Mill Plain, Danbury, Connecticut

Mill Plain, Connecticut
Rosy Tomorrow’s, Old Mill Plain Rd
Mill Plain Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Mill Plain Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°23′42.34″N 73°30′56.45″W[1]
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Fairfield
Region	Western CT
City	Danbury
Major highways

Mill Plain is an unincorporated area in the City of Danbury, Connecticut, United States.^[1] It is located in the westernmost part of the city, bordering the town of Southeast, New York.

History

Town of Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut. (inset) Mill Plain. (1867)

Defined as a village in the western part of Danbury,^[2] Mill Plain has also historically been considered a semi-autonomous hamlet.^[3] The first home in the area was built around 1720 by Nathaniel Stevens.^[4][5] By 1725 Samuel Castle had built his second grist mill, located in this section of town, which gave rise to the name Mill Plain.^[6] An early mention of Mill Plain is found in a 1769 deed for 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land near a stream "that runs into ye Mill Plain Pond," which is the original name for Lake Kenosia. The area belonged to the town of Ridgefield at that time.^[7]

In 1865, resident Henry M. Senior opened a general store and post office. Five years later, Senior built a hat manufacturing shop in the area, which operated until 1892.^[8] Mill Plain station, was built in 1881, and closed in 1928 after being acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.^[9] The post office was operated by the Senior family until the 1940s.^[10]

Old Mill Plain (1910)

1940 Census - District Map

Mill Plain School House, Danbury, Conn. (1909)

Mill Plain Railroad Station (1916)

Parks and recreation

• Richter Park
• Farrington Woods
• Lake Kenosia Park

Notable person

Marian Anderson (1897-1993),^[11] contralto

References

1. "Mill Plain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Gannett, Henry (1894). A Geographic Dictionary of Connecticut (PDF). United States Geological Survey (Report). Vol. 117. p. 40. doi:10.3133/b117. hdl:2346/64184. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
3. Devlin, William E. (2013). Danbury's Third Century: From Urban Status to Tri-Centennial.
4. Bailey, James M. (1896). History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896.
5. Stevens, Frederick (1891). Genealogy of the Stevens family, from 1635 to 1891.
6. Devlin, William (1984). We Crown Them All: An Illustrated History of Danbury. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0-89781-092-9.
7. Sanders, Jack (August 30, 2021). "The Ridgefield Encyclopedia" (PDF). Ridgefieldlibrary.org. Ridgefield Library. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
8. Beers, J. H. (1899). Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut.
9. Danbury Railway Museum. "Mill Plain station". Danburyrail.org. Danbury Railway Museum. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
10. "Mill Plain Post Office May Be Discontinued, No One Wants Job". Hartford Courant. Associated Press. January 20, 1940. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
11. "Marian Anderson History". Western Connecticut State University. Retrieved February 17, 2022.

External links

• Towns, Villages, and Districts with No Post Office of Same Name
• OpenStreetMap - Mill Plain Hamlet