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45-721: The last portion of the Norwalk River from the head of navigation near Wall Street in Central Norwalk to the Long Island Sound forms Norwalk Harbor. It is a federal navigation channel of the "recreational and small commercial harbor" variety. In and around the harbor there are 15 marinas, 13 private clubs with boating facilities, and 5 commercial port facilities. There are more than 1800 berthing spaces and more than 500 harbor mooring locations. About 800 boats may be launched from storage racks at marinas and clubs as well as via

90-458: A 228-foot (69 m) motor yacht. The visit of the Seafair was accompanied by private viewings of objects in the vessel's art galleries. A utility project in the fall of 2007 replaced an electric power transmission line that runs from Connecticut to Long Island. Seven fluid-filled cables originally laid in 1969 were replaced with three new solid dielectric cables. The existing cables are joined at

135-591: A militia invasion force consisting largely of City Island colonists and led by Pell himself, entered New Amsterdam and forced Peter Stuyvesant , the Dutch Governor of New Netherland, to surrender. Following the 1654 treaty, the Siwanoys remained in the area around Westchester County for another hundred years, until they eventually "melted away" by intermarriage with the English settlers. Some continued to reside along

180-731: A new dredging project for the inner and river portions of the harbor. In the spring of 2007 the Marine Unit of the Norwalk Police department launched a new 38-foot (12 m) police boat the Riva . On July 10, 2007 the Norwalk Fire Department commissioned its first fireboat the Harry Bower named to honor a fire fighter who died in 2005. In the fall of 2007 the harbor was visited by the Seafair

225-558: A traditional center for the Norwalk community which included the development of a downtown residential population. To achieve this goal the Plan outlined a strategy for revitalization of parks and open spaces along the Norwalk River, Freese Park specifically identified as one of these assets." In 2007 the Connecticut Light and Power Company utility helped finance $ 25,000 of the improvements to

270-633: Is a "drowned river valley" flooded as the sea rose at the end of the last ice age. Bedrock under the harbor and in the Harborview and Calf Pasture Beach area is interlayered Ordovician trap falls gneisses and Harrison Gneiss with dark minerals hornblende , biotite and garnet . The bedrock has two folds in the harbor area. The earlier, more southerly one was formed at the same time as the Taconic Mountains . That fault runs from Bell Island through Manresa Island to Sprite Island. The second (created during

315-777: Is located at 121 Connecticut Ave. Additionally, Norwalk's first volunteer fire companies, Phoenix Hose Co. 1 and Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co. 1 were quartered at 32 Commerce St. in the Wall Street neighborhood. Later, Hope Hose Co. 2 would move into the building, while the other two fire companies moved north to a new firehouse at 40 Main St.(Now extant). 41°07′06″N 73°24′44″W  /  41.1184°N 73.4123°W  / 41.1184; -73.4123  ( Central Norwalk ) Siwanoy The Siwanoy ( / ˈ s aɪ w ə n ɔɪ / ) were an Indigenous American band of Munsee -speaking people, who lived in Long Island Sound along

360-553: Is often referred to as Kieft's War , and is said to have cost the lives of some 1,600 Wappinger refugees. Thus, tensions between the colonists and the indigenous people of the area were extremely high at this time. A group of Siwanoy, led by Wampage I, killed Anne Hutchinson , six of her children, and nine others in August 1643, near Split Rock , an ancient landmark. The only survivor was Hutchinson's nine-year-old daughter, Susanna - possibly spared because of her red hair - who "became

405-531: The Norwalk Islands which lie at the outer boundary of the harbor. He referred to the group of islands as the " Archipelago ". As an aid to navigation at the harbor channel entrance the Sheffield Island Light was operational by 1826 (on what was called "Smith Island" at the time). In 1872 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started its first work on harbor improvements in Norwalk. On January 21, 1897,

450-581: The Boston Post Road (Cross Street), East Avenue, and Morgan Avenue. It includes the Mill Hill Historic Park (that contains the 1835 Norwalk Town House) as well as the Norwalk Green bound by East Avenue, Park Street, and St. Paul's Place. The neighborhood has been the focus of several real estate redevelopment projects and proposals. AvalonBay Communities built a 312-apartment complex at

495-697: The Hutchinson River northward to Mamaroneck , including modern day Pelham , New Rochelle , The Pelham Islands , and portions of The Bronx . The parties signed a treaty under the Treaty Oak near Bartow-Pell Mansion in Pelham. New Netherland authorities did not recognize his title, accusing the New Englanders of continued encroachment upon Dutch territory. In September 1664, the British Navy, supported by

