Greenwich
[key], residential town (2020 pop. 63,518), Fairfield co., SW Conn., on
the Mianus and Byram rivers and Long Island Sound; settled 1640, inc. 1955.
This attractive suburban community is noted as the home of many New York
City executives. The town is located near an active and growing business
community and contains many corporate headquarters. Greenwich was long
inhabited by farmers and oystermen. In the American Revolution it was
plundered (1779) by the British; a house (built 1731) from which Gen. Israel
Putnam supposedly made a dramatic escape is still preserved. In the late
19th cent., Greenwich began to attract artists and summer residents.
Comprised of numerous villages (including Greenwich, Riverside, Quaker
Ridge, Old Greenwich, and Cos Cob), it has over 32 mi (52 km) of shoreline
on Long Island Sound, with many harbors, beaches, and small islands. Of
interest are the Bruce Museum and the Audubon Center.
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