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Georgetown Historic District (Georgetown, Connecticut)
Encyclopedia
Georgetown Historic District is a historic district
which covers the central portion the village of Georgetown, Connecticut
. The district includes parts of Georgetown in the towns of Redding
and Wilton
and consists of the former Gilbert and Bennett manufacturing plant, institutional housing built for the plant workers, and other private homes.
In its 1986 National Register nomination, the district is described as "[A] rare survival of rural industrial history".
The company is described as having been "[g]uided by nineteenth-century paternalism and enlightened self-interest
which carried over well into the twentieth century" for it having "shaped a community which today resembles the rural industrial village of nineteenth-century Utopian ideology."
The company began as a cottage industry weaving animal hair from cows and horses, started by Benjamin Gilbert. Water power was needed, and the enterprise used a former sawmill facility downriver from the later factory site. After much development and a fire, the company focused on wire products.
The district consists of properties that are roughly bounded by Route 7, Portland Avenue, Route 107, and the Norwalk River
. It includes 120 contributing buildings and one other contributing site over a 125 acres (50.6 ha) area. Architectural styles in the historic district include Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, and Italianate.
The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on January 21, 1987. Fourteen properties in the Town of Wilton, on Church Street, West Church Street, and Redding Road, are also included in the town's Historic District #6, designated in 2007. Exterior alterations to these properties require approval by the Wilton Historic District and Historic Property Commission. Several of the 123 contributing resources
originally included in the National Register historic district have been demolished as part of a Georgetown Redevelopment Project.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
which covers the central portion the village of Georgetown, Connecticut
Georgetown, Connecticut
Georgetown is a village and census-designated place in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is located at the point where the towns of Wilton, Redding, Ridgefield, and Weston meet....
. The district includes parts of Georgetown in the towns of Redding
Redding, Connecticut
Mark Twain, a resident of the town in his old age, contributed the first books for a public library which was eventually named after him.-Government:...
and Wilton
Wilton, Connecticut
Wilton is a town nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It is located in Fairfield County. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 18,062. In 2007, it was voted as one of CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in the United States.Located along...
and consists of the former Gilbert and Bennett manufacturing plant, institutional housing built for the plant workers, and other private homes.
In its 1986 National Register nomination, the district is described as "[A] rare survival of rural industrial history".
The company is described as having been "[g]uided by nineteenth-century paternalism and enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest is a philosophy in ethics which states that persons who act to further the interests of others , ultimately serve their own self-interest....
which carried over well into the twentieth century" for it having "shaped a community which today resembles the rural industrial village of nineteenth-century Utopian ideology."
The company began as a cottage industry weaving animal hair from cows and horses, started by Benjamin Gilbert. Water power was needed, and the enterprise used a former sawmill facility downriver from the later factory site. After much development and a fire, the company focused on wire products.
The district consists of properties that are roughly bounded by Route 7, Portland Avenue, Route 107, and the Norwalk River
Norwalk River
The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, approximately long. The word "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land".-Description:...
. It includes 120 contributing buildings and one other contributing site over a 125 acres (50.6 ha) area. Architectural styles in the historic district include Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, and Italianate.
The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on January 21, 1987. Fourteen properties in the Town of Wilton, on Church Street, West Church Street, and Redding Road, are also included in the town's Historic District #6, designated in 2007. Exterior alterations to these properties require approval by the Wilton Historic District and Historic Property Commission. Several of the 123 contributing resources
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
originally included in the National Register historic district have been demolished as part of a Georgetown Redevelopment Project.