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Westport, Connecticut The Story of a New England Town's Rise to Prominence
(Click to Enlarge)
Woody Klein
Foreword by Joanne Woodward
Book Code: GM1126
ISBN: 0-313-31126-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-31126-0
400 pages, figures, maps, photos
Greenwood Press
Publication: 5/30/2000
List Price: $45.00 (UK Sterling Price: £25.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 7 X 10
Subjects: Awards:
  • The Connecticut League of History Organizations Book Award, 2001
  • Endorsement From Joanne Woodward
    actress:     Woody Klein has done a remarkable job of telling the story of Westport.
  • Endorsement From Diane Gross Farrell
    First Selectman
    Town of Westport:     This is an exciting, anecdote-filled book that reads like an adventure story. Woody Klein brings Westport's history alive.
  • Endorsement From Jo Fox
    First editor of the Westport News, 1964
    founder and publisher of Fairpress, 1971-19977:     Westport's story, from colonial times to Y2K, has never before been told in such depth and breadth. Woody Klein did an amazing job of capturing our town's special essence and providing information that explains how it became a place whose name is known across the nation.
Description: This book tells the story of how Westporters from all walks of life share one common characteristic: a generations-old love of community. A town settled by farmers and fishermen, diversified by immigrants from many countries and varied economic backgrounds, Westport was modernized by professionals in all fields and enriched by international celebrities from around the nation and the world. Westport, Connecticut offers the reader an entertaining insight into how Westport has become a mecca for those who are traditionally untraditional. This book is the first comprehensive, in-depth history of a town celebrated throughout the nation and the world. It brings history alive not only for its own residents, but for those who live in distant places who want to learn about one of the finest examples of how the quest for excellence, for a community spirit and for volunteerism can succeed in America. Ideally located on a rich landscape and the water of Long Island Sound, it was formed when dissident members of the original Massachusetts Bay Colony seeking new frontiers for themselves and their families successfully won the Swamp War in the early 1600s against the Pequot Indians. Westport was incorporated in 1835 as a result of a strong grass-roots democratic movement toward self-reliance and independence. Parishioners of the Green's Farm Church petitioned the legislature in Hartford and formed their own community by acquiring land from nearby Fairfield, Norwalk, and Weston. Since those early days, Westport has served as the destination for those who wanted to freely express themselves, to live in a relative privacy and yet be part of a vital community, and to travel elsewhere but to always have an attractive home base to which they could return.
Table of Contents:
  • Foreword by Joanne Woodward
  • Preface
  • Introduction: Westport at the Millennium
  • Roots
  • A Prehistoric Perspective
  • The Native Americans
  • Grass Roots Democracy
  • The Mother Town
  • The Bankside Farmers
  • The Church Is the Town
  • The Revolutionary War
  • The Rise of Commerce and Industry
  • Pride in a Community
  • The Birth of Westport
  • Civil War: Westport Responds
  • The Challenge of Change
  • The Beginning of Something Great
  • A Leap of Faith
  • Artists and the New Westport
  • The Impact of World War II
  • Coming of Age
  • Rising Expectations
  • The Paradox of Progress
  • Appendixes: A. Westport At A Glance
  • B. Fundamental Orders
  • C. Bankside Farmers' Agreement with Town of Fairfield
  • D. Covenant of the Green's Farm Congregational Church
  • E. Westport and Saugatuck Postmasters
  • F. Petition of Daniel Nash to the Connecticut General Assembly
  • G. Charter of the Town of Westport
  • H. Westport Selectmen, 1835 to 2001
  • I. Town Clerks
  • J. Westport Historical Society presidents
  • K. World War II Westporters Died in Service
  • L. Judges of Probate, District of Westport
  • M. Representative Town Meeting Moderators, 1949 to 2000
  • N. Sponsers
  • Index
LC Card Number: 00-023143
LCC Class: F104
Dewey Class: 974
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571