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New Fairfield, Connecticut: Squantz Pond on Candlewood's Shore

New Fairfield, Connecticut

Pictures from New Fairfield

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New Fairfield Town Hall Squantz Pond, early morning Squantz Pond and Candlewood Lake overlook

Colonial settlers from Fairfield won approval in 1724 to establish a township, and in 1729 purchased a roughly 31,000-acre tract — today's New Fairfield and Sherman — for the equivalent of about $300; New Fairfield was incorporated in 1740. Its heavily wooded "Big Basin" section supported a modest timber industry into the 1920s, when Connecticut Light & Power flooded the area to create Candlewood Lake, the state's largest lake and the first large-scale pumped-storage hydroelectric project in the United States: board approval came July 15, 1926, and the lake was filled by September 29, 1928. Typographer Bruce Rogers, designer of the 1936 Oxford Lectern Bible, settled in New Fairfield. The surviving West Centre School, built by 1852, is preserved today as the Little Red Schoolhouse.

  1. A swimming beach and boat launch on Squantz Pond.

  2. 825 acres, open year-round.

  3. A living-history one-room schoolhouse.

  4. Connecticut's largest lake.

  5. Italian and seafood since more than 15 years ago.

  6. A curated wine bar.

  7. New York-style deli sandwiches.

A lake built for power, not for swimming

Candlewood Lake was engineered as a pumped-storage facility, not a recreational amenity — water was pumped up from the Housatonic River and released through turbines to generate power on demand. Filling it flooded about 5,420 acres across New Fairfield and four other towns, including the small community of Jerusalem, and required roughly 100 buildings to be moved or demolished; the finished lake runs about 16 miles long and 3.2 miles wide. New Fairfield's own economy had rested on farming and small enterprises before the lake reshaped the town into a summer and lake retreat.

Getting there

New Fairfield has no train station of its own. Route 37 is the main road through the town center, and Route 39 runs north from Danbury along the Candlewood Lake side of town, past Squantz Pond; both connect to I-84 at Danbury to the south. The nearest rail options are Metro-North's Danbury station, terminus of the Danbury Branch, and Southeast station on the Harlem Line in Brewster, New York, which HART links to New Fairfield with a weekday commuter shuttle from the Ball Pond and Company A firehouse park-and-ride lots.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to New Fairfield?
By car on Route 37 or Route 39, both connecting to I-84 at Danbury. There is no train station in town; the closest is Danbury, terminus of the Metro-North Danbury Branch.
Is there a bus to New Fairfield?
HART runs a weekday commuter shuttle between New Fairfield and Southeast station on the Metro-North Harlem Line in Brewster, New York, from two local park-and-ride lots.
Can I swim in Candlewood Lake from New Fairfield?
Squantz Pond State Park has its own beach and boat launch onto Squantz Pond, adjoining Candlewood Lake — not a direct Candlewood launch. No dogs are allowed April 15-September 30.
Is there a hotel in New Fairfield?
No hotel, motel or inn could be verified in New Fairfield; the nearest confirmed option is the Ethan Allen Hotel in Danbury.

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