| Town:
Sherman, CT
Population: 4,129
Area: 23.4 square miles
Elementary School: Sherman
School
High School: Choice
of Regional School District #12,
New Milford School District, New
Fairfield School District, and
Brookfield School District
|
Main Street
Sherman, CT |
Sherman
is the northernmost town in Fairfield
County, jutting north toward Kent, to
the east of New Milford. Bounded by
New York State, Kent, New Milford and
New Fairfield, Sherman was a typical
New England farm community with prosperous
dairy farms, mills and a general store
(now a museum) until it was transformed
in 1926 by the construction of Candlewood
Lake by Connecticut Light and Power
Company – a project that flooded
a 23-mile-long valley of tobacco and
dairy farms to create a pumped storage
hydro-electric generating plant. From
that point on, the lake became Sherman’s
dominant feature and most valuable economic
asset, creating a market for lakefront
homes and providing, almost overnight
(two years actually) the recreational
opportunities of what is Connecticut’s
largest fresh water lake.
Sherman was settled
by Puritans from New Fairfield, who
established their own meeting and parish
in 1744. In 1802 the Connecticut General
Assembly granted its petition to become
a town which was named for Roger Sherman,
the only American to sign the four most
important documents of the country’s
founding: the Articles of Association
(1774), the Declaration of Independence
(1776), the Articles of Confederation
(1777) and the U.S. Constitution.
Sherman maintains
an active historical society which has
established a museum in what was the
general store and is fortunate to have
an energetic and creative land trust
(Naromi) which has successfully preserved
several large farms and acres of scenic
open space. For one of the smallest
towns in the state, Sherman has a rich
cultural tradition and is currently
host to the Sherman Players and the
Sherman Chamber Ensemble. Recently,
new commercial enterprises have taken
root. Visitors will be amply rewarded
for a stop at The American Pie Company
restaurant just south of the village
center.
Town
Links
-
Official Town Site
-
Historical Society
Back
to Towns