Falls Village

Falls Village is a village and census-designated place in the town of Canaan in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It derives its name from a waterfall, known as Great Falls, on the Housatonic River within the village. In 1979 the Falls Village District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district. The district represents about 70 acres (280,000 m2) that were built in the middle of the 19th century as a result of the area being selected as a station stop for the HOUSatonic Railroad in the early 1830s. The Falls Village CDP has an area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it recorded as land. Newer buildings around the junction of U.S. Route 7 and Connecticut Route 126 are excluded from the historic district, which includes 71 buildings and the canal built to harness water power from the Great Falls northwest of the village, as well as the D. M. Hunt Library and St. Patrick's Church. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 538, out of 1,234 in the entire town of Canaan. Because Falls Village is the town center and principal constituent village in Canaan, the whole town is often referred to as "Fallas Village" that avoids confusion of the town with Canaan Village in North Canaan, just to the north. The village post office is assigned ZIP code 06031, which encompasses the entire Town of Canaan.

Geography

Falls Village is a census-designated place on the western side of the town of Canaan in northwestern Connecticut. U.S. Route 7 passes through the village, leading north 6 miles (10 km) to Canaan Village and south the same distance to West Cornwall. The Falls Village CDP has an area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it recorded as land. It is located on the banks of the Housatonic River, a tributary of the Litchfield River, which runs through the center of the CDP. The village is located in the northwestern part of the state, near the border with New York. It has a population of about 1,000. The CDP is located near the Connecticut River, where it flows into the Connecticut and New York Rivers. It also lies on the Connecticut Turnpike, which cuts through the middle of the village and into New York City. The town of Falls Village is in the northern part of Connecticut, and is on the turnpike's eastern edge. It was named after Falls Village, Connecticut, a town that was once a part of New York state. The name Falls Village means "the village of the same name" or "the same place" in a local dialect. The community is also known as "Falls" and "The Falls" by some residents. The area is home to a number of historic homes, many of which date back to the 18th century.

Historic district

The Falls Village District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 1979. It includes 71 buildings and the canal built to harness water power from the Great Falls northwest of the village. The district is bounded on the south by the east-west portion of Railroad Street, on the east by the rear property lines of houses fronting Beebe Hill Road, and on the west by the Housatonic Railroad tracks. Newer buildings around the junction of U.S. Route 7 and Connecticut Route 126 are excluded from the historic district. The historic district includes examples of Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne architecture. It also includes the D. M. Hunt Library, built in 1891, and St. Patrick's Church, which was built in 1903. The area was selected as a station stop for the HOUSATonic Railroad in the early 1830s. It is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, which runs through the center of the district. It has a population of about 2,000. It was listed as a historic district by the National Park Service in 1979, when it was added to the list of historic places in the United States to be listed on September 14, 1979. The National Park Services listed the district as part of its historic places of interest in the state of Connecticut on September 13, 1979, and listed it as a place of special interest in September 28, 1980, and September 30, 1981. It remains on the NPS list of historical places in Connecticut.