South Norwalk, Connecticut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
South Norwalk
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Taxing District
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SoNo illuminated sign
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 South Norwalk
Location in Connecticut
South Norwalk
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Connecticut |
| County | Fairfield |
| City | Norwalk |
| Founded | August 18, 1870 |
| Incorporated with Norwalk | June 6, 1913 |
| ZIP code |
06854
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| Area code(s) | Area codes 203 and 475 |
South Norwalk is a neighborhood and the Second Taxing District in Norwalk, Connecticut. The neighborhood was originally a settlement called 'Old Well' which became chartered as the city of 'South Norwalk' on August 18, 1870. The cities of Norwalk and South Norwalk were incorporated on June 6, 1913. The neighborhood is often referred to with the acronym 'SoNo'.
South Norwalk is a diverse neighborhood both from a socioeconomic and racial perspective. Recent redevelopment is bringing new modern and affordable housing, a boutique hotel, and new businesses. The area provides one of the most attractive locales for industrial and other businesses within its confines. Families continue to move into South Norwalk for its competitive public school district and affordable real estate.
South Norwalk is host of the annual SoNo Arts Celebration, as well as the famed annual Oyster Festival. The SoNo Arts Fest is a free event that takes place every August and features over 100 fine art and craftsperson exhibits, as well as over 25 musical performances for all ages. The annual Oyster Festival, sponsored by the Norwalk Seaport Association, is an integral part of the culture of Norwalk, and has evolved into a community service event where over $200,000 is raised by various community groups to be distributed throughout the region in fulfillment of their mission to revitalize the harbor and preserve Norwalk's maritime heritage.
Contents
Boundaries
South Norwalk, or Norwalk 2nd Taxing District, borders are as follows:
- North: From Connecticut Ave. near I95 exit 14 through Mathews Park to the Norwalk River.
- South: from Windsor Place on a line to South Main St. near the intersection of Meadow St. and on a line to Norwalk River.
- East: Through Norwalk River.
- West: From Connecticut Ave. near I95 exit 14 on a line to Windsor Place.
History
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Old Well
"Sailing ships in the olden days pulled up to docks along the inner harbor and waited their turn to fill up their water casks from the “Old Well”. In a 1738 deed Washington Street is referred to as “the highway that leads to ye landing place called Ye Old Well. The actual well is shown on the Beers Atlas map of 1867 to be East of Water Street about 75 feet South of Washington Street. The exact location has been lost but is believed to have been very near to Donovan’s Tavern, which seems likely since sailors are said to have enjoyed the spirits. Old Well was involved in coastal trade, manufacturing, and shipbuilding as well as having many farms with diversified crops."
“Old Well was scarcely a village in those days, but rather a group of farms, and the well which gave the place its name was on Water street, near the corner of Haviland street, on the property of Eliakim Raymond, a patriarch of several Norwalk lines. His house stood at the corner of Washington and Water streets before the Revolution and was burned with rest of the town."
City of South Norwalk
"Norwalk was made a borough in 1836, and the village of Old Well, named from an ancient well where vessels were supplied with water, was incorporated into a city in 1868, and named South Norwalk two years afterward." "South Norwalk, formerly called "Old Well" was organized a city August 18, 1870, under a charter granted by the Legislature of Connecticut, July 5 of the same year. This charter was revised by the Legislature April 19, 1882, and the city continued its existence under this revised charter until May 27, 1897, when the Legislature approved a revised and amended charter, under which the city has since continued and worked."
"In the 1800s, industrialization started to take place--large factories manufacturing goods such as firearms, buttons, shoes, cloth and hats were increasing in Connecticut and in Norwalk. Workers came up from Chesapeake, Maryland, to work as oystermen. Wealthy owners and managers of businesses lived on Golden Hill overlooking South Norwalk. Immigrants came into Norwalk from many places. One of the largest [group] to come here in the early 1900s was the Hungarians; there were also many Eastern European Jews and Italians, among others."
"In the city government consolidation of 1913, the City of South Norwalk became the Second Taxing District, but South Norwalk was brought into the consolidation against its will. South Norwalk had been incorporated in 1873 as a city within the Town of Norwalk and in the following half-century it became the economic center of Norwalk. With a port and a railroad, it was the center of Norwalk industry, providing employment to thousands of Norwalk factory workers.
"Prosperous and self-sufficient, the City of South Norwalk had little financial incentive to join in the 1913 consolidation. Its residents feared higher taxes if they lost their city status. In 1902 South Norwalk had tried to leave the Town of Norwalk entirely, and, along with East Norwalk, become a completely separate Town. At the time Mayor Mortimer M. Lee said that South Norwalk had “a large water system, a splendid electric light plant, a separate sewer system, a public library and a library building and schools second to none.” In 1903 the Connecticut State legislature passed a bill to create the independent Town of South Norwalk, but it was vetoed by the governor."(Abiram Chamberlain)
The SoNo Collection
The SoNo Collection is a 700,000 square foot mall located next to Interstate 95 and Route 7 that was opened in October 2019. It was built by Brookfield Properties Retail Group and is the fourth mall in the Fairfield County. It features southern Connecticut’s only Nordstrom and Bloomingdales’s.
National Register of Historic Places
- Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut) 31 Concord St., now the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church.
- Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District Roughly bounded by Haviland and Elizabeth and Day Streets, Hanford Place, and South Main Street in South Norwalk.
- Norwalk City Hall Completed in 1912, when South Norwalk was an autonomous municipal entity, 41 North Main St. originally served as the South Norwalk Town Hall.
The Norwalk Historical Society along with the Norwalk Historical Commission reopened the Norwalk Historical Society Museum at the Lockwood House at 141 East Avenue. The archives, genealogy and unframed photographs was placed with the “History Room” at the Norwalk Public Library Main branch (1 Belden Ave, Norwalk, CT). It includes items from the four collections: City of Norwalk, Lockwood family, Norwalk Historical Society and the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Norwalk-Village Green Chapter.
- Norwalk River Railroad Bridge This bridge was built in 1896 as part of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad's massive re-building of its New York to New Haven main line.
- South Main and Washington Streets Historic District The district encompasses 35 buildings and two other structures (including the South Norwalk Railroad Bridge).
- United States Post Office–South Norwalk Main Also known as Norwalk Main Post Office 16 Washington St. South Norwalk, CT
Emergency services
The Norwalk Police Department is located at 1 Monroe St. near the heart of SoNo. The Norwalk Fire Department currently operates two Fire Stations in or near South Norwalk:
- Station Two- Headquarters, 121 Connecticut Ave
- Station Five, 23 Meadow St.
Images for kids
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A street scene along a portion of Washington Street, part of the South Main and Washington Streets Historic District created in 1977
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Corner of Marshall and North Water Streets
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Maritime Condo Building
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South Norwalk Train Station
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Switch Tower Museum
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SONO 50, located in South Norwalk, is the tallest building in the city
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South Main Street 1919
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South Main Street 1887
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Elmwood Avenue 1912
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Railroad Place 1909
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First United Methodist Church, West Avenue, 1922
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Norwalk River Bridge c. 1914
