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100 Years of History in Photos :: Redding, Connecticut  
   

Redding, Connecticut 1930-1940

Population 1930: 1,599
Population 1940: 1,758
Increase: +159
School Budget: $22,000
First Selectman: Benjamin Banks

In The News 1930-1940:

  • 1931- Some residents having difficulties getting CL&P to furnish their isolated homes with electricity. Rural electrification would come in 1930’s.

  • 1932-35- Routes 53, 57 & 58 commissioned. *Access to Redding improving;

  • The CT Dept. of Agriculture states that in 1935 agricultural businesses are occupying 88% of the Town's total area.

  • November 20, 1938- The Merritt Parkway stimulating interest in real estate near the new highway.

  • May 5, 1940- Studio Guild of NYC purchases 65 acres on Pickett’s Ridge for Country Art Center.


Aerial of New Pond Farm and the northern section of Umpawaug Road


View of the Gilbert & Bennett Factory and Portland Avenue


One-Room Schoolhouse Consolidation was completed in Redding during this decade. This is the Hill Academy, located where the Town House Building is today.


In the 1930's you could have purchased the Marchant Road Stone House with 30 acres for $25k?! The taxes are more than that now!


Georgetown children enjoying the summer up at Great Pond in Ridgefield


What the Saugatuck Reservoir used to look like. Aerial from 1934.

1930's History Spotlight-
Agricultural Businesses are Occupying 88% of the Town's Acreage

This is important to highlight because in the 1950's, 60's and 70's these large farms would be targeted as "developments". Forward thinking and activism on the part of Redding's leaders in this time frame saved a good portion of Redding's open space for future generations. Land donations (such as Huntington State Park and Putnam Park) and watershed acreage played a key role as well.

Example of activism that helped preserve the "rural" character of the town :

The Redding Pilot, July 14, 1967:

“The Williams Farm on Sunset Hill is being cut up into (60) two-acre lots, with another development looming on its border. Half a dozen other large holdings are rumored on the verge of development…if there is no planning beyond the present two-acre lot minimum, 10,000 acres could go into a tangle of subdivisions…the moment of truth has arrived…the more open space we can save, the lower our future taxes will be, and the pleasanter the town.”

- Stuart Chase

 

View Next Decade Redding, Connecticut from 1940-1950 (coming soon)

Back to 1930 - 1940

 

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History of Redding is a not a business or an organization..It's one person working to promote the history of his hometown
and surrounding areas. All costs are out-of-pocket so donations and/or sponsorships will allow me to dedicate more time
and effort to research and updates.