South Norwalk, Connecticut

South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on August 18, 1870. The cities of Norwalk and South Norwalk were incorporated on June 6, 1913. South Norwalk underwent major redevelopment during the early 21st century, with many new apartments being constructed, The annual Norwalk Oyster Festival, sponsored by the Norwalk Seaport Association, is held at Veteran's Memorial Park, across the Norwalk Harbor in East Norwalk.

History

thumb|Map of South Norwalk and Norwalk, CT

Old Well

The area of present-day South Norwalk developed out of a local well referred to as the "Old Well", where sailing ships would refill their water casks. although the exact location is unknown, though presumed to be near the site of Donovan's Tavern, since sailors are said to have frequented the tavern.

“Old Well was scarcely a village in those days, but rather a group of farms, and the well which gave the place its name was on Water Street, near the corner of Haviland street, on the property of Eliakim Raymond, a patriarch of several Norwalk lines. His house stood at the corner of Washington and Water streets before the Revolution and was burned with rest of the town."

City of South Norwalk

"Norwalk was made a borough in 1836, and the village of Old Well, named from an ancient well where vessels were supplied with water, was incorporated into a city in 1868, and named South Norwalk two years afterward." "South Norwalk, formerly called "Old Well" was organized a city August 18, 1870, under a charter granted by the Legislature of Connecticut, July 5 of the same year". "The 1870 charter was revised by the Legislature April 19, 1882, and the city continued its existence under this revised charter until May 27, 1897, when the Legislature approved a revised and amended charter, under which the city has since continued and worked."

Around this time, Norwalk had refused to share its water system with South Norwalk, contributing to a sense of ill will between the two cities, which would compete for economic development throughout subsequent decades.

Horse-drawn trolleys began serving South Norwalk in the 1860s, until being upgraded to electric trolleys in 1894.

As a compromise, Norwalk allowed for South Norwalk, East Norwalk, and Rowayton to join Norwalk as taxing districts, allowing them to largely maintain their own municipal services while within Norwalk. The neighborhood's southern border runs from Windsor Place to Neptune Avenue, up against the Norwalk River, and the neighborhood's western border runs from Windsor Place up to Connecticut Avenue. As of 2020, the ZIP Code has an average family income of $74,597, slightly below the Connecticut average of $79,855; the poverty rate is 14.5%, higher than the Connecticut total of 9.8%; 34.2% of the population has a Bachelor's degree or higher, below the state total of 40.0%; the ZIP code has an employment rate 65.4%, higher than the Connecticut total of 61.7%; 22.0% of the population lacks health care coverage, significantly higher than the state total of 5.1%; 22.5% of the population is under 18 years old, slightly higher than the state total of 20.6%; the average household size is 3.25, slightly higher than the state total of 3.08.

National Register of Historic Places

thumb|Canaan Institutional Baptist Church

Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut) 31 Concord Street, now the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church.
Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District Roughly bounded by Haviland and Elizabeth and Day Streets, Hanford Place, and South Main Street in South Norwalk.

thumb|Former City Hall

Norwalk City Hall Completed in 1912, when South Norwalk was an autonomous municipal entity, 41 North Main Street originally served as the South Norwalk Town Hall.

The Norwalk Historical Society along with the Norwalk Historical Commission reopened the Norwalk Historical Society Museum at the Lockwood House at 141 East Avenue. The archives, genealogy and unframed photographs was placed with the “History Room” at the Norwalk Public Library Main branch (1 Belden Avenue, Norwalk, CT). It includes items from the four collections: City of Norwalk, Lockwood family, Norwalk Historical Society and the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Norwalk-Village Green Chapter.

thumb|Norwalk River Railroad Bridge

Norwalk River Railroad Bridge The district encompasses 35 buildings and two other structures (including the South Norwalk Railroad Bridge).
United States Post Office–South Norwalk Main Also known as Norwalk Main Post Office 16 Washington Street South Norwalk, CT

Emergency services

The Norwalk Police Department is located at 1 Monroe Street near the heart of SoNo. The Norwalk Fire Department currently operates two Fire Stations in or near South Norwalk:

Station Two- Headquarters, 121 Connecticut Avenue
Station Five, 23 Meadow Street

Images

File:SoNo Historic Meets Modern Downtown.jpg|Corner of Marshall and North Water Streets

File:SoNo Maritime Condo Building.jpg|Maritime Condo Building

File:Norwalk Harbor, Norwalk, Connecticut LCCN2012631496.tif|Mural outside Donovan's Restaurant

File:South Norwalk station 058.JPG|South Norwalk Train Station

File:SouthNorwalkSwitchTowerMuseum08122007.jpg|Switch Tower Museum

File:SONO 50, Norwalk CT from SoNo Collection 2021.jpg|SONO 50, located in South Norwalk, is the tallest building in the city

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File:PostcardSoMainStSouthNorwalkCT1919.jpg|South Main Street 1919

File:PostcardSouthMainStNorwalkCT1887.jpg|South Main Street 1887

File:PostcardElmwoodAveSouthNorwalkCt.jpg|Elmwood Avenue 1912

File:PostcardRailroadPlaceSouthNorwalkCT1909.jpg|Railroad Place 1909

File:PostcardNorwalkSouthNorwalkFirstUnitedMethodistChurch1910.jpg|First United Methodist Church, West Avenue, 1922

File:RRBridgeEtcNorwalkRiverNorwalkCT1914.jpg|Norwalk River Bridge

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References

External links

Sono Dining, Shopping, and Entertainment [note: Veterans Memorial Park is in East Norwalk]
Information on Taxing Districts in Connecticut (Archive)