East Litchfield Village, Connecticut

Over 3,000 years ago Native Americans found East Litchfield to be a hunting ground rich with wild game.

Ice was harvested from the Naugatuck River and stored in an icehouse built by the railroad company.

After the establishment of the depot, East Litchfield had a hotel and restaurant (Scovill House), a post office, blacksmith shop, harness shop, livery service to Litchfield center, Ferncliff Farm with a store and cheese factory, Mrs. Mark's variety store across from the depot, a chapel, one-room schoolhouse, icehouses, a baseball field, lumber mill, grist mill, cider mill and a paper factory.

All of the above-mentioned business establishments disappeared after the depot closed; the chapel is still there and just a few of the original village homes remain.

The Naugatuck Railroad ran from Bridgeport to Winsted and in 1849 established a depot in East Litchfield .

In 1849 the Naugatuck Valley Railroad extended their rails to Winsted, Connecticut. A depot was built in East Litchfield. Passengers could ride all the way to New York City without changing trains.
This photograph from the late 1800s shows the village of East Litchfield with Harwinton in the background.
The East Litchfield Chapel was built by local residents in 1868. It still stands today.
Illustration of the East Litchfield village circa 1880. There are no known photos in existence showing the depot from this perspective. This illustration was created by East Litchfield resident and artist Jesse Richard by referencing several old photos of the area.
1900. There was a grist mill and a cider mill on Spruce Brook. In this image the bridge is on East Litchfield Road.