North Stamford

Coordinates: 41°08′17″N 73°32′38″W / 41.138°N 73.544°W / 41.138; -73.544

Lake Drive, from a postcard sent in 1910

North Stamford is section of Stamford, Connecticut north of the Merritt Parkway. Often hilly and woodsy, it is less densely developed than the rest of the city.^{[citation needed]}

To the southeast is the Springdale section of Stamford, to the south is the Turn of River section and to the southwest is the Westover section of Stamford. To the west is the "back country" of Greenwich and to the north is Pound Ridge, New York. To the east is New Canaan.

High Ridge Road, in the area just south of the Merrit Parkway, is the largest shopping district near North Stamford. A shopping plaza and some surrounding stores are also nearby on Newfield Avenue, and downtown Springdale also offers nearby stores.

When Stamford's population began to grow during and after World War II, 30,000 new residents arrived from 1940 to 1960. "North Stamford developed with one- and two-acre zoning, looking just like Wilton or New Canaan," Janice Green, manager of the William Pitt Real Estate office, told The New York Times in 1989. "Executives moved up there who had no connection with the factories and ethnic working-class neighborhoods downtown."^[1]

Landmarks and institutions

City reservoirs are located in North Stamford, as are the Bartlett Arboretum and the Stamford Historical Society headquarters and museum.

Also in the neighborhood is the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, a 118-acre (0.48 km²) facility on Scofieldtown Road. The museum works with schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Darien and Greenwich, and more than 10,000 students visit every year. In 2007 the museum and nature center started working with Aquarion, a water utility serving much of Fairfield County, in a program meant to educate children about water ecology and watershed protection.^[2]

Buttonwood Manor, a Colonial-style house on an estate of 8 acres (32,000 m²), is in North Stamford. The original main house was built by Jacob Stevens in 1809, then sold it in 1821 to Gould Raymond. For 77 years the Raymond family farmed the land. By 1926 Mary Stella Tisdale Atwood had bought the house from Otto Sarrach and began restoring it. She sold the estate to William E. Stevenson, a Gold Medal winner in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris (setting a new world record of 3:16.0 as member of the American 400-meter relay team) and later a president of Oberlin College. While Stevenson and his wife were in England running American Red Cross operations in World War II, they rented the house to Dorothy Fields, a lyricist.^[3]

Cemeteries

North Stamford contains numerous old cemeteries from the nineteenth century and before, some quite small and often with gravestones bearing elaborate engravings and even poetry.^[4]

These old cemeteries are in North Stamford:^[4]

• June (1846-1866) — north side of Constance Road, in the woods

William S. June, 1846, age 25:

Dear young friends, as you pass by

As you are now so once was I

As I am now so you must be

Prepare for death & follow me

• Webbs Hill (1796-1878) — east of Webbs Hill Road, south of Jeffrey Lane
• Dean (1838-1891) — south side of Lolly Lane
• Seth Smith (1831-1846) — southeast corner of Riverbank Road and Riverbank Drive
• Ebenezer Smith (1835-1877) — west side of Riverbank Road
• Isaac Smith (1860) — west side of Riverbank Road
• Scofieldtown (1807-1932) — east side of Scofieldtown Road, north of Woodley Road
• Thaddeus Lockwood (1827-1851) — east side of Riverbank Road
• Hait (1807-1860) — west side of Riverbank Road, south of Farms Road
• Edwin R,. Lockwood (1857-1896) — east side of Hunting Ridge Road
• North Stamford (1776-1932) — east side of Lakeside Drive, north of reservoir
• Poorhouse (no dates) — east side of Scofieldtown Road, southeast of former University of Connecticut campus
• East Hunting Ridge (1830-1856) — northeast corner of East Hunting Ridge and Haviland roads
• Smith-Clason (1826-1849) — south side of Hunting Glen Road
• Brush (1760-1828) — west side of East Middle Patent Road
• Long Ridge Union (1796-"present" [at least 1980]) — south side of Erskine Road near Long Ridge Road
• High Ridge (1796-"present" [at least 1980]) — west side of High Ridge Road, opposite United Methodist Church

Mary E. Dann, 1861, age 26: Dear husband and children and sisters, farewell I go to the land of the blest Where our parents and children dwell Where soon we all may find rest. Two bright little cherubs up there Call out for their mother to come Our mothers and children are there Awaiting to welcome me home. Then grieve not, dear loved ones, that I Must leave this sad world and its woe Tis to join with the loved ones on high That I part with the loved ones below.

