Stamford\ Board\ of\ Realtors

History of Stamford

JULY 1, 1640 New Haven Colony Agent, Capt. Nathaniel Turner, purchases land west of Norwalk and east of Greenwich from two Indian chiefs, Ponus and Wascussue. The price is 12 coats, 12 hoes, 12 hatchets, 12 glasses, 12 knives, 2 kettles, and 4 fathoms of white shells used as money. The land is called Rippowam plantation and later named Stamford.
	NOVEMBER 4, 1640 A group of Wethersfield residents buy the land known as Rippowam plantation from the New Haven colony. The price is 100 bushels of corn.
SPRING & SUMMER 1641 Twenty-nine men and their families from Wethersfield settle the Rippowam plantation. The group constructs a meeting house near the present site of Veteran's Park.
	1671 First public schoolhouse is built, located near present site of Old Town Hall. It was 10 or 12 feet square.
1692 Stamford resident, Elizabeth Clauson, is imprisoned and tried for witchcraft. A state committee would later grant her a reprieve.
	APRIL 22,1775 A few days after the Battle of Lexington, one quarter of the Connecticut militia is assembled. David Waterbury of Stamford is appointed Colonel (later General) of the Fifth Regiment Connecticut Militia.
OCTOBER 16, 1789 During George Washington's first year as the nation's president, he decides to tour New England. Washington travels in a single coach north from New York City and arrives in Stamford to have breakfast at the former Webb's Tavern at Main & Bank Streets. Washington is believed to have eaten a second breakfast there on the way back. Webb's later changed its name to the Washington House to commemorate the president's meal, and the table he ate at is believed to be a prized possession of the Webb family descendants in Vermont.
	1806 Connecticut Turnpike Company begins construction on the Old Post Road to streamline travel through Stamford by eliminating winding, rocky and hilly parts of the route. To make room for the new road, some graves had to be moved from the southern portion of the town burial ground (present site of West Park Place). After dark, town residents vehemently opposed to this would bring their oxen to move boulders in the way of the construction. State officials had to intervene with threats of legal action in order to continue the construction.
1825 The first steamboat enters Stamford Harbor. Named the Oliver Wolcott, it makes three trips a week to New York City at 50 cents a trip.
	APRIL 8, 1829 The first Stamford newspaper comes off a hand press. The Stamford lntelligencer is published weekly by Albert Hanford.
1838 The first private boys' school is established by James Betts. It is named the Betts Academy. The first private girls school, the Stamford Femzk Academy, is founded in 1855 by Catherine Aiken.
	1855 William T. Minor becomes the first Stamford man elected Governor of Connecticut. He would serve two terms.
APRIL 20, 1861 With the outbreak of the Civil War, Stamford men respond to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteer soldiers to preserve the Union. Some 30 young men signed up; $4,500 was pledged and preparations began to erect a 150-foot flag pole in the center of town. When the Civil War finally ended, nearly 800 Stamford residents - out of a population of approximately 7,300 - had served the Union cause. At least 155 died in the war.
	MARCH 1869 Yale & Towne Manufacturers opens to make unique, patented pin-tumbler locks. The company initially employs 30 workers and is owned by Henry R. Towne. The company would later become the city's largest employer and lead to the city's nickname of "The Lock City."
MARCH 10-14, 1888 The Blizzard of '88 dumps 3 feet of snow on Stamford.
	APRIL 2, 1894 Stamford elects its first mayor. He is Republican Charles H. Leeds.
1896 Twenty-five runners compete in the first marathon race in North America.The race begins at Columbus Park and ends in the Bronx.
	JULY 4, 1894 An era comes to an end. The trolleys are converted to electricity. Rides cost 5 cents.
FEBRUARY 4, 1904 Town Hall is destroyed by fire, presumed to have been started by a faulty gas jet.
	1914 Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, creator of Mount Rushmore, and his wife, Mary, move to a house on Old Wire Mill Road called "Borgland."
1919 Walter H. Bowes' Universal Stamping Machine Co. merges with Arther H. Pitney's postage meter company to form Pitney Bowes. It is the first Fortune 500 company to be located in Stamford.
	1925 Julian M. Emery becomes the first Stamford woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly.
1947 Probably the most famous movie made in Stamford, or at least the most acclaimed, was "Boomerang." The movie, starring Dana Andrews, tells the true story of a 1920's case involving Homer Cummings, the former Stamford mayor who went on to become United States Attorney General. At the time, Cummings was a state attorney prosecuting a drifter charged in the 1924 murder of a Bridgeport priest. Cummings found the prosecution's case so full of holes that he shocked the court by arguing for the defendant. The drifter went free, and the case was never solved.
	1954 Bloomingdale's opens on Broad Street. The store would be a mainstay for more than 30 years before closing in 1990.
1960 The F.D. Rich Company of Stamford and S. Pierre Bonan of Greenwich are chosen to develop a 130-acre renewal in downtown Stamford. (S. Pierre Bonan later withdrew, leaving F.D. Rich the sole developer.)
	1969 Xerox Corp. and Olin Corp. come to Stamford, beginning an influx of national and international corporations that establish offices here.
MARCH 12, 1982 Shoppers rejoice. The Stamford Town Center, better known as the mall, opens.
	APRIL 14, 1986 The Stamford Classic Marathon is run in the city for the first time in 90 years.
JULY 16, 1986 The city buys a building on Washington Boulevard from GTE to become the new government center. The purchase price is $45 million and allows the city to move all municipal offices into one location.
	JUNE 1990 The banking crisis hits Stamford as federal bank examiners close Charter Federal Bank.
1991 STAMFORD CELEBRATES THE 350th ANNIVERSARY of its Founding

