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WELCOME TO 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”.