Greenfield Hill, Connecticut facts for kids

Greenfield Hill is an affluent historic neighborhood of Fairfield, Connecticut roughly bounded by the Easton (north), southern Burr Street/northern Black Rock Turnpike (east), and the Southport and Westport borders form the southern/western boundaries. The core of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the Greenfield Hill Historic District.

Locally, Greenfield Hill is known for its Dogwood Festival, which celebrates a variety of tree that abounds in the neighborhood. The most famous and perhaps the most picturesque landmark is the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, which presides over a classic New England green. Timothy Dwight IV, best known as a president of Yale University (and the namesake of one of its residential colleges) was pastor of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church for many years. According to local lore, he was hired by Yale to thwart plans for a rival educational institution in Fairfield.

Besides Dwight, famous residents of Greenfield Hill have included Robert Penn Warren, the author of All the King's Men, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein and John Hershey, the author of "A Bell for Adano". Several officers of the AIG Financial Products unit live in Greenfield Hill and their homes were scenes of protest at the time of a scandal concerning the payment of $165 million in bonuses to employees of that unit.

With its 2-acre minimum zoning, large overhanging trees, and historic Greenfield Hill Green, the neighborhood is considered by many as a pleasant rural alternative to Connecticut's dense suburban design. Along with Southport, Greenfield Hill is considered one of the wealthiest districts of Fairfield, as well as Connecticut as a whole [1]