1850s drawings of Branford, Guilford, and Madison and their Town Greens (from top to bottom)

THREE TOWN GREENS

The three Connecticut Shoreline towns of Branford, Guilford and Madison were settled in 1638, 1639 and 1650 respectively, each around a Town Green. This open area, commonly found in English towns (also known as the Common), was used as a grazing area for animals and as an outdoor gathering space for town celebrations or other community activities. Churches, town halls and other community buildings were often built in or adjacent to the Green. As settlements grew, a mix of stores, businesses and homes were built with increasing density around the Green. Today, the Green is still the center of town activity in these communities, a place where people walk, jog, celebrate, listen to concerts and theater. The surrounding streets are now built for the car, but the scale of the original buildings and new sidewalks, landscaping and street furniture ensure that the pedestrian experience is still of utmost importance. The mix of building uses combined with vehicular and pedestrian conveniences create a vibrant town center.

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Branford’s green is triangular in shape, with its main street to the North bordered with stores and small businesses. The Town Hall and churches were built directly in the green. The green is used for fairs, graduations and other activities to this day, and many of the historical buildings in the area are well preserved. Newer structures are built with materials, details and in scale with the earlier buildings. When the Boston Post Road was built, it bypassed the Green, so that Branford has a Main Street and a North Main Street.

Guilford’s green was originally made up of two roughly square spaces. As in Branford, churches and other buildings were originally built in the Green. Today, the Town Hall and the town’s four main churches are on the streets adjacent to the Green. A mix of retail, homes and businesses line the 4 sides of the Green. When the Boston Post Road was built, as in Branford, the Green was bypassed, and there is a Boston Street on the South Side of the Green and the Boston Post Road lies two streets to the North of the Green.

Madison’s Green was considerably smaller than its counterparts in Branford and Guilford. The main church, schools and prominent family residences took up most of its frontage so that homes and businesses were built down the street along Main Street. Even in the drawing from the 1850s, one can see this development. Here, the Boston Post Road runs right by the Green, along the original Main Street, so that the bulk of Madison’s businesses are built on Main Street.

Click here to view the town plaques and their texts.

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“When we build, let us think that we build forever..”
-John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic

A bientôt,
Karin