Southport | |
|---|---|
 Southport Harbor seen from neighboring Sasco Hill | |
 Fairfield County and Connecticut Greater Bridgeport Planning Region and Connecticut | |
| Coordinates:41°7′55″N73°17′4″W / 41.13194°N 73.28444°W /41.13194; -73.28444 | |
| Country |  United States |
| U.S. state | Connecticut |
| County | Fairfield |
| Region | CT Metropolitan |
| Town | Fairfield |
| Settled | 1639 |
| Incorporated (borough) | 1831 |
| Disincorporated | 1854 |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.992 sq mi (2.57 km2) |
| • Land | 0.858 sq mi (2.22 km2) |
| • Water | 0.134 sq mi (0.35 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,710[1] |
| • Density | 1,990/sq mi (770/km2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT |
| ZIP Code | 06890 |
| Area code | 203/475 |
| FIPS code | 09-71040 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2631576[2] |
Southport is acensus-designated place (CDP) in the town ofFairfield, Connecticut, United States. It is located alongLong Island Sound betweenMill River and Sasco Brook, where it bordersWestport. As of the2020 census, it had a population of 1,710.[3] Settled in 1639, Southport center has been designated a localhistoric district since 1967. In 1971, it was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places as theSouthport Historic District.
The indigenous village of Sasqua, inhabited byQuiripi language speakers, was located in the area. Members of that community later formed theGolden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation.
The earliest recorded event in Southport's history was "The Great Swamp Fight" or "Fairfield Swamp Fight" of July 1637 (not to be confused with the laterGreat Swamp Fight ofKing Philip's War), an episode of thePequot War in which English colonial forces led byJohn Mason andRoger Ludlow vanquished a band of 80 to 100Pequot Indians who had earlier fled from their home territory in theMystic area and taken refuge with approximately 200Sasqua Indians who inhabited the area that is now Fairfield. The exact location of the battle is unclear, but it is known to have been in the vicinity of Southport.[4] In 1639, Ludlow established the town of Fairfield on the Pequot land known as Unquowa. Colonial deeds of land were signed with the Sasqua in the 1670s.[5]
In the eighteenth century, Mill River village, a part of Fairfield, was a small hamlet of a few houses and a wharf at the mouth of Fairfield's Mill River. Farm products from the surrounding area were shipped from Mill River's small harbor to ports in New York and beyond.[6]
By 1831 the village had changed its name to Southport and was a bustling commercial area with warehouses, churches, schools, stores and elegant houses. Before 1853, Southport had its own local government as aborough within the town of Fairfield.[7]
Southport became a leading coastal port onLong Island Sound, its ships carrying produce and goods back and forth toNew York City. A measure of Southport's success is the fact that throughout the 1800s it possessed the only twobanks in town. However, competition from steamboats and the railroad took their toll on prosperity. Resourceful shippers teamed with local farmers and businessmen to keep the port going.
The Southport Onion, a high qualityonion, was developed and grown on Westport's and Fairfield's hills and shipped in Southport market boats. These boats were mostly sloops that carried 50 tons and more in some cases of cargo[8] keeping the harbor profitable until the end of the century. The federal government supported repairs to the harbor in the 1840s.[9] During the 1840s, the greatest agricultural innovation in Fairfield became the cultivation of onions.[10] From 1840 to 1890, 200,000 tons yearly were shipped out of Southport. Designed to be easily stored, during the Civil War sales spiked, its high vitamin C content prized by the U.S. Navy to prevent scurvy.[11] The U.S. Army prized it to treat gunshot wounds, at one point to the extent that General Ulysses S. Grant refused to move his troops if they were not supplied with onions.[12]
In the 1890s, 100,000 barrels of locally grown onions, carrots, potatoes, and other goods were shipped annually from Southport harbor.[6]
The shipping industry was the economic foundation of the village of Mill River. The village, as it became a large port, eventually changed its name to South Port, later Southport. Local farmers transported their Southport Globe onions and other crops via the growing shipping fleet housed in the harbor and, by 1836, it became larger than the New York City and Boston ports. The ships sailed to destinations as far as the West Indies, but often went to New York City, where larger vessels in a deeper port headed to more distant foreign destinations. During the period from 1750 to 1900, the shipping industry grew dramatically, but died out as the railroad industry and steamship industries took over. The increased use of largeshipping containers also decreased transport costs and eventually drove the need to use ports deeper than Southport Harbor. The local produce was transported to New York and Boston via train, to deeper water ports where larger vessels were docked.[13]
During the peak of the shipping era, Southport had four shipyards in old Mill River, and many of Southport's first families built their wealth in the lucrative shipping trade that grew in response to local farmers wanting a more convenient port than Bridgeport and Norwalk Harbors. Numerous area parks and streets are named after prominent sea captains, including Bulkley Avenue, Sherwood Island State Park, and Sturges Highway. Capt. Zalman Wakeman owned Wakeman Farms, which is still operating today.[14]
