Mill Hill Historic Park

The Battle of Norwalk (also known as the Battle of West Rocks or Battle of the Rocks) was a series of skirmishes between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The attack was one part of a series of raids on coastal Connecticut towns collectively known as Tryon's raid. The battle was fought in Norwalk, Connecticut on July 11, 1779. 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot of Great Britain commanded by Major General William Tryon arrived on July 10, 1779. They marched in a two pronged attack on both sides of the Norwalk River. They followed a path along what is today East and West Avenues burning everything along the way. Only six houses within the business district at Head of River were spared.On July 9, 1779 Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, of the Continental Army, was in Redding, Connecticut where he had been sent by Commander-in Chief George Washington to assess the situation and take charge of the militia in case of further raids, as Washington and General Oliver Wolcott felt that Norwalk would be the next target of the British. Parsons also urgently appealed to Brigadier General John Glover of the Continental Army to bring his brigade to Norwalk from where he was camped in New London, Connecticut. On July 10 at 2:00pm the British fleet, including the flagship HMS Camilla and HMS Hussar, left Huntington Bay, New York and crossed Long Island Sound to Norwalk. Around 5:00pm the fleet anchored outside the Norwalk Islands and troops began rowing ashore. At about the same time, Hussar entered the Norwalk River to cover the landing of troops and destroy whatever shipping was to be found. "To follow the course of the enemy through the town on that day of terror one should start at Fitch's Point, where the troops landed on the evening before and en-camped for the night. The place has been marked with a metal tablet mounted on a wayside stone by the Norwalk Chapter D. A. R." These troops included the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot, the Landgraf Regiment, and the Jaegers, made up of Hessian mercenary volunteers. Fanning's Regiment of Loyalists landed at 3:00am. The soldiers rested on their arms and just before dawn began their march to the center of town. They met virtually no resistance from the local militia in this area until they reached Grumman Hill, where fifty Continental troops and a few militiamen, all under the command of Captain Stephen Betts, attempted to halt Tryon's advance. After a brief skirmish the British took the hill and sent the colonists fleeing. General Thomas Garth, who landed his troops, two flanks of Guards and two fusilier regiments, in Old Well around 7 AM, meantime began to march ashore to join with Tryon's forces. At Flax Hill they met with strong resistance from Nathaniel Raymond and fourteen other irregulars from the town of Old Well (South Norwalk). General Garth lost a light cannon to the "rebels" before marching along the river by West Avenue, being constantly harassed by Norwalk militia, irregulars, and citizens above them on the bluffs, The British crossed the Norwalk River at the location of today's Wall Street while the colonists crossed about a quarter mile upstream at Cross Street, making their way over Sticky Plain to "the Rocks" where the stronghold of the rest of the militia and Betts' Continentals was located. The two British columns converged at the Mill Hill area by the town green (41.1174°N 73.4095°W / 41.1174; -73.4095) then proceeded north to the area then known as "the Rocks" where they met heavy resistance from the Norwalk militia and Continental troops.General Tryon began burning houses (in East Norwalk) which local militia had used as cover to pick off his soldiers. General Garth also burned along West Avenue for the same reason. A total of eighty houses, two churches, eighty-seven barns, seventeen shops, and four mills were burned by the British. Losses were later estimated to amount to over 26 thousand British pounds. General Tryon had commanded his raid on the Connecticut coast in the preceding days, attacking New Haven, Connecticut and Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of Fairfield and Norwalk were destroyed. Tryon's raid was intended to draw colonial forces away from the defense of the Hudson Valley. In spite of pressure from Governor Trumbull, George Washington did not move his troops. Norwalk was heavily damaged. George Washington described it as having been “destroyed” in his report to the Continental Congress after the battle.

