Westport, Connecticut
| Westport, Connecticut | |||
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| Town | |||
Westport Town Hall
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 Location in Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut. |
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| Coordinates: 41°07′24″N 73°20′49″W / 41.12333°N 73.34694°WCoordinates: 41°07′24″N 73°20′49″W / 41.12333°N 73.34694°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Connecticut | ||
| NECTA | Bridgeport-Stamford | ||
| Region | South Western Region | ||
| Incorporated | May 28, 1835 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Representative town meeting | ||
| • First Selectman | Jim Marpe (R) | ||
| • Second Selectman | Avi Kaner (R) | ||
| • Third Selectwoman | Helen Garten (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 33.3 sq mi (86.2 km2) | ||
| • Land | 20.0 sq mi (51.8 km2) | ||
| • Water | 13.3 sq mi (34.5 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 26 ft (8 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 26,391 | ||
| • Density | 790/sq mi (310/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 06880 | ||
| Area code(s) | 203 | ||
| FIPS code | 09-83500 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0213532 | ||
| Website | http://www.westportct.gov/ | ||
Westport is a coastal town of colonial origin located along Long Island Sound in Fairfield County, Connecticut, 47 miles (76 km) northeast of New York City in the United States. The town had a population of 26,391 according to the 2010 U.S. Census and in 2008 ranked the tenth wealthiest town in the U.S. with populations between 20,000 and 65,000, and second in the state.
Archaeological finds led to what are currently the earliest identified inhabitants of the Westport area that date back 7,500 years. Records from the first white settlers report the Pequot Indians living in the area which they called Machamux translated by the colonialists as beautiful land. Settlement by colonialists dates back to the five Bankside Farmers; whose families grew and prospered into a community that continued expanding. The community had its own ecclesiastical society, supported by independent civil and religious elements, enabling it to be independent from the Town of Fairfield. The settlers arrived in 1693, having followed cattle to the isolated area known to the Pequot as the "beautiful land". As the settlement expanded its name changed: it was briefly known as "Bankside" in 1693, officially named Green's Farm in 1732 in honor of Bankside Farmer John Green and in 1835 incorporated as the Town of Westport.
During the revolutionary war—on April 25, 1777, a 1,850 strong British force under the command of the Royal Governor of the Province of New York, Major General William Tryon landed on Compo Beach to destroy the Continental Army’s military supplies in Danbury.Minutemen from Westport and the surrounding areas crouched hiding whilst Tryon's troops passed and then launched an offensive from their rear. A statue on Compo beach commemorates this plan of attack with a crouching Minuteman facing away from the beach; looking onto what would have been the rear of the troops.
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