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540-605: The Norwalk Green Historic District which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. "As Wall Street suffered from recent economic and structural deterioration, so did the park facility which also lacked a defined user group," according to a Norwalk city capital projects report. "A goal identified in the Wall Street Redevelopment Plan is the restoration of Wall Street as

585-515: The Pound Ridge massacre , took place while a large number of Siwanoy and Wecquaesgeek people were gathered together for a corn festival. The Dutch forces slaughtered between 500 and 700 indigenous people, including women and children, who were forced into their homes and burned alive. On June 27, 1654, sagamores Shāwānórōckquot (Shanarockwell), Poquōrūm, Anhōōke (Wampage I), Wawhāmkus, and Mehúmōw deeded to Thomas Pell 9,160 acres of land east of

630-659: The native Siwanoy shell middens across the river on the east bank near "Oyster bend"). The Norwalk Harbor Commission was established in 1984 by the Norwalk City Council. The commission is responsible for maintaining a Harbor Management plan that includes maintaining the safe navigation in the harbor, policies for the harbor master, the promotion of the harbor, and the maintenance of the Visitors dock at Veterans Park . The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished harbor re-dredging projects in 1980 and again in 2006. There will be

675-621: The Acadian mountain-building event of 485–440 million years ago) runs along a line north from Noroton Point on Sheffield Island Harbor toward Exit 15 on Interstate 95. Central Norwalk The Central or Midtown section of Norwalk, Connecticut is an urbanized area in roughly the geographic center of the city, north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike . Wall Street, West Avenue and Belden Avenue are

720-553: The Main and Wall Street Festival with the involvement of 15 businesses, and they expanded the festival with 70 businesses involved in the second year (when it was held on August 2, 2007). At the 2007 festival, developers showed off their plans for the neighborhood. This portion of Norwalk was the Borough of Norwalk from 1836 until incorporation as the first City of Norwalk in 1893. In 1913 the separate cities of Norwalk, South Norwalk, as well as

765-463: The Reed-Putnam redevelopment area to the south and Council approval on a case-by-case basis of any seizures of land by eminent domain if additional land-purchase negotiations fail. The redevelopment plan extends from Butler Street to Chapel Street along West Avenue and includes 350 homes and more than 600,000 square feet (60,000 m ) of office and retail space. Seligson had first proposed redeveloping

810-585: The Siwanoys believed the boulders to have been placed there by their guardian Manitou (the spiritual, omnipresent life force that manifests itself in everything). Many Siwanoys likely became Christianized ; the Siwanoy sagamore Wampage I was one of these, taking John White as a baptismal name . The western bands of the Wappinger, including the Siwanoy, were at war with the Dutch from 1640 to 1645. Part of this period

855-592: The Throgs Neck site, on the peninsula Throggs Neck , and sites at Clasons Point in the Bronx, which he identified as being once occupied by Siwanoy, as well as other peoples. Native people attacked a European ship from this site in 1619. Two glacial erratic boulders named Grey Mare and Mishow , located on Hunter Island, were spiritually significant to the Siwanoy. Here the Siwanoys practiced their sacred ceremonies, and two sachems are believed to be buried at Mishow ;

900-593: The United States Congress agreed to spend $ 73,100.00 on aids to navigation in Norwalk Harbor including lights and fog signals. As a result of the expenditure Greens Ledge Light was operational by 1902 and Pecks Ledge Light was operational by 1906. The Sheffield Island light was discontinued as a federally maintained aid to navigation when the Greens Ledge Light was activated. The Ischoda Yacht Club

945-532: The area in 1998. Other developers are working on redevelopment farther north on West Avenue and to the east on Wall Street. On Jun 15, 2005 the city of Norwalk granted the Poko development company rights to a 6.3-acre (25,000 m ) site in Central Norwalk. The Poko company has unveiled plans to build condominiums and townhomes near the intersections of Wall Street, Belden Avenue, West Avenue, and Isaacs Street; with

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990-415: The area surrounding Ann Hook's Neck and Hunter Island as Laaphawachking ("place of stringing beads"), because of the large quantities of wampum produced there. The village of Nanichiestawack, or Nawchestaweck ("place of safety"), located near present-day Woods Bridge at Muscoot Reservoir , was destroyed during the Pound Ridge massacre in 1644. In the early 20th century, Alanson Skinner unearthed

