Roxbury

About Roxbury

Tucked into the rolling hills of Litchfield County, Roxbury is one of Connecticut's most quietly captivating small towns — a place where stone walls thread through hardwood forests and time seems to move at a gentler pace. With deep roots, a fiercely preserved rural character, and a surprising connection to some of America's most iconic landmarks, this little town of just over 2,000 rewards those who seek it out.

What to Know

• The granite quarried at Mine Hill helped build two of New York City's most iconic structures: the Brooklyn Bridge and [Grand Central Terminal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand Central_Terminal)
• Roxbury has three sites on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Roxbury Center historic district and the Roxbury Iron Mine and Furnace Complex
• The town's Native name was Shepaug — a Mahican word meaning "rocky water" — a nod to the landscape that still defines it today
• The charming village of Roxbury Center features 32 buildings within a designated local historic district, making it one of the best-preserved town centers in the region
• Roxbury has long been a quiet retreat for writers and artists drawn to its beauty and seclusion

History

Roxbury was settled around 1713 as a parish of Woodbury and incorporated as its own town in October 1796, about a decade after the American Revolution. By the mid-1700s, Mine Hill was already yielding silver and spathic iron well-suited for steelmaking, and a blast furnace was built to process the ore — launching an industrial chapter that would literally shape New York City's skyline.

Community & Living

Roxbury attracts people who want the real Connecticut countryside — unpaved roads, historic farmsteads, and a town meeting form of government that keeps neighbors genuinely connected. It's the kind of place where residents show up for each other and fiercely protect the land and character that make it worth living in.