Today, much of the old village area is part of a townhistoric district, first established in 1967, where buildings from three centuries are protected for future generations. The boundaries of the town historic district are therailroad on the north; the Mill River and Southport Harbor on the south; Church Street; and Old South Road and Rose Hill Road on the west and east, respectively, including all properties on both sides of the roads.[15] Strict historiczoning regulations apply in the district and have been upheld by theConnecticut Supreme Court.[15][16] The Southport Historic District is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Southport is home to one of the finest collections of historic residences and institutional buildings in New England. Southport Village was selected as a Connecticut Historical District in 1966, and a National Historic District in 1971.[17] As a result, the Village serves as a time capsule of sorts, perfectly preserving a wide variety of very different architectural styles. Ranging from the 1760s to the 1890s, architectural styles reflected include:Greek Revival,Federal,Queen Anne,Italianate,Stick Style, and more.[17]
Many of these buildings were constructed by local firm Jelliff and Northrop, with several designed by noted architectural firmBunnell & Lambert.[18]
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According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Southport has a total area of 1.338 square miles (3.47 km2), of which 1.191 square miles (3.08 km2) is land and 0.147 square miles (0.38 km2), or 10.99%, is water.[19]
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The village of Southport corresponds tocensus tract 606. As of thecensus[20] of 2020, there were 1,710 people in the village, organized into 798 households. The racial makeup of the town was 87%White, 5%Hispanic orLatino of any race, 4%African American, 2%Asian, 0%Native American, and 2% identifying as two or more races. .
Households averaged 2.1 persons, with 66% consisting ofmarried couples, 7.3% of female householders with no husband present, 2.5% of male householders, and 24.4% of people who were not family members. 16% of residents were under the age of 18, 60.1% were between the ages of 18 and 64, and 23.9% were over the age of 65.
The median household income was $180,057, with 9% of households below thepoverty line. The median value of homes in the village was $766,900
Southport has had its own firefighting service since 1895. The Southport Fire Department was organized that year as avolunteer fire department after a largearson fire in the village. However, it is also protected by Fairfield Fire Department's Engine 4, out of the Southport Firehouse.[21]
The neighborhood'sZIP Code is 06890, whose scope extends further north from the historic village area to include the Mill Hill area.
The community'spublic library is the Pequot Library, an independently owned and operated special collections library, founded by Virginia Marquand Monroe and Elbert Monroe in 1887. ARichardsonian Romanesque building, it was designed by the architectRobert Henderson Robertson and is acontributing property to the National Register Southport Historic District.[22]
The library has a large collection of manuscripts, rare books, and archives.[7] Of the approximate 30,000 items in the Special Collections,1800 items are held on long-term loan at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
The collection at Pequot Library includes the first printed cookbook,De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine,by Bartholomaeus Platina (1475); autographs of all American Presidents and the cosigners of the Declaration of Independence, including the rare Button Gwinnett autograph. Among the titles in the Special Collections areEpistola de insulis nuper inventis by Christopher Columbus, translated into Latin by Leandro di Cosco and printed in 1493; two of the three contemporaneous histories of the Pequot War in New England; the Saybrook Platform which was the first book published in Connecticut in 1710.[23] Also included in the collection is Phillis Wheatley'sPoems on various subjects, religious and moral from 1786 as well as the typescript of the last four chapters of Margaret Mitchell'sGone With the Wind.[24]
The library's annual summer book sale featured more than 140,000 volumes on sale in 2007.[25] In 2006, the Pequot Library invested in a restoration project to address the condition of the elaborate metalwork set throughout their stacks. Robert Robertson designed each shelf in the library to be supported by cast iron structures. Each row of shelving is framed by columns and the stairways linking the two stories are made with balusters of garlands and vines in copper plated cast iron. During the course of restoration, over 6,000 metal pieces were individually treated. The project was carried out by Newmans’ Ltd.[26]
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Eagle Hill School-Southport, a private day school for children withlearning disabilities, has been located since 1985 in the former Pequot School in Southport. The historic school building was earlier acquired by the Southport Conservancy to save it from demolition.[27][28]
Southport is served by the Fairfield Public Schools. Southport is home to Mill Hill Elementary School, although children in some areas considered part of the Southport neighborhood but outside the census tract attend Timothy Dwight Elementary School. Both Mill Hill and Dwight Schools feed intoRoger Ludlowe Middle School,Tomlinson Middle School andFairfield Ludlowe High School.[29]
The main arterial road in the area, thePost Road (US Route 1), runs through Southport, connecting it to other towns along the Connecticut coast.Interstate 95 also passes through Southport, with two exits located in the neighborhood. Southport is also served by theNew Haven Line of theMetro-North Commuter Railroad atSouthport Railroad Station, with frequent trains toNew Haven andNew York City.[30] Limited bus service is provided by theGreater Bridgeport Transit Authority.
The following are among the notable people who have lived in Southport:
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