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WELCOME TO SOUTHPORT
Southport is a section of the town of Fairfield CT, located along Long Island Sound between the Mill River and
Sasco Brook. Settled in 1639, the downtown area has been designated a local historic district since 1967 and
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The historic significance of Southport is because of
its harbor, churches, public buildings, and the homesteads of some of the first families in southwestern Con-
necticut. The earliest recorded event in Southport's history was "The Great Swamp Fight" of July 1637, an epi-
sode of the Pequot War in which English colonial forces led by John Mason and Roger Ludlow vanquished a
band of about 80 to 100 Pequot Indians who had earlier fled from their home territory in the Mystic area and
had taken refuge with about 200 Sasqua Indians who inhabited the area that is now Fairfield. The exact loca-
tion of the battle is not known, but it is known to have been in the vicinity of Southport.
By 1831 the village had changed its name to Southport and was a bustling commercial area with ware-
houses, churches, schools, stores and elegant houses. Southport became a leading coastal port on Long Is-
land Sound, its ships carrying produce and goods back and forth to New York City. A measure of Southport's
success is the fact that throughout the 1800s it possessed the only two banks in town. However, competition
from steamboats and the railroad took its toll on prosperity. Resourceful shippers teamed with local farmers
and businessmen to keep the port going; the Southport onion, a high quality onion, was developed and
grown on Fairfield's hills and shipped in Southport market boats, keeping the harbor profitable until the end of
the century.
Today, much of the old village area is part of a town historic district, first established in 1967, where buildings
from three centuries are protected for future generations. The boundaries of the town historic district are the
railroad on the north; the Mill River and Southport Harbor on the south; Church Street; and Old South Road
and Rose Hill Road on the west and east, respectively, including all properties on both sides of the roads. Strict
historic zoning regulations apply in the district and have been upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. The
Southport Historic District is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
POPULATION 1,585 as of 2010
SCHOOLS Mill Hill Elementary
Fairfield
Ludlowe Schools,
Eagle Hill School
UNIVERSITIES Fairfield University
Sacred Heart
HOSPITALS Bridgeport, St. Vincent’s
& Norwalk Hospital
MILL RATE 23.93
ZIP CODE 06890
AREA CODE 203
www.VANDERBLUE .com 203-259-8326
Southport is a section of the town of Fairfield CT, located along Long Island Sound between the Mill River and
Sasco Brook. Settled in 1639, the downtown area has been designated a local historic district since 1967 and
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The historic significance of Southport is because of
its harbor, churches, public buildings, and the homesteads of some of the first families in southwestern Con-
necticut. The earliest recorded event in Southport's history was "The Great Swamp Fight" of July 1637, an epi-
sode of the Pequot War in which English colonial forces led by John Mason and Roger Ludlow vanquished a
band of about 80 to 100 Pequot Indians who had earlier fled from their home territory in the Mystic area and
had taken refuge with about 200 Sasqua Indians who inhabited the area that is now Fairfield. The exact loca-
tion of the battle is not known, but it is known to have been in the vicinity of Southport.
By 1831 the village had changed its name to Southport and was a bustling commercial area with ware-
houses, churches, schools, stores and elegant houses. Southport became a leading coastal port on Long Is-
land Sound, its ships carrying produce and goods back and forth to New York City. A measure of Southport's
success is the fact that throughout the 1800s it possessed the only two banks in town. However, competition
from steamboats and the railroad took its toll on prosperity. Resourceful shippers teamed with local farmers
and businessmen to keep the port going; the Southport onion, a high quality onion, was developed and
grown on Fairfield's hills and shipped in Southport market boats, keeping the harbor profitable until the end of
the century.
Today, much of the old village area is part of a town historic district, first established in 1967, where buildings
from three centuries are protected for future generations. The boundaries of the town historic district are the
railroad on the north; the Mill River and Southport Harbor on the south; Church Street; and Old South Road
and Rose Hill Road on the west and east, respectively, including all properties on both sides of the roads. Strict
historic zoning regulations apply in the district and have been upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. The
Southport Historic District is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
POPULATION 1,585 as of 2010
SCHOOLS Mill Hill Elementary
Fairfield
Ludlowe Schools,
Eagle Hill School
UNIVERSITIES Fairfield University
Sacred Heart
HOSPITALS Bridgeport, St. Vincent’s
& Norwalk Hospital
MILL RATE 23.93
ZIP CODE 06890
AREA CODE 203
www.VANDERBLUE .com 203-259-8326
