Tag: Westport

Westport is a coastal town of colonial origin located on Long Island Sound in Fairfield County, Connecticut, 47 miles (76 km) northeast of New York City in the United States. The town had a population of 26,391 according to the 2010 U.S. Census and in 2008 ranked the tenth wealthiest town in the U.S. with populations between 20,000 and 65,000, and second in the state.
The Westport area had been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 7,500 years before the first permanent white settlers. Five farmers and their families, subsequently known as the Bankside Farmers, arrived at Machamux on 1693 having followed cattle to the isolated area known to the Pequot as the “beautiful land”. As the settlement expanded its name changed: briefly known as “Bankside” in 1693, officially named Green’s Farm in 1732 in honor of Bankside Farmer John Green and in 1835 incorporated as the Town of Westport.
Agriculture was Westport’s first major industry; by the 19th century Westport had become a shipping…