Town of Newtown

Facts about Newtown

Established:

• 1711.

Named from:

• Named May 1708 = a new town; Indian name, "Pootatuck" or "Quonapague."

County:

• Fairfield County.

Notable Newtowners:

• Susan Collins, author of the best selling The Hunger Games book series.
• Joanna Cole, author of the The Magic School Bus series.
• Charles Goodyear, inventor of the vulcanization process.
• Caitlyn Jenner, television personality and retired Olympian gold-medalist
• Daniel Nash Morgan, Treasurer of the United States.
• Francis Trowbridge Sherman, Union general during the American Civil War.

Top Five Attractions:

• Ferris Acres Creamery
• Edmond Town Hall Theater
• Lake Zoar
• EverWonder Children's Museum
• Castle Hill Farm

Annual Visitor’s Events:

• Labor Day Parade, September.
• Holiday House Tour, December.

Quality of town/city:

• Newtown is a scenic “small town” located in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut, about sixty miles from New York City. Newtown is bordered on the south by Easton and Redding, on the north by Bridgewater and Southbury, on the east by Oxford and Monroe, and on the west by Bethel and Brookfield. Newtown is traversed by Interstate 84, U.S. routes 6 and 302 and Connecticut routes 25 and 34. It covers 38,644 acres or 60.38 square miles, making it the fifth largest town, area-wise, in the state. Newtown was established in 1711 and is comprised of the Borough, Sandy Hook, Hawleyville, Botsford and Dodgingtown “neighborhoods.” The Town Seal may include the rooster weathervane located atop The Meeting House but for many, the symbol of Newtown is the 110 foot flagpole (10 foot is underground) in the middle of Main Street. In the winter, the 12 foot by 18 foot American flag is flown but in the spring, the beautiful 20 foot by 30 foot summer flag is raised by the Newtown Hook & Ladder Fire Co., under the supervision of former Police Lieutenant David Lydem, who is the “Keeper of the Flag.”