Rowayton started out as a small fishing village nestled along the Five Mile River, which leads out onto to Long Island Sound in southern Connecticut, about 40 miles north of New York City. I used to row my grandfather’s boat out onto the Sound. Some days, rowing the dinghy, I could just see the Twin Towers rising to pierce the sky farther south down along the coast.

Local historians spin the tale that in the mid-1600s — when the only white people in the area were a few sustenance farmers and fishermen — a three-man drinking group met with Chief Runckinheague of the Siwanoy (or Sinawoy) tribe in order to purchase the land between the Five Mile River and the Norwalk River. One can only imagine the price that was paid.

On September 11, 1651 — 350 years to the day before the fall of those Twin Towers in New York City — the Connecticut Legislature declared, “Norwauke shall bee a Towne,” and the place we know now as Rowayton was officially designated as a village — within the Town of Norwalk. Farmers, weavers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, carpenters, all began to settle in and contribute.

By 1740, three houses and a shipyard had been built. The Revolutionary War brought certain levels of activity to the area — because of easy access to the Long Island Sound. After that time, the Five Mile area began to grow into its own, with coastal trading and farming — by the mid 1800’s with oystering. Local oystering eventually succumbed to over-harvesting and to fierce storms that destroyed oyster beds. Despite these declines, the Five Mile area continued to grow in other ways, adding houses and a railroad. 

The railroad played a pivotal role in the evolution of Rowayton, connecting the village with the New York-New Haven-Hartford Railroad — laying the groundwork for gradual transformation of Rowayton into a NYC commuter stop and bedroom community. Soon after the trains started to run, the Postal Service and the Railroad required the village to decide on a formal name for itself. After much public discussion (which some historians describe as “squabbling”), residents finally chose the name of “Rowayton” — likely based on Roaton, which, in Sinavoy language, means “creek almost dry at low tide.”

Rowayton has many public and private beaches; by the mid-1800s, the village had become a desirable summer resort destination. Vessels that once carried produce began to bring in summer visitors and vacationers. Three beaches — Roton Point, Bayley Beach, and Wee Burn Beach Club — were originally part of a popular and well-known place called the Roton Point Amusement Park. Amenities included a bath house, picnic grove, carousel rides, roller coaster — as well as sailing on and swimming in the salt-water Sound.

In 1910, James A. Farrell, president of the United States Steel, built a Tudor revival mansion in Rowayton called Rock Ledge Estate. The original house burned down in 1913 and was later rebuilt in granite. In 1964, part of the estate was purchased by the Thomas School for Girls, founded by Mabel Thomas in 1922; and in 1966, the Farrell family stables were converted into the Rowayton Community Center and Library. Rock Ledge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. More history about this here.

Rowayton has a number of active local associations, including the Library, Gardeners Club, Civic Association, Historical Society,  and Parents Exchange. Rowayton’s Shakespeare on the Sound plays host each year to a theatrical production at Pinkney Historic Park. The village of  Rowayton also has an active community of artists, many associated with the Rowayton Arts Center.

The Rowayton village and coastline on Long Island Sound have long been a source of income and inspiration. Rich in its own unique history and culture, the village of  Rowayton has grown far away from its Native American roots, its curious purchase by three white men, and its establishment as a coastal village of white settlers.

In the 21st century, Rowayton has become a coveted place to call home. Rowayton is now known as one of the most affluent and expensive little community enclaves in New England and the United States. You can read about that growth in the New York Times — “If You’re Thinking of Living in Rowayton, Conn. A Neighborly Enclave on the Sound” (1999) and “Where Norwalk and Darien Collide: The Coastal Village of Rowayton CT” (2014).

The Rowayton Market (where I used to buy groceries for my grandfather) has become quite up-scale over the years — and now provides delicious prepared foods — as well as continuing work as the oldest grocery store in Connecticut (established in 1753).

If you cannot afford a house in Rowayton, perhaps you can at least enjoy a delicious meal. In fact, according to owner and gourmande of the Saxtons River Village Market here where I live in Vermont, the Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood serves “the best seafood” and “it’s always worth stopping to enjoy what they create.”

Brendan’s 101 fills the old clapboard building my friend (who still lives in my old house on Crockett Street) once occupied selling rare and used books –many of which I read myself. 101 offers breakfast, lunch, dinner — and ice cream — daily.

Rowayton Pizza deserves mention, as so many people say they’ll drive long distances just to have their delicious pizza. (This business currently occupies what used to be the old corner store I could walk to where I’d buy bubblegum and my grandfather’s newspapers.)

There’s much more to see and enjoy in Rowayton. I hear there’s a Farmers Market now, and still lots of sailing regattas, church services, school plays. And, of course, there’s the sky and salt water calling you to venture on the Five Mile River — or out onto the Sound. On a clear day, you might just catch a glimpse of the future.

Notables from Rowayton:

• Meg Foster, actress
• Gabor Peterdi, artist
• Philip Caputo, author
• Emily Levine, humorist
• David Bergamini, author
• Leslie Charleson, tv actress
• Jimmy Ernst, artist and teacher
• Jim Flora, commercial illustrator
• Ward Chamberlin, PBS executive
• Albert Markov, violinist, composer
• Betsy Palmer, actress, tv personality
• Ruth Krauss, children’s book author
• Jerome Beatty, author, magazine writer
• Treat Williams, movie and theater actor
• Hal Prince, Broadway producer of shows
• Kay Boyle, novelist and short story author
• John Frederick Kensett, 19th-century artist
• Stefan Schnabel, Broadway and movie actor
• Emily Rooney, tv host, producer, journalist
• Richard Bissell, author of  Broadway musicals
• Horace McMahon, actor and little league umpire
• Andy Rooney, author, humorist, tv commentator
• Billy Rose, Ziegfeld impresario, theatrical showman
• Crockett Johnson, cartoonist, creator of children’s books
• Herman and Miriam Katims, pianist, composers, music publishers
• Ian Falconer, children’s author, illustrator, set/costume designer

Perhaps the loveliest thing still to do in Rowayton is to enjoy a quiet morning walk through the winding streets, feeling the salt-water mist upon your face, and listening to the sound of the fog horn from Greens Point Ledge outside the mouth of the Five Mile River where it joins with the Sound — reminding us to be careful as we navigate our ways through any fogs past, present, or future.

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Poet Guide: Susan Powers Bourne