Forest Street
Running northward from East Avenue at Sillman's store to the junction of Parade Hill Road and New Norwalk Road, was begun in 1858 when the town laid out one block northward from the old tanyard of Frederick Ayres on the north side of Clapboard Hill Road (East Avenue) to the dooryard of George Armstrong on the west side of Locust Avenue (then called Brushy Ridge Road). By 1867 it had been extended northward and seems to have been called North Street, which was once the name of Greenley Road. On the map of 1878 it is labeled Forest Street. (Source: New Canaan Historical Society)
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NewCanaanite.com has partnered with the New Canaan Historical Society on a digital Street Names Database that lets readers look up the origins of local street names online.
With information drawn from a 1960 annual of the member-supported Historical Society, the searchable database is a drop-down menu that captures information on how New Canaan street names got their names, in a snapshot from that year.
The Historical Society has taken the further step of building out a completely updated list—should residents seek information that’s missing from the database (such as more modern street names) or want to review in greater detail what’s included in it—and that’s all available in the organization’s research library at 13 Oenoke Ridge Road (top of God’s Acre).
We’ve created a new category, all the way on the right on the main navigation bar on the homepage called “Bookmarks” where we’ve filed this Street Name Database, so you can find it easily next time you’re looking:
This is a fluid database: If you have any memories, photos or information to share about street name history in New Canaan, please feel free to post a comment on this article or email editor@nctest.proxy02.mageenet.net and we’ll incorporate it into the appropriate entry.