters for some 3,000 regulars and militia under his command, at the site of the present-day Putnam Memorial State Park and nearby areas. The Redding encampment allowed Putnam's soldiers to guard the replenished supply depot in Danbury and support any operations along Long Island Sound and the Hudson River Valley.[14] Some of the men were veterans of the winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania the previous winter. Soldiers at the Redding camp endured supply shortages, cold temperatures and significant snow, with some historians dubbing the encampment "Connecticut's Valley Forge."[15]

Construction began in 1850 on the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, which linked those two cities following a 23-mile route along the Norwalk River valley that passed through Redding. Regular steam-engine service commenced March 1, 1852;[16] Leading to the establishment of the Redding station in West Redding, the Sanford station in Topstone, and the Georgetown station, which was originally built in Wilton, But later rebuilt in Redding.

Cinnamon colored garnet rock near the train station in Redding.

In 1876, after A.N. Fillow began extracting mica in the Branchville section of Redding, two Yale University mineralogists noted the presence of previously undiscovered minerals lodged in pegmatite there and furnished funds to expand the operation. Historians say the mine produced between seven[17] and nine minerals until then unknown, including one that was named reddingite. Over time, the mine would produce quantities of quartz, feldspar, mica, beryl, spodumene and columbite.[18]

Another unique geological feature is the bedrock close to the train station. It is composed of nearly pure and massive garnet.[19]

In 1834, Gilbert & Bennett Co. purchased the site of a former comb mill alongside the Norwalk River in the Georgetown section of Redding, and began producing wire mesh cloth for varying uses, in time to include sieves and window screens. In 1863, Gilbert & Bennett built a facility at the site for drawing metal wire. During World War I, the U.S. military adapted the company's products for camouflage netting, gas masks and trench liners; and during World War II, for signal corps uses.

Gilbert & Bennett in Georgetown, Connecticut.

A private equity group purchased the company in 1985, and began relocating operations elsewhere. In 1987, the Gilbert & Bennett site was included as part of the Georgetown Historic District listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[20]

In a 1987 nomination document for the National Register of Historic Places, proponents cited Gilbert & Bennett as an "anachronism" in the history of U.S. industry and labor.

"Peaceful, tree-lined residential streets converge on a functioning industrial complex; well-preserved historic houses stand cheek-by-jowl with modern factories; the deteriorated slum neighborhoods associated with modern industry do not exist," the nomination states. "The elite of Georgetown, almost exclusively people associated with Gilbert and Bennett, lived in the midst of their workers. The predictable ethnic neighborhoods did exist in Georgetown, outside the district for the most part, but their employees were apparently encouraged to occupy, or build houses next to the mansions of the managers and officers."[21]

In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated the factory pond and surrounding land a federal Superfund site to spur the remediation of pollution there.[22] Multiple developers have since attempted to finance the construction of a village development at the Gilbert & Bennett site, to include a mix of residential and commercial buildings.[23]

Umpawaug District School

• Aaron Barlow House
• Daniel and Esther Bartlett House
• Georgetown Historic District
• Putnam Memorial State Park
• Redding Center Historic District
• Umpawaug District School

The Connecticut Historic Resource Inventory lists 230 structures in Redding, the oldest built in 1710 by early settler Moses Knapp.[24] The Town of Redding lists another 285 structures that are believed to have been built before 1901 that are not listed in the Connecticut Historic Resource Inventory, the oldest built in 1711 by John Read.[25]

Redding has experienced several disasters, including the 2020 pandemic of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, with Connecticut declaring on March 10, 2020, a public health emergency and federal agencies subsequently approving Connecticut for disaster assistance. Through June 30, the state of Connecticut listed 69 Redding residents as having contracted COVID-19 or probably so,[26] with eight town residents having died of complications from coronavirus.[27] Statewide, schools closed and businesses furloughed workers after the closure of work sites deemed "non-essential" with the state allowing a phased resumption of business activities starting May 20. More than 700 Redding residents filed initial claims for unemployment compensation between March 15 and June 29, with unemployment peaking in mid-April when 434 residents were receiving benefits.[28]

Most other disasters were the result of severe weather events including Hurricane Sandy with tropical storm-force winds when it reached Connecticut October 29, 2012, toppling trees throughout the town and cutting power to 98 percent of homes and businesses.[29]

Sandy was the third storm to cause extensive electrical outages and property damage in Redding and Connecticut within the space of just over 14 months, along with Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and the so-called "Halloween nor'easter" in late October that year. The nor'easter dropped extensive snow onto trees that still had foliage, resulting in an increased number of snapped branches and trunks that damaged property and power lines, with some areas not seeing electricity restored for 11 days.[30]

In 1995, police arrested[31] and a jury subsequently convicted[32] Geoffrey K. Ferguson on charges he shot and killed tenants Scott D. Auerbach and David J. Froehlich, as well as three other men named David A. Gartrell, Sean E. Hiltunen, and Jason M. Trusewicz, at a house in Georgetown.