The Norwalk Green Historic District is a historic district in the Central Norwalk section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The district is centered on the Norwalk Green, a common area until 1851 that is now a park owned by Norwalk's First Taxing District. It includes St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the First Congregational Church, both of which face the green. The district contains 54 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites (the Green, Mill Hill Historic Park, and St. Paul's Place), and 1 other contributing object (World War I memorial on the Green), most of which were designed in the 18th and 19th centuries.: 11  The district is irregular in shape, drawn to include historic properties in the vicinity of the Norwalk Green, but to exclude non-historic properties.: 17 The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The Central or Midtown section of Norwalk, Connecticut is an urbanized area in roughly the geographic center of the city, north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike. Wall Street, West Avenue and Belden Avenue are the main thoroughfares. It has also been called "Norwalk Center" or "Downtown Norwalk". Central Norwalk is the location of a state courthouse, the Norwalk post office, the Norwalk YMCA, Norwalk Library and the River View Mall. On the north side of the intersection of West Avenue and Interstate 95, Mathews Park is the location of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, The Center for Contemporary Printmaking, the building which formerly housed the Norwalk police headquarters and Pine Island Cemetery. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, a Gothic revival building with a very tall steeple, is a local landmark. The neighborhood has seen many new developments in recent years and local officials are considering reopening the Wall Street train station on the Danbury Line. In the summer of 2006, local merchants began the Main and Wall Street Festival with the involvement of 15 businesses, and they expanded the festival with 70 businesses involved in the second year (when it was held on August 2, 2007). At the 2007 festival, developers showed off their plans for the neighborhood.

The Wall Street Historic District in Norwalk, Connecticut is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The area encompasses the commercial and civic center of the Central Norwalk neighborhood, and includes 42 buildings, most of which are on the south side of Wall Street. Among the buildings included is an 1860 Gothic Revival church at the corner of Wall and Mott Streets.

Wall Street station was a station on the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad (later the Danbury Branch of the Housatonic Railroad and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad) located in Norwalk, Connecticut. It opened in 1852 and closed around 1956. A new station at the site has been considered.

St. Philip is a Roman Catholic church in Norwalk, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

St. Mary is a Roman Catholic church in Norwalk, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport. As the first Catholic Church in Norwalk from which three other parishes developed, St. Mary's is considered the Mother Church of Norwalk.

The Yankee Doodle Bridge carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the Norwalk River in Norwalk in the U.S. state of Connecticut.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children is a hands-on children's museum for ages 10 and under located at 303 West Avenue, in the Central section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The museum's interactive exhibit areas include: "Energy Lab"; a "Multimedia Gallery" with a theater, a broadcast studio, and a 35-foot (11 m)-by-12-foot (3.7 m)-foot high-definition screen; Exhibits include "Healthyville", about bodies and healthy living; "Tot Town", an exploration area just for toddlers; "Family and Teacher Resource Center" where parents, caregivers and teachers have access to information and programs about learning through play, early literacy, 21st century learning skills and the developmental needs of young children, helping them to facilitate a child's learning – at home or at school. The entrance lobby houses ColorCoaster, a 27-foot (8.2 m) kinetic sculpture designed by artist George Rhoads. The garden features three Kinetic Energy Sculptures designed by Beinfield Architecture, which use local solar, wind and water energy. This colorful set of kinetic sculptures demonstrate simple principles of energy generation while creating percussive music. In 2011 the museum received LEED Gold Certification. Recognized by the Governor of Connecticut as one of the first projects in the state to achieve LEED Gold status. The design employs a range of solutions, from energy efficiency and use of alternative energy sources, to ensuring healthy indoor air quality and water conservation. Each element was harnessed to enhance the educational mission of the museum. The museum is located in Mathews Park, adjacent to the Lockwood–Mathews Mansion, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, a gallery and studio for printmaking, and Devon's Place, a playground designed for all children to play together, including those with physical, sensory and mental challenges.

The Lockwood–Mathews Mansion is a Second Empire style country house in Norwalk, Connecticut. Now a museum, it was built in 1864-68 for railroad and banking magnate LeGrand Lockwood. The 62-room 44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.It has been described as "one of the earliest and finest surviving Second Empire style country houses ever built in the United States." It sits at 295 West Ave., in Mathews Park, where the Stepping Stones Museum for Children is also located.

Pine Island Cemetery (formerly Over River Burying Ground) is a historical cemetery in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the second oldest cemetery in Norwalk. The cemetery is located behind Lockwood–Mathews Mansion on Crescent Street. The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism added the cemetery to the state Register of Historic Places in May 2010.On December 16, 1708 the town council granted this piece of land for a burying place. John Benedict, Zerubabell Hoyt and Thomas Betts were appointed to select the location.

A statue of Christopher Columbus was installed in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States.