Westport, Connecticut: The Story of a New England Town's Rise to Prominence - Hardcover

Klein, Woody

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313311269 ISBN 13: 9780313311260

Publisher: Praeger Pub Text, 2000

Synopsis

This book tells the story of how Westporters from all walks of life share one common characteristic: a generations-old love of community. A town settled by farmers and fishermen, diversified by immigrants from many countries and varied economic backgrounds, Westport was modernized by professionals in all fields and enriched by international celebrities from around the nation and the world. Westport, Connecticut offers the reader an entertaining insight into how Westport has become a mecca for those who are traditionally untraditional. This book is the first comprehensive, in-depth history of a town celebrated throughout the nation and the world. It brings history alive not only for its own residents, but for those who live in distant places who want to learn about one of the finest examples of how the quest for excellence, for a community spirit and for volunteerism can succeed in America.

Ideally located on a rich landscape and the water of Long Island Sound, it was formed when dissident members of the original Massachusetts Bay Colony seeking new frontiers for themselves and their families successfully won the Swamp War in the early 1600s against the Pequot Indians. Westport was incorporated in 1835 as a result of a strong grass-roots democratic movement toward self-reliance and independence. Parishioners of the Green's Farm Church petitioned the legislature in Hartford and formed their own community by acquiring land from nearby Fairfield, Norwalk, and Weston. Since those early days, Westport has served as the destination for those who wanted to freely express themselves, to live in a relative privacy and yet be part of a vital community, and to travel elsewhere but to always have an attractive home base to which they could return.

About this title

Book Description:

Westport, Connecticut is the compelling story of how and why this beautiful New England town took roots and, through the generations, has become the home of diverse, creative, loyal and talented people who have made it one of America's leading suburbs at the outset of the 21st century.

About the Author:

WOODY KLEIN is an author and journalist who has written a column in the Westport News for three decades. He served as editor of that newspaper from 1992 to 1997. Mr. Klein is the author of two previous books, Let in the Sun and Lindsay's Promise. He contributes to numerous publications, including Westport and Connecticut magazines and the New York Times Sunday section, and he has been an adjunct professor of journalism at Fairfield University, the University of Bridgeport, and Iona College.

About this edition

• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0313311269
• ISBN 13: 9780313311260
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400