Beautiful New England Town
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10/18/2008
I've lived here 13 years. If you love small New England towns, you'll love Newtown. We have a beautiful historic Main Street filled with some handsome vintage homes, our town hall, library and the General Store, which has great sandwiches, by the way. You can catch a movie for just $2 at our town hall move theater. While you're there, check out the murals in the stairwells of town hall, done by a local artist.
There is a lot of history here. Our town historian, a retired college professor, often gives some fascinating lectures at the Meeting House.
We have 2 beautiful parks in the center of town as well, The Pleasance (next to the police station), and Ram Pasture, with its pond and fountain. Newtown is famous for a few things, including its annual Labor Day parade, its annual book sale and its flagpole set in the heart of our historic district. We also have a fun antique auction house, foreign films shown regularly at the library, three book clubs, a lot of dedicated animal lovers who are now fundraising for a new animal shelter and Kevin's Community Center, which is a non-profit medical center for those lacking health insurance. There are a lot of caring people here.
One exciting thing going on right now is the revitalization and reuse of the old Fairfield Hills Hospital, which was closed down in the 1980s and sold to Newtown by the state of Connecticut. The 180-acre property, which could pass for a college campus with its handsome old brick buildings, is being renovated to include a new indoor sports facility, ball fields, walking trails, a new town hall, a Danbury Hospital facility and, I believe, a restaurant.
The Sandy Hook section of town has a charm all its own and is perched above the Pootatuck River, which you can check out up close via a small park. There are a few shops and stores to visit and a beautiful old stone church, St. John's.
If, in Sandy Hook Center, you turn left on Glen Road, you'll be able to see some old red brick mill buildings, including one that now contains offices and is located in a very scenic spot by a small waterfall and the thunderous river. There's a small restaurant here, too, called The Fire House.
Yes, this town has gotten to be an expensive place to live, both in terms of the real estate and the local property taxes. But the stores are no more crowded than any other town (I would say less). The traffic, like in many Fairfield County towns, is very busy during weekday rush hours and on Saturday mornings in the center of town.
Fern | Newtown, CT