1035-463: The building which formerly housed the Norwalk police headquarters and Pine Island Cemetery. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, a Gothic revival building with a very tall steeple, is a local landmark. The neighborhood has seen many new developments in recent years and local officials are considering reopening the Wall Street train station on the Danbury Line . In the summer of 2006, local merchants began

1080-532: The burial site of pillars of the community, with expensive, elegant gravestones, but by the mid-twentieth century it had become a gravesite for paupers. The city of Norwalk Fire Department currently operates 2 Fire Stations in close proximity to the Central or Midtown Norwalk area: Fire Station # 1 is located at 90 New Canaan Ave. in the Broad River/Main Avenue area, and Fire Station # 2, or Fire Headquarters

1125-685: The cemetery was as late as 2000. As of the summer of 2007, the Norwalk Historical Commission, concerned that the West Avenue and Reed Putnam redevelopment projects might harm the cemetery, was attempting to get the cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a program run by the National Park Service. Widening nearby Crescent Street, for instance, would mean six graves would have to be moved. The cemetery had been

1170-505: The city maintained launching ramp in Veterans Park. More than 2700 commercial vessel trips to and from the harbor occur each year. The main harbor channel is small enough to restrict the size of vessels that could attempt to use it. In 2001 waterborne commerce in the harbor totaled 512,000 short tons (464,000 t). Typical freight included fuel oil , sand , gravel , stone , and shellfish (particularly oysters and lobsters ). From

1215-462: The coasts of what are now The Bronx , Westchester County, New York , and Fairfield County, Connecticut . They were one of the western bands of the Wappinger Confederacy . By 1640, their territory (Wykagyl) extended from Hell Gate to Norwalk, Connecticut , and as far inland as White Plains ; it became hotly contested between Dutch and English colonial interests. The origin of

1260-498: The dead. Wampum jewelry and belts were worn as a symbol of social status. The Siwanoy no doubt ate all varieties of fish and shellfish, as the shore had numerous fishing stations and a rich aquatic life; and the interior provided fruits, nuts, and animal life. Their closest allies were the Lenape to the west and the Mahicans to the north, with whom they shared a totem (or emblem) –

1305-515: The development to be called "Wall Street Place" with initial occupancy expected in 2009. Central Norwalk's parks include the Norwalk Town Green, also known as Norwalk Green or simply the Green. A common area until 1851, the Green is now a park owned and maintained by Norwalk's First Taxing District. It features a gazebo, which serves as a bandstand for outdoor concerts; and a historic cannon that

1350-505: The head of the harbor at East Norwalk. Another six-foot-deep anchorage area lies adjacent to the head of the harbor at East Norwalk. From the head of navigation at Wall Street traveling out to the outer harbor there are: There are no bridges across the outer harbor or the approach channels. In 1614 Dutch navigator Adriaen Block explored the Connecticut coast aboard the Onrust and mapped

1395-480: The head of the harbor at the Wall Street bridge in central Norwalk. There is an anchorage area 10 feet (3.0 m) deep and 17 acres (6.9 ha) in area on the east side of the channel in the vicinity of Fitch Point in East Norwalk. There is also a 0.6-mile (0.97 km)-long, six-foot-deep channel, 125–150 feet (38–46 m) wide, extending northeast from the 10-foot (3.0 m) anchorage opposite Fitch Point to

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1440-691: The main thoroughfares. It has also been called "Norwalk Center" or "Downtown Norwalk". Central Norwalk is the location of a state courthouse, the Norwalk post office, the Norwalk YMCA, Norwalk Library and the River View Mall. On the north side of the intersection of West Avenue and Interstate 95, Mathews Park is the location of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion , the Stepping Stones Museum for Children , The Center for Contemporary Printmaking,

1485-466: The name Siwanoy is unknown. It appears at least as early in that spelling on the 1685 revision of a 1656 Dutch map, Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ ("New Netherland and New England", and also parts of Virginia, by Petrus Schenk the Younger from an original by Nicolaes Visscher I . The name Siwanoy may be a corruption of Siwanak , "salt people". The Siwanoy spoke Munsee , a Delaware language , which

1530-619: The oil-fired electric generating substation on Manresa Island in Norwalk Harbor. From there, they cross under Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound to connect at the Long Island Power Authority ’s substation in the village of Northport, New York . The three new 11-mile (18 km) long cables were buried at least one fathom (2 m) below the Sound’s bottom. The Skyline Princess , a 120-foot (37 m) motor yacht out of New York, makes port of call stops at Veterans Park. The harbor