Beginning October 15, 1955, heavy rains caused flooding along the Norwalk River and other Connecticut waterways.[33] The flood of 1955 resulted in a dam failing at the Gilbert and Bennett factory and the inundation of the Georgetown neighborhood, amid other damage to property and infrastructure.[34]

A 1938 hurricane known as "the Long Island Express" destroyed crops in Redding,[35] but western Connecticut was spared the brunt of the storm that was the most destructive in New England recorded history.[36]

The Great Blizzard of 1888 (also known as the Great White Hurricane of 1888) buried Redding under significant snow in March that year, with one resident recollecting horses and cows "stood to their middles" in snow.[37]

The town is in a humid continental climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Dfa), with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers and four distinct seasons.[39] The United States Department of Agriculture places Redding in plant hardiness zone 6b.[40] Summer high temperatures average in the lower 80s Fahrenheit (upper 20s Celsius), with lows averaging in the lower 60s F (upper 10s C).[41]

Mark Twain: A Biography was authored by West Redding resident Albert Bigelow Paine after interviews with Samuel Clemens at his Stormfield residence, along with subsequent books on Clemens' life.[51]

My Brother Sam Is Dead, authored by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier and named a Newbery Honor Book in 1975, was set in Redding during the Revolutionary War.[52]

Secrets of Redding Glen, a children's book written and illustrated by Jo Polseno, chronicles the natural cycle of wildlife along a section of the Saugatuck River.[53]

• A Georgetown Story (2005–2008) – filmed in Georgetown.[54]
• The Last House on the Left (1972) – directorial debut of Wes Craven[55]
• Old Dogs (2007–2008) – filmed in Redding Community Center, Putnam Park[56]
• Other People's Money (1991) – filmed in Georgetown[57]
• Rachel, Rachel (1968) – filmed in Georgetown, directorial debut of Paul Newman[58]
• Reckless (1995) – filmed in Georgetown[57]
• Revolutionary Road[56]
• The Stepford Wives (1975)[59]
• Valley of the Dolls (1967) – filmed in Redding Center[60]

Mother Bear and Cubs, Huntington State Park, Redding, Connecticut

Multiple works by the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington are on display in Redding, including "Mother Bear and Cubs" and "Sculpture of Wolves" at the entrance to Collis P. Huntington State Park; "General Israel Putnam" at the entrance to Putnam Memorial State Park; "Fighting Stallions" at Redding Elementary School; "A Tribute to the Workhorse" at John Read Middle School; and a smaller version of "The Torch Bearers" at the Mark Twain Library, the original on display in Madrid, Spain.

In its collections, catalogs and archives, the Smithsonian Institution lists at least eight artistic works depicting Redding or located there: Huntington's "Fighting Stallions," "Israel Putnam," "Mother Bear and Cubs" and "Sculpture of Wolves"; the paintings "Landscape, Redding Centre" and "Redding Centre, Conn." by Oronzio Maldarelli; the painting "Rainstorm - Cider Mill at Redding, Connecticut" by George Harvey; and the photo print "Burlingame Garden", photographer not listed.[61]

Redding Ridge artist Dennis Luzak designed a block of commemorative stamps titled "International Youth Year" and issued October 7, 1985, by the U.S. Postal Service.[62] West Redding artist Fred Otnes designed five stamps issued April 22, 2008, depicting journalists.[63]

Mark Twain Library holds an annual art show as a fundraiser, which draws artists from throughout the Northeast to exhibit works, and displays varying works of art and historic objects throughout the year.[64] In 2008, the library received on loan the Gary Lee Price sculpture "Ever the Twain Shall Meet," depicting Twain in the company of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher, two fictional characters he created.[65]

The composer Charles Ives titled the second movement of his "Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)" as "Putnam's Camp, Redding Connecticut." The composition is renowned for Ives attempt to produce an auditory experience akin to that experienced by a child at a parade, borrowing elements of several patriotic songs including "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and employing orchestral techniques to approximate the parade experience, for instance the sound of a band approaching while playing a song even as another recedes into the distance playing a different tune.[66]

Composer Paul Avgerinos won the 2016 Grammy Award for best new age artist for his album "Grace".[67]

Redding sponsors free "Concerts on the Green" Sundays from June to August, which draw varied music acts from throughout the area.

Joel Barlow High School, opened in 1959 and expanded in 1971,[71] serves both Redding and Easton and is designated Regional School District 09[72] by the state of Connecticut. John Read Middle School, opened in 1966 and expanded in 1999, educates Redding students from fifth through eighth grade and was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2012, among 269 schools nationally that year to receive the designation.[73] Redding Elementary School, opened in 1948 and expanded in 1957, educates students from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade.

Samuel Clemens, who lived in Redding from 1908 until his death in 1910, contributed the first books for what would become the Mark Twain Library. The Mark Twain Library Association has retained some 200 of the original 3,000 volumes Clemens donated, along with other artifacts he owned.[74]