Is Fairfield the Seat of Fairfield County?

Is Fairfield the Seat of Fairfield County?. . , In 1666 the Colony of Connecticut was divided into four counties: Hartford, New Haven, New London and Fairfield. For nearly 200 years the town of Fairfield, founded in 1639, was the seat of Fairfield County. Its Congregational Meeting House likely accommodated the first county government. , Decades later in 1720 the courthouse was built and a jail erected where St. Paul's Episcopal Church now stands. Here thieves and murderers awaited trial and, during the Revolutionary War, English loyalists were imprisoned. People came from all over to hear judges and lawyers argue landmark cases, with debates sometimes spilling out onto the town's Green. , In 1768 this courthouse was burned, then rebuilt, only to be destroyed again in the tragic 1779, burning of Fairfield by the British. , It took 15 years for a new courthouse to be constructed and decades for the town to fully recover. Meanwhile the neighboring borough of Bridgeport grew in size and prosperity, thanks to its thriving harbor and industry. , By 1835 Bridgeport was actively petitioning the State General Assembly to be appointed county seat. When that legislation finally passed in 1853, Fairfield reluctantly ceded county leadership to its neighbor. , The courthouse gained new life as the town hall; in 1870 it was renovated in the fashionable French Second Empire style. For Fairfield's 300th anniversary, local architect Cameron Clark transformed the exterior again, this time in the Colonial Revival style that you see today. , As Fairfield grew, the town increased its services, and in 1979 a second town hall, Independence Hall, was built. on the Green. , ( photo captions ) , , images above: The Town Hall around 1860, after its role as the county courthouse ended. A general store and post office run by the Hobart family can be seen on the far left. , , In 1870 the "Town House," as it was then called, was transformed with the addition of a Mansard roof. projecting dormer windows, and other classical details. , , A vintage postcard from about 1940 shows Town Hall's new look, shortly after its Colonial Revival renovation for the town's 300th anniversary.