1575-656: The outer harbor to Gregory Point in East Norwalk , where it narrows to 150 feet (46 m) wide up to the wharves at South Norwalk . The channel then widens to 250 feet (76 m) along the wharves to the Washington Street (Stroffolino) Bridge. Upstream of the Washington street bridge the inner harbor lies along 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the river. The channel of the inner harbor is 10 feet (3.0 m) deep and between 100–200 feet (30–61 m) wide until it terminates at

1620-498: The park, including new lighting and landscaping, improved pathways, a new railing along the edge of the river and an irrigation system. The Pine Island Cemetery, located behind Mathews Park (around the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum), dates to 1708 and has about 1,000 graves. The oldest identified grave belongs to Elizabeth Bartlet, wife of one of the city's founders, who died in 1723 at the age of 38. One burial in

1665-529: The site of the River View Plaza, most of which was demolished by the end of 2007. In March 2007, the Norwalk Common Council approved plans by Stanley M. Seligson Properties to redevelop a large area along West Avenue. The Council's approval came with conditions including the review of potentially historic buildings (for possible preservation), future approval of a landscaping design consistent with

1710-454: The sound the main approach to the harbor lies to the southwest of Rowayton and Sheffield Island. The wider and deeper southwest approach is also known as "Sheffield Harbor", whereas the narrower and shallower eastern approach is known as "Cockenoe Harbor. There is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km)-long channel extending from the outer harbor to the head of the harbor in Norwalk. The channel is 12 feet (3.7 m) deep and 200 feet (61 m) wide from

1755-594: The unincorporated portions of the Town of Norwalk consolidated to form the City of Norwalk that exists to this day. Central Norwalk is now the First taxing district of the City of Norwalk. Located within the neighborhood is the "Norwalk Green Historic District" which has been on the National register of Historic Places since 1987. The historic district is bound by Smith Street, Park Street,

1800-487: The wife of an Indian Chief, residing in a settlement near the Split Rock". It has been written that Wampage himself was the murderer of Hutchinson and that he adopted the name of Anhōōke due to a Mahican custom of taking the name of a notable person personally killed. In February 1644, the entire village of Nanichiestawack was wiped out by 130 Dutch mercenaries under Capt. John Underhill . The surprise attack, known as

1845-618: The “enchanted wolf”, with the right paw raised defiantly. They were also allied and shared a common lifestyle with the Wecquaesgeek . Like other tribes of the area, the Siwanoy were loosely organized into several groups, each with a sagamore (chieftain) and a somewhat-defined territory. The Siwanoys' largest village in 1640 was Poningo, located near modern-day Rye . They also had stockade settlements at Ann Hook's Neck , Hunter Island , and Davenport Neck ( Shippan ), and “winter quarters” farther south at Hell Gate . They referred to

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1890-473: Was a built up commercial block before October 1955. The flood left a wake of destruction in the harbor that took a long time to recover from. The Connecticut Turnpike was built over the river in 1956-1958. The salt marsh just south of the Yankee Doodle bridge on the river's west bank was turned into a garbage dump, but has since been closed, capped, and turned into "Oyster Shell Park" (not to be confused with

1935-637: Was an Eastern Algonquian language . Nohham Cachat-Schilling of the Massachusetts Ethical Archaeology Society writes that the Siwaony might not have spoken Munsee but instead may have spoken Paugusset or another dialect. Like the greater Lenape , women typically wore their hair loose, whereas men would often remove all hair but a long forelock. They frequently painted their bodies and faces (black, red, yellow, blue, and white) for ceremonial rites, war, and festive occasions, or to mourn

1980-499: Was forged in 1881 at Bourges, France, fired at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, and afterward donated by the French government to Norwalk. In 2018, Norwalk's Mulvoy-Tarlov-Aquino Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 603 donated $ 20,000 for perpetual care and maintenance of the cannon. Surrounding the granite base beneath the cannon are plaques listing local veterans’ names. The Green is at the center of

2025-515: Was founded in 1886 along the western shore of Norwalk Harbor in South Norwalk and is among America's oldest Yacht Clubs. The Norwalk Yacht Club was formed in August 1894 in Wilson's Cove. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the harbor in 1950. In October 1955 a great flood washed down the Norwalk River and destroyed many of the buildings adjacent to the riverbanks. Today's Freese Park along Main Avenue

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