Page 34 - 8 Beach Road

THE STORY OF DARIEN

Population 21,887

Size 23.4 square miles
Mill rate 16.47
Train Stations 2
Public Schools 5 Elementary, 1 Middle, 1 High School
Private Schools Pear Tree Point School

Originally part of Stamford, the area we know as Darien became Middlesex Parish in 1737. It was
incorporated as the Town of Darien in 1820. Settlement truly began about 1700 when the first roads
were cut "in the woods". Most houses were built near the harbors on the Sound or along the
Country Road, whose course roughly corresponded to the present Post Road from the Noroton
River as far as Stony Brook.

The Country Road was no more than a rough "cartpath," fit only for travel on horseback, even
though it was the main highway connecting New York and Boston. By 1772 the Country Road
was so improved that a stagecoach schedule was established between Boston and New York.
In 1848, the New Haven Railroad's first scheduled line came through Darien. Until the
advent of the railroad, Darien was a small, rural community of about one thousand
farmers, shoemakers, fishermen, and merchants engaged in coastal trading.

A gradual increase in population then occurred with the arrival of immigrants from
Ireland and later from Italy. At the end of the Civil War, security and economic
prosperity in the North brought a building boom. What had once been
farmland and open space was divided and residences for prosperous
businessmen and affluent local merchants blossomed on major streets
including Brookside, Prospect, Mansfield, Noroton and Middlesex. A
number of well-to-do New Yorkers discovered Darien's picturesque
shoreline and built summer homes in Tokeneke, Long Neck Point
and Noroton. Darien was still a small town of a few thousand
people in 1914, even though there were already a few
hardy commuters here who taxied by surrey from home
to station.

Today Darien is a suburban community with an
active town center, excellent schools, and
involved residents. It offers unspoiled
land and clear waters. Those who have
come to live here have been careful
stewards of its architectural
and natural heritage while
enjoying the resources
of a modern
community.