Connecticut
Norfolk Town
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Norfolk Town, Litchfield County, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Administration: Board of Selectmen
Population: 1,700
plus some seasonal 4,000 more.
Location: 41º59´38"N 73º12´9"W
The Town Green |
 The Congregational Church of Christ |
Norfolk is home to 3 bed & breakfast and two inns. And with two state parks within its boundaries Norfolk is a well-loved destination for travellers. The ´downtown´ has, amongst all the necessary shops, a pub with 250 types of beer!
 The Norfolk Library is located on the Village Green in a magnificent red sandstone building designed by Hartford architect George Keller and built in 1888.
It has regular exhibitions and most remarkably, to a visitor from Norfolk England, the complete collection of the numerous tomes of Blomfield's history of Norfolk England - something that is rare even in it's own country of origin.
Norfolk Children attend the elementary school in town and then go to the regional high school in Winstead.
Of the three churches The Congregational Church used to have a mandatory attendance of its citizens; very much in line with medieval law of England. Now there is also a full time Roman Catholic Church with an Episcopalian Church just for the Summer time.
A History of Norfolk Town
Norfolk was named in May 1738, and incorporated in 1758 with forty-four voters at the first town meeting. A meeting house was built and in 1761 the Reverend Ammi R. Robbins became the first minister, serving for fifty-two years.
Twenty-four men from Norfolk marched to aid Boston in 1775 and over one hundred and fifty fought in the Revolutionary War.
| The early settlers were farmers, erecting sawmills, gristmills, and blacksmithies for their own needs. Using the waterpower of the Blackberry River, the town became industrial in the 1800's, manufacturing such diverse products as linseed oil, men's hats, woolens, cheese boxes, scythes, and hoes. | 
Norfolk CT about 1850 |
In the later nineteenth century, industry declined, but the coming of the Connecticut Western Railroad in 1871, together with Norfolk CT's natural beauty, contributed to the growth of a thriving summer colony.
Norfolk has been a center of culture since the establishment of the Norfolk Library in 1888 and the Litchfield County Choral Union in 1889. The famous Music Shed on the Stoeckel Estate, is often visited by many of the world's greatest musical artists, is now the home of the Yale Summer School of Music and Art.
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