Neighborhoods: Ridgefield

Ridgefield Neighborhoods

Many of us love Ridgefield’s winding, hilly roads and open spaces, its rural feel, and historic downtown. Our quintessential New England town is not a typical suburban area filled with cookie-cutter houses but instead has distinctive enclaves and several neighborhood associations tucked in between the swaying trees. Ridgefield is home to a handful of pool and lake communities, too, complete with ballfields, clubhouses, swim teams, and social events. There are also small pockets made up of a few streets that offer a true neighborhood feel. Using elementary school districts, and moving from north to south, here’s a guide to these neighborhoods—as well as the little enclaves that exist within each. Enjoy the neighborhood tour.

»Ridgebury

Ridgebury covers the northern part of town and borders the city of Danbury. The area consists of open spaces, rolling hills, vast horse farms, and active farmland.

Ridgebury is home to Pleasantview Recreational Association (PVRA), what some consider to be the best pool club in Ridgefield. PVRA consists of 225 deeded homes ranging from ranch-style to newer colonials, with a pool, athletic fields, social events, and more. You don’t need to live in one of these homes to join—it is open to outside members—but carries a quite-lengthy waiting list.

Turner Hill is located on the Danbury/New York border and consists of 70 homes, built in the mid 1990s on ¼-acre lots. It has a neighborhood pool that is not open to outside members. Stone Ridge Estates, just south of the Danbury line, was built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and boasts 4,000-plus-square-foot homes, each on a little over an acre of land.

Rainbow Lake and the surrounding area were developed in the 1930s and 1940s by Willie Winthrop, a developer who envisioned a string of lakes and summer homes here in Ridgefield. Most of Rainbow Lake’s original homes remain, along with some of more recent construction. Rainbow Lake offers residents a variety of social events all year long.

»Barlow Mountain

The Barlow Mountain district covers the parts of town known as Titicus and the watershed. It borders North Salem to the north and west, and stretches across part of Route 35, up Limestone and Great Hill Roads, and into an area known as The Lakes, off Bennetts Farm Road.

Mimosa is a recreational community off North Street, bordering Pierrepont State Park to the north, with a pool, athletic fields, social events, and more. Built in the 1960s by Jerry Tuccio, there are 89 homes, each on about one acre of land. Mimosa is open to outsiders for community membership.

Twixt Hills is a lake community with private-membership events, including summer beach parties, dinner club, and winter ice skating. It is located on Pierrepont Lake and is another Tuccio neighborhood developed in the 1960s.

The watershed of Lake Mamanasco covers an area of 537 acres and contains about 440 homes. The lake is the center of many recreational activities, including swimming, fishing, sailing, and ice fishing. The major beach located on the western

[ EACH COMMUNITY ADDS TO OUR OVERALL PERSONALITY ]

Ridgefield is a town that cherishes history, but does not get stuck in it.

shoreline is the Mamanasco Beach Club, operated by the Eight Lakes Community Association.

»Scotland

The Scotland district covers part of the southern portion of the Titicus area, lower North Street, parts of the Route 35/ Danbury Road corridor in town, and the West Mountain/Barrack Hill area. West Mountain Estates is on the west side of town, near the New York border, with 160 acres of homes built in the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s. Most West Mountain homes are traditional New England colonials with some ranch-style homes mixed in. A few luxury homes have been added over the years. West Mountain's amenities rival other pool communities in town.

»Veterans Park

Known as VP, this school district covers the village/downtown area of Ridgefield. There are small streets and cul-desacs that offer a neighborhood feel and are walkable to Main Street. It also includes the Silver Spring area, bordering Lewisboro and is home to the Silver Spring Country Club and historic Peter Parley School.

Located just west of downtown, between Peaceable Street and Barry Avenue, is Westmoreland, another Tuccio neighborhood.

»Farmingville

This district in the mid-eastern section of town borders Route 35 to the north, Redding to the east, and includes the Lounsbury area. Farmingville was previously all farmland and is still home to the Hickories, a family-run, organic farm that dates back over 100 years and covers more than 100 acres. Small neighborhoods in this area include Norrans Ridge, Stonehenge Estates on the Ridgebury/Redding line, just off Route 7, and Walnut Grove and surrounding streets.

»Branchville

This area covers the southeast part of town and borders Redding and Wilton. It includes the Branchville train station and several shops and restaurants along Route 7. Branchville’s winding roads, small streets, and scenic areas make this a picturesque place to live. Nod Road is a designated scenic route that leads to the Weir Farm National Historic Site. Many small neighborhoods are tucked off Branchville Road, while the largest and most established neighborhood in the Branchville district is Twin Ridge, a neighborhood in the southeast corner of Ridgefield with 130 homes covering some 200 acres. The first Twin Ridge home was built in 1964, with the last two lots developed in 2002. Twin Ridge holds year-round social activities for children and adults.

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COOL THINGS TO DO 1

See a live performance: more than 200 at the Ridgefield Playhouse, professional musicians at the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, free summer shows in Ballard Park, high-school plays and concerts, church and choral gatherings, Broadway runs at ACT, and the Ridgefield Theater Barn.

2

Paint en plein air at Weir Farm. Just bring your easel, canvas, and art supplies and be inspired by the same landscapes that captured the attention of the great American Impressionist J. Alden Weir, and a host of other celebrated artists too.

3

Walk from the south end of Main Street: See the splendor of the set-back houses, the Cass Gilbert Fountain, Keeler Tavern, Aldrich Museum, Lounsbury House, then downtown, Ridgefield Library, Elms condos, Casagmo, Battle of Ridgefield site. Return on the opposite side of Main.

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