# Rowayton, Connecticut

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This article is about a village in Connecticut. For the railway station in the village, see [Rowayton (Metro-North station)](/source/Rowayton_(Metro-North_station)).

**Rowayton** is a coastal neighborhood in the city of [Norwalk, Connecticut](/source/Norwalk,_Connecticut), roughly 40 miles (64 km) from [New York City](/source/New_York_City). The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Association, the Historical Society, the Rowayton Library, a Gardeners Club, and a Parents Exchange. Rowayton annually plays host to a [Shakespearean](/source/Shakespeare) production at Pinkney Park, produced by Shakespeare on the Sound,[1] and also has an active community of artists, many of whom are associated with the Rowayton Arts Center.

The [Rowayton station](/source/Rowayton_(Metro-North_station)) on the New Haven line of the [Metro-North Railroad](/source/Metro-North_Railroad) is located within the community, as is an elementary school, a public beach for residents and the Rowayton Public Library.

## Coastline

The Rowayton coastline has been a source of inspiration for centuries. [John Frederick Kensett](/source/John_Frederick_Kensett), a famous 19th century landscape painter of the Hudson School, frequently painted this seascape in his later life.[2] This tradition has been carried on in an active local arts scene.

Rowayton is home to a number of private and semi-private beaches, three of which—The Roton Point Association, Bayley Beach, and a coastal outpost of Wee Burn Country Club—share a common history. In the early 20th century, the properties of all three made up the Roton Point Amusement Park.[3] A boat landing attached to Sunset Rock, just to the West of Belle Island, allowed steam boats to bring day-trippers from New York City to the park. A trolley ran from both Darien and Norwalk, arriving at the Park via Highland Avenue and over present-day Langdon Preserve, located across from Farm Creek.[4] At the amusement park, amenities included a bath house, a picnic grove, and rides ranging from the classic carousel to roller coasters with views of the beach.

## "Rock Ledge" estate

The former *Rock Ledge* estate at 33 and 40-42 Highland Avenue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1910, James A. Farrell, later president of the [United States Steel](/source/United_States_Steel) Corporation, built a [Tudor Revival](/source/Tudor_Revival) mansion, which burned down in 1913 and was rebuilt in granite. The estate was later bought by the [Remington Rand](/source/Remington_Rand) Corporation, developers of the [UNIVAC](/source/UNIVAC) computer, of which General [Douglas MacArthur](/source/Douglas_MacArthur) was Chairman of the Board in the 1950s, and which merged with [Sperry Corporation](/source/Sperry_Corporation) to form Sperry Rand.[5] Since 1966, the Farrell family stables have been converted to the Rowayton Community Center and the Rowayton Library.[6] In 1964, the main part of the estate was purchased by the Thomas School for girls, a day and boarding school founded by Mabel Thomas in 1922.[7][8] The school eventually merged with another private school in [Stamford, Connecticut](/source/Stamford,_Connecticut), later becoming coeducational [King Low Heywood Thomas](/source/King_Low_Heywood_Thomas). The mansion and attached office building were subsequently owned by [Hewitt Associates](/source/Hewitt_Associates). Currently, the main house of the estate is the headquarters of [Graham Capital Management, L.P.](/source/Graham_Capital_Management)

## Notable people

See also: [List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut](/source/List_of_people_from_Norwalk,_Connecticut)

