History of Darien, Connecticut - Early Nineteenth Century

Early Nineteenth Century

According to the Darien Historical Society, the name Darien was decided upon when the residents of the town could not agree on a name to replace Middlesex Parish, many families wanting it to be named after themselves. A sailor who had traveled to Darién, Panama, then part of Colombia, suggested the name Darien, which was eventually adopted by the people of the town.

Until the advent of the railroad in 1848, Darien remained a small, rural community of about 1,000 farmers, shoemakers, fishermen, and merchants engaged in coastal trading. By the 1790s, Holly Pond was no longer fully open to the Sound, but at Gorham's Landing, where Rings End Road meets the Goodwives River, small sailing vessels from New York, Eastern Connecticut and even the West Indies would pull up during high tide for trade with local merchants.

The area retained some businesses even into the 20th century, but none remain—at least none remain there. Rings End Lumber, now a thriving company on West Avenue which has expanded to other locations in Connecticut, had its start at Gorham's Landing as the Rings End Lumber and Coal Company. A gradual increase in population occurred with the arrival of emigrants from Ireland and later from Italy.

In what is now the Hindley School playing fields, close to the Boston Post Road, a "Union Chapel" was created in the 1830s for religious groups other than the original Congregationalists. St. Luke's Episcopal Church (organized August 30, 1855) and the Darien Methodist Church (organized by the 1860s) grew out of meetings there. Across the street, the Noroton Presbyterian Church was organized on November 4, 1863. Union Chapel was no longer around when Irish Roman Catholics founded St. John Church next door in 1888 (dedicated on December 15, 1889).

Talmage Hill Community Church, a tiny chapel located at the far northern end of town, was organized in 1870.

The Darien train station was opened at about the same time as the one in Rowayton, and was later followed by the establishment of a train station in Noroton Heights and one in the Glenbrook section of Stamford.