Zack’s Ridge
NUGGET #72
Zack’s Ridge: “Zack” was a nickname for Isaac, in this case, Dr. Isaac Hall of Fairfield, who in 1697 received from the Connecticut government a grant of 150 acres in what was to become Ridgefield but at the time was simply American Indian territory north of Norwalk, according to Ridgebury historian Ed Liljegren. [The land was southwest of what’s now Old Stagecoach Road.] Dr. Hall had requested 250 acres for his service as a surgeon during an unnamed war or campaign.
Jack Sanders, Ridgefield Names.
More Historical Nuggets
First Pride Day, 1998
FIRST ‘PRIDE’ DAY: “A Celebration of Community: Straight, Gay and Lesbian“ took place in 1998, on the Community Center lawn. Just a year later, a Rainbow Flag was flown for the first time in the nation over a state capitol, Hartford, on March 21, 1999.
Hezekiah Scott (1789-1879)
Hezekiah Scott was a weaver and operated a distillery on the brook near his home on Barlow Mountain Road — a stream now called Kiah’s Brook.
Paving
The first road paving, part of a state experiment, was done on the eastern end of Branchville Road around 1912. Catoonah Street was paved in 1922.
Lillian Barnard Gilkes and Louise “Lulu” Davidson
Gilkes, Lillian Barnard, (1903-1977), was a nationally recognized scholar, author and critic who lived at 93 Olmstead Lane with stepsister.
