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Newtown, Connecticut: Scrabble, a Flagpole and a Cultural District

Newtown, Connecticut

Pictures from Newtown

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Main Street, Newtown Edmond Town Hall Former Fairfield Hills Hospital main building

English colonists purchased the townsite, then known as Quanneapague, from the Pohtatuck Indians in 1705, and Newtown, settled from Stratford, was incorporated in 1711; a 1709 town plan laid out a 132-foot-wide Main Street with four-acre home lots, which is why Main Street is still unusually broad today. Newtown was a stronghold of Tory sentiment during the Revolution, and French troops under General Rochambeau camped in town in 1781 on the march to Yorktown. James Brunot bought the manufacturing rights to Scrabble in 1948 and refined and renamed the game in the Dodgingtown section of town. Fairfield Hills, a state psychiatric hospital, operated from 1933 to 1995; Newtown bought the campus in 2004, and it now holds the town's municipal offices, walking trails and NewSylum Brewing. On August 10, 2026, Newtown became Connecticut's 17th state Cultural District, with Main Street, Fairfield Hills and Sandy Hook subdistricts.

  1. A 1930 building with a 500-seat theater and drive-in movies.

  2. An 18th-century house museum, open for events.

  3. A hands-on STEAM museum.

  4. A memorial to the 26 victims of 2012.

  5. Newtown's landmark 1932 library.

  6. The town-owned former state hospital grounds.

  7. A 24-hour roadside diner off I-84.

  8. A brewery in the restored Stratford Hall.

  9. Craft brewery with rotating drafts.

  10. A Main Street fixture since 1847.

  11. Elevated New American dining.

A broad Main Street and a psychiatric hospital's second act

Newtown's landmark flagpole, first erected in 1876, still stands in the middle of Main Street. The Cyrenius H. Booth Library opened December 17, 1932, designed by architect Philip Sutherland, who also designed Edmond Town Hall. Fairfield Hills Hospital opened June 1, 1933 and closed December 8, 1995; the town bought the 1930s campus from the state in 2004, and the Newtown Municipal Center opened there in the former Bridgeport Hall in 2009. NewSylum Brewing Company, its name a play on the site's former life, opened in the restored Stratford Hall building in June 2020. Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial, a five-acre site honoring the 26 victims of the December 14, 2012 shooting, opened to the public in November 2022.

Getting there

Newtown sits on Interstate 84, with an exit for Route 25 toward Brookfield and another for Route 6 serving Newtown borough and Sandy Hook; Route 34 heads toward Derby and the lower Housatonic valley. There is no passenger rail station in Newtown. Rail travelers use the Metro-North Danbury Branch, with Bethel and Danbury (the branch's northern terminus) the closest stations; many weekday trains continue through to Stamford and New York City without a change at South Norwalk. Shore Line East, Amtrak and the CTrail Hartford Line do not serve Newtown.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Newtown?
By car on I-84, with exits for Route 25 and US Route 6. There is no train station in Newtown; the nearest are Bethel and Danbury on the Metro-North Danbury Branch.
What is Newtown's Cultural District?
Connecticut's 17th, designated August 10, 2026, spanning three subdistricts: Main Street (the flagpole, Edmond Town Hall, Matthew Curtiss House), Fairfield Hills (EverWonder Children's Museum) and Sandy Hook (public art, restaurants and shops).
Where was Scrabble invented?
Alfred Butts invented the original game in New York, but James Brunot bought the rights, renamed it Scrabble, simplified the rules and first manufactured it starting in 1948-49 in the Dodgingtown section of Newtown.
Can I visit the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial?
Yes — it has been open to the public since its November 2022 dedication. Treat it as a place of quiet remembrance.
Is there a hotel in Newtown?
No lodging inside Newtown could be verified. The nearest option is the Hampton Inn in Danbury, about 10 miles away on I-84.

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