Ridgefield, Connecticut

— The Museum in the Streets —

In 1870, A Branch Line from the Branchville train station was built to offer service to the wealthy New Yorkers who began arriving to spend their summers in Ridgefield. Many of these "summer people" had their own private railroad cars. Chauffeurs would meet them, driving horse and buggies and other fancy conveyances to carry volumes of luggage to their estates located throughout the town.
Benvenuto Carboni arrived in 1901, one of the earliest Italians to come to Ridgefield. Several years later he opened a market on the corner of Prospect and Bailey, catering to the many Italian families who were settling in the area. Around 1915, he sold his store to Nazzareno Gasperini and Ernesto Brunetti. The Brunetti family continued the business on Main Street into the 1980s.
The Italian-American Mutual Aid Society was organized in 1913 by newly arrived Italians so as to become involved with town government and improve civic conditions within their community. By 1915 its objectives included "? voluntary aid to its members in case of misfortune, sickness and distress?" The club has been the scene of many events throughout the years. The Ladies Auxiliary was established in 1934 as an independent organization.

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Show me all markers in:  Ridgefield, CT  |  Fairfield County  |  06877  |  Connecticut  |  United States of America

Ridgefield
Smith Tavern - A Colonial Meeting Place
Main Street in the Late 1800s
Ballard Park
The Battle of Ridgefield
The Spotting Tower and Railroad Warehousing
The Village in the 1900s
The Elms Inn and Stebbins Homestead
The Museum in the Streets
The Great Fire of 1895

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