Historic Areas

Two Historic Areas Recognized

Currently, Silvermine has two areas which have been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

Silvermine Center Historic District (Read full write-up)

Like much of Connecticut, the Silvermine Center Historic District, lying on the border between Norwalk, New Canaan, and Wilton, might be called a postindustrial community. In the 18^th and early 19^th centuries various small and medium-sized mills appeared along the banks of the Silvermine River. Together with stores, a tavern, and the homes of the people who worked there, they made Silvermine a self-sufficient community, one of many scattered across Connecticut. Later in the 19^th century the village entered a period of decline, as most of the mills succumbed to competition from larger companies in larger cities.

In the 20^th century, artists and writers discovered Silvemine. In addition to their own remodeled homes and studios, the old tavern became an inn catering to travelers, and a number of other buildings became antique shops. But the small-scale vernacular architecture and irregular layout of the older community, preserved by the period of poverty, absorbed the changes. Most recently the community has become a more general suburb, although one still characterized by a strong arts community.

The Perry Avenue Bridge (Read full write-up)

Also of stone is the Perry Avenue bridge in Silvermine, a part of Norwalk, built in 1899. At the time, Silvermine was a small village with a few small industries. The bridge crosses the Silvermine River just downstream from a mill dam, and the possibility of flooding seems to have justified stone construction. In the 20th century the community attracted a group of artists, many of whom drew or painted the bridge.