300th Anniversary of Ridgefield, Conn. Commemorative Plate
ArtistDrawn by
Susan Scala
MediumPorcelain
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall diameter): 10 5/8in. (27cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
DescriptionCommemorative plate for Ridgefield, Conn.'s 300th Anniversary (1708-2008). The plate has a drawing by Susan Scala. At the center are people surrounding an American flag and a water trough. The edges have drawings of various buildings. The bottom of the plate has text describing the scenes depicted on the front of the plate. The plate is a limited edition, No. 2,218 out of 2,500 made.
Object number2014.214.2
InscribedVerso, typed in black ink: Ridgefield, Connecticut/ 300th Anniversary/ 1708-2008/ Center/ The stone watering trough for horses and dogs that once stood at the intersection of Main and/ Catoonah Streets was presented to the town by Life Magazine founder John Ames Mitchell who lived/ on West Lane. As automobiles replaced horses the trough was relocated and is currently at the intersection/ of Olmstead and West Lanes./ Clockwise from the top/ Town Hall-Built in 1896 after the Great Fire of 1895 at a cost of $16,000. The building served as a center for civic and/ social functions until 1936 including dances, basketball games, the cinema, lectures (William Jennings Bryant spoke/ there) and housed both the Ridgefield constabulary and the fire department./ Bedient Building-An earlier Bedient's had been erected on the corner of Main Street and Bailey Avenue and was where the/ Great Fire of 1895 started. This building was erected on the foundation of that store in 1896./ Keeler Tavern (Cannonball House)-Believed to be built in 1717. A cannonball from the Battle of Ridgefield is still lodged in/ the side of the building. This was the first stop for refreshments on the northern stagecoach line from New York to Boston./ Cass Gilbert Fountain-Named after the famous architect who lived in the Keeler Tavern in the early 1900's and donated the/ fountain to the town in 1915./ Railroad Station-Passenger service into the center of town first began on July 18, 1870 and ended in 1925. The station/ was located on the northern side of Prospect Street and can still be seen./ Lounsbury House (Grovelawn)-Owned by the town and now operated as the Community Center. Grovelawn was built/ by Gov. Phineas C. Lounsbury, a native son, after he retired from politics in 1896. It was modeled after the/ Connecticut State Building at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Expedition./ "THIS TERCENTENNIAL PLATE IS ISSUED IN A LIMITED EDITION OF 2,500 BY/ RIDGEFIELD'S 300TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE"/ Artwork by Susan Scala/ 2218 OF 2,500"Subject Terms
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