In the first week of August in 1949 — almost exactly 75 years ago — Life magazine put us on its cover.
The most popular publication in America — read by tens of millions — headlined the story “Fairfield County: Country Home of Smart New Yorkers.”
The 10-page spread — nestled among stories on the return of the last World War II prisoners, a feature on circus impresario John Ringling North, and editorials on “schools, steel and statism” — began:
Between the sailboat-dotted waters of Long Island Sound and the woodsy border of New York State, in the corner of Connecticut that juts down toward Manhattan Island, lies Fairfield County.
Its scalloped shore lie gives it hundreds of miles of valuable waterfront property, while the rolling country inland offers countless sites for a home with a view and even room to farm.
For all its rural atmosphere it is swiftly reached from New York City by the electrified New Haven Railroad and the high-speed Merritt Parkway.
Life’s caption reads: “Tea on the lawn replaces cocktails for the family of H.S. Richardson (center), who is chairman of the executive committee of Vick Chemical Co. The Richardsons’ “Mount Vernon type” house is on the so-called “Gold Coast” of Greens Farms … This area along the shore of the Sound is the home of the county’s very conservative ‘Proper New Yorkers.'”
One-tenth of the county’s population, Life said, “is supported by well-paid jobs in Ne York …. Thousands of successful New Yorkers, attracted by the rolling hills, the leisurely life and other New Yorkers, have flocked to towns like Greenwich, Darien, Westport, and Redding.”
They “sail their boats, ride their horses, drive around in their station wagons and lead a luxurious life.”
Of course, Life noted, “their existence is not utopian. The commuter’s day revolves around the 7:43 to New York in the morning and the 5:16 out at night.
“But for the New Yorkers who can, or think they can, afford a country home, Fairfield County is probably the best — and the newly fashionable — place to have it.”
Life said: “The Railroad Club Car is an exclusive, air-conditioned arrangement for wealthy commuters who prefer not to ride in coaches. This one … costs a member $140 a year besides the regular commutation fare.”
Two pages were devoted specifically to Westport.
Titled “Its ‘idea people’ live around Westport,” the story said:
Among the first New York “discoverers” of Fairfield County were artists and authors who moved there shortly after the turn of the century because their commuting schedule was not so rigorous as that of the businessman. They also liked its atmosphere of old New England.
Today Fairfield County as almost as many ‘idea people’ as it has people of wealth. Many of the authors, artists and actors live around the town of Westport, a onetime colonial shipping center just west of the town of Fairfield.
There are probably more professional artists within a 25-mile radius of Westport than in any comparable spot in the U.S.
The Westport Artists Club, which was formed only four years ago, already has 148 members.
Life noted: “Country Playhouse in Westport gives better than average plays, including tryouts of Broadway-bound shows. Here Eddie Dowling (in bow tie) and Meg Mundy (behind Dowling) rehearse a popular old one, ‘The Time of Your Life.'”
The Westport section included these photos:
Westport artist Stevan Dohanos (left), who illustrated many Saturday Evening Post covers, paints an Easton church.
StevThe caption reads: “Eva Le Gallienne takes a nap on the lawn of her Westport home. She lives in a farmhouse, has 15 acres of land where she keeps chicks and cairn terriers. She has lived there 22 years, calls it a ‘retreat from theater people.’ This summer she made a one-week appearance in the Westport Playhouse.”
These photos show (left) Metropolitan Opera conductor Fritz Reiner, and James and Laura Fraser, sculpting outside their studio. “He designed the buffalo nickel,” Life’s caption notes.
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