Notable people, past and present

Benny Goodman (musician known as "The King of Swing"): Lived the last 20 years of his life in Stamford.
Andy Robustelli (pro Football Hall of Famer): Born in Stamford and resided here until his death in 2011.
Alex Raymond (creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip): Once resided in North Stamford.
Christopher Lloyd (actor): Born in Stamford.
Robert Jarvik (inventor of the first artificial heart): Born in Stamford.
Bob Crane (star of Hogans Heroes): Once resided in Stamford.
Gene Wilder (actor and comedian): Resides in Stamford.
Chris Hansen (news journalist): Resides in Stamford.
William F. Buckley, Jr. (founder of the National Review magazine): Longtime resident of the Cove.
Cyndi Lauper (singer): Resides in Stamford.
Chris Dudley (former NBA basketball player): Born in Stamford.
Alan Kalter (announcer on the Late Show with David Letterman): Resides in Stamford.
Jackie Robinson (baseball star): Once resided in Stamford.
Chuck Scarborough (news anchor): Resides in Stamford.
Bobby Valentine (baseball manager): Born in Stamford.
Harry Houdini (illutionist): Had a summer home in Stamford.
Joe Lieberman (U.S. Senator): Born in Stamford.
Henry Simmons (actor): Born in Stamford.
Meat Loaf (Rock singer and songwriter): Once resided in Stamford.
Gene Tunney (boxing champion): Buried in Stamford.
Michael Dante (tv and film actor and former professional baseball player): Born in Stamford.
Gutz Borglum (sculptor of Mount Rushmore): Lived in Stamford for 10 years.
Michael Bolton (singer): Once resided in Stamford.
Ina Garten (Food Network personality and cookbook author): Grew up in Stamford.
50 Cent (rapper): Resides in Stamford.

Some Films shot in Stamford

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2010): starring Tilda Swinton & John C. Reilly. Filmed in Springdale.
25/8 (2009): Filmed at the Tully Center.
Away We Go (2009): Produced by Sam Mendes, starring John Krasinski & Maya Rudolph. Filmed on Vine Road and inside Remo's on Bedford Street.
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009): starring Robin Wright, Alan Arkin & Keanu Reeves
Everybody's Fine (2009): starring Robert DeNiro, Kate Beckinsale & Drew Barrymore
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009): starring John Goodman, Joan Cusack & Isla Fisher. Filmed a scene at United House Wrecking on Hope Street.
Revolutionary Road (2008): directed by Sam Mendes, starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet.
College Road Trip (2008): starring Raven-Symone & Martin Lawrence, filmed inside Lakeside Diner and on Merritt Parkway
Old Dogs (2008): starring Robin Williams & John Travolta. Filmed outside the UCONN Stamford campus.
Rachel Getting Married (2008): starring Anne Hathaway. Filmed at Salon Shahim and in a home on Westview Lane.
Righteous Kill (2008): starring Robert De Niro & Al Pacino. Filmed in front of the UCONN Stamford Campus at Trump Park
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008): starring America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn & Blake Lively
What Just Happened? (2008): Locations include Canal Street, Tresser Blvd, and the front of Stamford Town Centre.
Reservation Road (2007): starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Mark Ruffalo & Mira Sorvino. Locations includes Cove Island Park, Weed Avenue, Stamford Academy, Long Ridge Church, Black Bear Saloon & Dolan Middle School.
Wordplay (2006): Filmed at the Marriott Hotel
Beyond the Mat (1999)
Scenes from a Mall (1991): starring Bette Midler & Woody Allen. Scenes filmed in the Stamford Town Centre.
The Lords of Flatbush (1973): wedding reception scene shot in the backyard of a home on Dale Street in Cove.
The Cardinal (1963): produced independently & directed by Otto Preminger, & distributed by Columbia Pictures. A church scene took place in St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church on Atlantic Street.
Boomerang (1947): filmed almost entirely in Stamford

1991 STAMFORD CELEBRATES THE 350th ANNIVERSARY of its Founding

Notable people, past and present

Some Films shot in Stamford