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North Branford, Connecticut: The Shredded Coconut Capital That Almost Was

North Branford, Connecticut

Pictures from North Branford

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North Branford Center Historic District Edward Smith Library, Northford North Branford Town Hall

North Branford separated from Branford and was incorporated as its own town in 1831, emerging as an early mill and farming community. The area was originally known as Totoket, after the Algonkian-speaking people who lived here; the English later renamed the coastal settlement Branford, and Totoket survives locally in Totoket Mountain, Totoket Road and the Totoket Historical Society. Industry began with buttons: Maltby Fowler opened a button-making shop in 1830, and his six sons devised machines to produce screws, embossed silk, pins and horseshoe nails. In the 1870s, E. Chapman Maltby began shredding coconut meat previously discarded from his button-and-spoon factory; a patented paring machine won first prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, briefly making Northford a contender for "shredded coconut capital of the world."

  1. A 230-acre village core with buildings mostly predating the Civil War.

  2. A fourth-generation family garden center, flagship store.

  3. A multi-field sports complex with a Family Fun Center.

  4. A restored 1700s mill, now a steakhouse and tavern.

  5. A Cappetta family pizzeria since 1969.

  6. A Japanese sushi bar and Mexican food hybrid.

Trap rock, a reservoir and a historic village

By the early 1900s trap rock quarrying dominated the local economy, supplying crushed stone for roadbuilding; the Branford Steam Railroad moved quarried product to shoreline barges. Lake Gaillard, the reservoir on Totoket Mountain formed in 1926, is managed by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, which is said to own roughly one-third of the town's total area — the reason so much of North Branford remains undeveloped watershed land. The Northford Center Historic District, a 230-acre village core along Middletown Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2002; most of its buildings predate the Civil War, and the Northford Congregational Church is a Gothic Revival design by New Haven architect Henry Austin.

Getting there

North Branford has no interstate and no train station of its own. Drivers come in on Route 80 (Foxon Road), which begins at the I-91/Route 17 junction in New Haven and runs east through North Branford toward Guilford, or via Route 22 and Route 17 through the Northford village center — Route 22 runs from Hamden through North Haven and Northford, overlapping Route 80 for 1.5 miles before continuing to US 1 in Guilford. The nearest passenger rail is Shore Line East at Branford or Guilford, connecting to Metro-North's New Haven Line at New Haven Union Station.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to North Branford?
By car on Route 80 (Foxon Road) from New Haven, or Route 22/Route 17 through Northford. North Branford has no train station; the nearest are Shore Line East's Branford and Guilford stations.
Is North Branford the same as Branford?
No — North Branford separated from Branford and incorporated as its own town in 1831. They remain neighboring but distinct towns.
What is the Northford Center Historic District?
A 230-acre village core along Middletown Avenue, listed on the National Register in 2002, with buildings mostly predating the Civil War and the Gothic Revival Northford Congregational Church, designed by Henry Austin.
Is there a hotel in North Branford?
No lodging could be located within the town; travelers typically stay in New Haven, Branford or Guilford. The Study at Yale, a 124-room boutique hotel in New Haven, is the nearest confirmed option.

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