Ridgefield
A Village on the Ridge
Ridgefield sits in the hills of northern Fairfield County along the New York border. Its Main Street is lined with charming 18th- and 19th-century houses, shops and restaurants, and the museums and theaters that make this small town one of the liveliest cultural centers in Connecticut, earning it the designation as Connecticut’s first-ever Cultural District in May 2021.
English colonists from Norwalk bought the land from Chief Catoonah of the Ramapo in 1708, and the town was incorporated the next year. On April 27, 1777, the Battle of Ridgefield was fought along Main Street. General David Wooster was mortally wounded, Benedict Arnold had his horse shot out from under him, and a British cannonball is still lodged in a corner post of the Keeler Tavern.
Many grand historic houses make up the character of Main Street, among them the 1896 Lounsbury House, now a public gathering space, and once the home of Governor Phineas Lounsbury.
The People & Places That Shape Ridgefield
Theater
A.C.T. of CT
A professional, Actors’ Equity theater with 182 seats, set in a Philip Johnson-designed building on the former Schlumberger campus and bringing Broadway-caliber musicals to town since 2018. Read our story
Museum · Since 1964
The Aldrich
A contemporary art museum on Main Street with big-city ambitions. It gave KAWS his first museum show and was one of the first to exhibit Frank Stella. Read our story
Music & Comedy
The Ridgefield Playhouse
A 500-seat, not-for-profit theater on East Ridge Road with more than 200 live events a year. We sat down with Co-Managing Director Jared Shahid. Read our story
Keeler Tavern Museum
Timothy Keeler’s inn on Main Street, fired on by British troops in 1777 and later the home of architect Cass Gilbert, is now a museum and history center open March through December.
Lounsbury House
Governor Phineas Lounsbury modeled his Main Street home on the Connecticut Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Today it is the town’s community center and event venue.
Weir Farm
Painter J. Alden Weir’s farm, on the Ridgefield–Wilton line, is one of only two National Park Service sites in Connecticut, with studios, gardens and walking trails.
The Prospector Theater
A nonprofit cinema in the village, founded by Valerie Jensen, whose mission is giving meaningful jobs to adults with disabilities.
Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra
Founded as the Ridgefield Symphonette, the orchestra now plays its season at the Anne S. Richardson Auditorium at Ridgefield High School.
Ridgefield Historical Society
Based in the Scott House, a reconstructed 1714 saltbox on Sunset Lane, it keeps the town’s archives and runs exhibits, lectures and walking tours.
Worth Going To
ProfileBringing Broadway to RidgefieldDaniel C. Levine and Bryan Perri, the couple behind A.C.T. of CT, at home.
Cover Story@BrunchWithBabsThe internet’s grandma, who raised her family in Ridgefield for thirty years.
CommunityCommunity FosteredThe all-volunteer Ridgefield charity getting essentials to kids in foster care.
Historic Homes1 Parley LaneInside a 19th-century house across Main Street from the Aldrich.