Page 42 - 12 Lancaster Drive brochure 2024

THE STORY

OF NORWALK

The Name “Norwalk” itself comes from the Algonquin word
“noyank” meaning “point of land”, or its Native American name,
“Naramauke”, a Native American chief. Norwalk was purchased
in 1640 by Roger Ludlow.

The original purchase included all land between the Norwalk
and Saugatuck rivers and a day’s walk north from the sea.
Norwalk was chartered as a town on September 11, 1651.

The traditional American song “Yankee Doodle” has Norwalk
related origins. During the French and Indian War, a regiment
of Norwalkers arrived at Fort Crailo, NY, the British regulars
began to mock and ridicule the rag-tag CT troops who only
had chicken feathers for uniforms.

Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, who was a British army surgeon,
added some new words to a popular tune of the time, Lucy
Locket (for example, “stuck a feather in his cap and called it
“macaroni," macaroni being the London slang at the time for a
foppish dandy).

In 1849, the New York and New Haven Railroad started
operating through Norwalk. In 1852 the Danbury and Norwalk
Railroad connected Norwalk with Danbury. Both railroads
eventually became parts of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad.

Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It
is estimated that Norwalk is the sixth largest city in
Connecticut, and the third largest in Fairfield County. The
city is part of the New York Metropolitan area. Residents of
Norwalk are often referred to as “Norwalkers”.

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