Out of the Ashes …
Ridgefield, Connecticut
The Fire District in Ridgefield was organized in 1896 following the devastating fire of 1895. Ex-Governor Phineas Lounsbury was an early benefactor of the Department and the new engine company took his name. The firehouse is also the site of the old Sholes and Smith Shirt factory, later moved to the Big Shop then located at the corner of Main Street and West Lane. The eastern section is the original 1908 Georgian Revival Style building of brick and wood with granite corner quions.
Benjamin Burt, a blacksmith, arrived in 1712 from Norwalk and was assigned building lot #28 on the northwest corner of Catoonah and Main Streets. Shoeing horses was of great importance, but his skills were also needed for making tools, hinges, cranes, kettles, latches, nails and all things made from steel that were needed in a new settlement. During the Revolution the Burt family cast their lot with the Crown and as a result their property was confiscated by the government and sold at public auction, and the family expelled from town.
Marker is at the intersection of Catoonah Street and Main Street (Connecticut Route 35), on the right when traveling east on Catoonah Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