- [George Abbott](/source/George_Abbott) — Broadway and Hollywood producer/director/writer
- [Jerome Beatty Jr.](/source/Jerome_Beatty_Jr.) — author for the *Saturday Review*, *Colliers*, and *Esquire*
- [David Bergamini](/source/David_Bergamini) — author of *Japan's Imperial Conspiracy* and Time-Life Books
- [Richard Bissell](/source/Richard_Pike_Bissell) — novelist, some of whose works were adapted to be Broadway musicals
- [Kay Boyle](/source/Kay_Boyle) — novelist and short story author, taught at Thomas School on Bluff Avenue
- [Philip Caputo](/source/Philip_Caputo) — author, *[A Rumor of War](/source/A_Rumor_of_War_(book))*
- [Brian Cashman](/source/Brian_Cashman) — general manager of the [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees)
- [Ward Chamberlin](/source/Ward_Chamberlin) — PBS executive
- [Leslie Charleson](/source/Leslie_Charleson) — TV actress
- [Kathryn Hays](/source/Kathryn_Hays) — TV actress
- [Helen Oakley Dance](/source/Helen_Oakley_Dance) — writer and record producer
- [Stanley Dance](/source/Stanley_Dance) — writer and record producer, biographer of Duke Ellington
- [Jimmy Ernst](/source/Jimmy_Ernst) — artist and teacher
- [Ian Falconer](/source/Ian_Falconer) — children's book author, illustrator, and set/costume designer
- [Jim Flora](/source/Jim_Flora) — commercial illustrator
- [Meg Foster](/source/Meg_Foster) — actress
- [Joseph Franckenstein](/source/Joseph_Freiherr_von_Franckenstein) — diplomat and teacher
- [Robert Griffith](/source/Robert_E._Griffith) — producer of Broadway shows
- [Crockett Johnson](/source/Crockett_Johnson) — cartoonist and creator of children's books, *[Harold and the Purple Crayon](/source/Harold_and_the_Purple_Crayon)*
- [John Frederick Kensett](/source/John_Frederick_Kensett) — nineteenth-century artist
- [Ruth Krauss](/source/Ruth_Krauss) — author of children's books
- [Emily Levine](/source/Emily_Levine) — humorist
- [Albert Markov](/source/Albert_Markov) — violinist and composer
- [Horace McMahon](/source/Horace_McMahon) — actor and little league umpire
- [Betsy Palmer](/source/Betsy_Palmer) — actress
- [Gabor Peterdi](/source/Gabor_Peterdi) — artist
- [Andy Rooney](/source/Andy_Rooney) — author, humorist, television commentator
- [Emily Rooney](/source/Emily_Rooney) — TV producer, journalist, and host
- [Billy Rose](/source/Billy_Rose) — Ziegfeld impresario and theatrical showman, married to Fanny Brice
- [Stefan Schnabel](/source/Stefan_Schnabel) — Broadway, film and television actor
- [Fred Schwed](/source/Fred_Schwed) — humorist
- [Treat Williams](/source/Treat_Williams) — film actor

## References

1. ["Performing Arts | Shakespeare on the Sound | United States"](https://www.shakespeareonthesound.org/). *ShakesOnTheSound*. Retrieved 2022-10-07.

1. ["John Frederick Kensett: The Old Pine, Darien, Connecticut (74.38) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110114113125/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/74.38). Archived from [the original](http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/74.38) on 2011-01-14.

1. ["Bayley Beach"](http://www.rowaytonct.com/bayleybeach.html). *rowaytonct.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120205072000/http://www.rowaytonct.com/bayleybeach.html) February 5, 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["The Campaign for Farm Creek Preserve"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101121074049/http://conservationfund.org/sites/default/files/CampaignFarmCreekBrochureRev.pdf). *The Conservation Fund*. Archived from [the original](http://www.conservationfund.org/sites/default/files/CampaignFarmCreekBrochureRev.pdf) on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-10-25.

1. Arthur L. Norberg, *Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946–1957* (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005).

1. Radomsky, Rosalie R. (1993-07-04). ["If You're Thinking of Living in: Rowayton"](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-rowayton.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2022-10-07.

1. ["Birthplace of the First Business Computer"](http://www.rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org/Birthplace.html). *Rowayton Historical Society*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120207064659/http://www.rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org/Birthplace.html) February 7, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 1, 2012.

1. ["History"](http://www.klht.org/podium/default.aspx?t=2124). *klht.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20111130040936/http://www.klht.org/podium/default.aspx?t=2124) November 30, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 1, 2012.

## External links

- [Civic Association](http://www.rowaytonct.com/)
- [Historical Society](http://www.rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org/)
- [Rowayton Library](http://www.rowayton.org/)
- [Rowayton Arts Center](http://www.rowaytonartscenter.org/)
- [Shakespeare on the Sound](http://www.shakespeareonthesound.org/)
- [Rowayton School](https://web.archive.org/web/20080908024243/http://www.rowaytonschool.com/)
- [Sale of 40 Highland Avenue a.k.a. "Rock Ledge Estate"](http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Historic-Property-in-Rowayton-Purchased/50391/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rowayton, Connecticut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowayton%2C_Connecticut) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowayton%2C_Connecticut?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.