Westport Incorporation

May 28th, 1835

The drive for incorporation was practical: merchants and mariners wanted a town that could prioritize Saugatuck’s seaport economy, rather than compete under three different towns’ rules, so they petitioned for a single jurisdiction focused on their own harbor. Town meetings were held at the Saugatuck Congregational Church, with the Board of Selectmen and Daniel Nash among the local leaders who organized the effort.

After decades of identifying with Saugatuck’s busy river port, residents pushed for self-government and on May 28, 1835, the Connecticut legislature incorporated Westport by carving land from Fairfield, Weston, and Norwalk. Within months, roughly 1,800 people were officially “Westporters.” In the decades that followed, Westport leveraged its waterfront access to efficiently ship farm goods and trade with coastal resources. By the mid 19th century, it was a leading shipping center with wharves, mills, and tide-powered industry tying the new town to markets across Long Island Sound and beyond.