Ridgefield, Connecticut
PrinterPrinted by
Unknown
Dateafter 1882
MediumLithography; black printer's ink on laid paper, on Japanese paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 19 7/8 x 24 1/8in. (50.5 x 61.3cm)
Sheet (height x width): 19 7/8 x 24 1/8in. (50.5 x 61.3cm)
Mount (height x width): 19 7/8 x 24 1/8in. (50.5 x 61.3cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2012.312.129
DescriptionMap of part of Ridgefield, Connecticut, extending from Round Pond to the north, Branchville to the east, the town line of Wilton to the south, and the state border of New York to the west. Residences and businesses are marked on the map with black squares, next to which are the owners' names. Some, but not all, of the roads are labeled. The Ridgefield branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad runs east-west to the station in Branchville, and the Norwalk River runs north-south through Branchville.
Label TextMaps usually reveal a lot of information about themselves: who made them, when they were made, and, of course, what they depict. This map of Ridgefield, Connecticut is a fragment of a larger map and therefore includes few of these clues. However, internal evidence places the map in the broad period between 1882 and 1919, the years when the American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir owned a farm in the town. The community of Branchville, where Weir's farm was located was originally known as Ridgefield Station, because it grew up around the railroad station. Weir's farm (labeled "J. A. Weir") is to the west and south of the station, very near the Wilton town line. Other clues to the date of the map come from the businesses listed in the directory. These include not only Carriage Repairs, Horse Shoeing, and a Livery Stable, but also Auto Supplies and an Electrician, suggesting a date in the early twentieth century. Further research into home and business owners would probably pinpoint the date more precisely.
NotesCartographic Note: No scaleStatus
Not on view
Silvermine Production
1973