Hannah Jones Lockwood, 1842, age 4: O Father dear, prepare to follow me In Heaven your wife & sweet babes to see Affliction sore this infant bare Physicians aid was in vain Till God did please to call her home And freed her from her pain. Oren S. Palmer, 1865, age 1: Two more little hands Close folded on the breast One more little form Is gently laid to rest.

Fire Department

The Stamford Fire Rescue Department's Fire Station #'s 8 and 9 serve the neighborhood, as well as the Turn of River Volunteer Fire Department Station #'s 1 and 2 and the Long Ridge Volunteer Fire Department's Station #'s 1 and 2.

Notable residents, past and present

Jackie Robinson in his now-retired number 42 jersey.

• Michael Bolton, singer, lived in North Stamford (as of 1998) before moving to Westport.^[5]
• Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore, lived in North Stamford^[5] from 1910 to 1920.
• Chambers Brothers, psychedelic soul, recorded Time Has Come Today. with drummer Brian Keenan, were the 2nd black family to integrate No. Stamford
• Dorothy Fields, lyricist, rented Buttonwood Manor from William E. Stevens during World War II.^[3]
• Harry Houdini, magician and escape artist, had a home on Webbs Hill Road.
• Cyndi Lauper, singer, has (or had, as of 1998) a home in North Stamford.^[5]
• Josh Logan, a theatrical producer, lives or lived (as of 1998) in North Stamford.^[5]
• Ezio Pinza, a star of the Metropolitan Opera, was a resident of North Stamford.^[5]
• Alex Raymond, creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip, lived in North Stamford.^[5]
• Jackie Robinson, baseball player, made North Stamford^[5] his home later in his life. One of the several Stamford Little League Baseball leagues is named after him.
• Chuck Scarborough, news anchor for WNBC-TV Channel 4 in New York City, has a home here.
• Stephen Sondheim lived in North Stamford when he was a boy.^[6]
• William E. Stevenson, 1924 Olympic Gold Medal winner in track, president of Oberlin College, bought Buttonwood Manor in 1937.^[3]
• Bobby Valentine, former manager of the New York Mets, has a home in North Stamford.
• Gene Wilder, actor, is a resident.
• Travis the Chimp lived in North Stamford before being shot and killed by police after going on a rampage and assaulting a friend of his owner.
• Carly Simon's parents owned the estate which is now a private school campus on Newfield Avenue.
• Gutzon Borglum owned a sizable estate north of what is now the Merritt Parkway near High Ridge Road.
• Michael Lee Aday aka rockstar Meat Loaf lived on Eagle Drive in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He coached local little league baseball during that period.
• Vivian Vance, actress was a resident from 1961 to 1974.
• Gilda Radner, comedianne, actress.

Notes

1. ^ [1] Charles, Eleanor, "If You're Thinking of Living in: Stamford", article in The New York Times, August 20, 1989
2. ^ Gosier, Chris, "Environmental immersion: Water company and nature center form watershed education alliance", article in The Advocate of Stamford, pp A9, A10, Stamford edition
3. ^ ^{a b c} Nova, Susan, "Manor is rich with history: Offer has been accepted to buy 5,300-square-foot (490 m²) home", article in the Real Estate section of The Advocate of Stamford, April 20, 2007, pp. R1, R4
4. ^ ^{a b} Majdalayny, Jeanne and Mulkerin, Jean, Poems in Stone in Stamford, Connecticut, published by the Stamford Historical Society, 1980
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "If You're Thinking of Living In/North Stamford, Conn.; In a Bustling City, a Rural Haven" an article by Eleanor Charles in New York Times Real Estate section, February 1, 1998, accessed September 10, 2006
6. ^ "From the Archives" feature in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, July 23, 2007, "25 years ago", "July 25, 1982" item; page A7

External links

• City of Stamford
• Stamford Historical Society
• North Stamford Congregational Church