Roger Ludlow purchased the areas east of the Norwalk River from Chief Mahackemo of the Norwaake (or Naramauke) Indians in 1640.

[7] The Battle of Norwalk took place during the Revolutionary War,[8] and led to the burning of most of the town.

[13] The Ku Klux Klan had a brief presence in Norwalk during the 1920s, but quickly fell apart due to internal issues.

[14] In 1955, multiple hurricanes hit the city, causing flooding in Norwalk Harbor.

[33][34] Booking Holdings, Datto, FactSet, Pepperidge Farm, Priceline.com, Terex, Ventus, and Xerox have headquarters in Norwalk.

[53] The First, Second, Third, and Sixth taxing districts are political entities with their respective voters electing officers, holding annual business meetings, approving budgets, and considering other matters, as specified in each of their charters.

The Fourth and Fifth districts are not counted as separate governments, as they constitute the city proper.

Secondly, municipal elections of mayor, common council, board of education, and other positions are also held in odd-numbered years at 13 polling places within five voting districts around the city.

Voting districts are not the same for state and federal elections, which are held on even-numbered years at 12 polling locations.

[62] Baseball and softball are popular amateur sports with active leagues across many age groups in Norwalk.

Several of the fields, including Calf Pasture Beach, are illuminated for nighttime play.

Being a coastal city, Norwalk is home to a great many water sports, including competitive swimming, recreational boating and fishing, sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking.

[71] The Hour was an independent daily newspaper based in Norwalk and founded in 1871, which was purchased by Hearst Communications on April 12, 2016.

[72] NancyonNorwalk.com is a self-published, nonprofit news site founded in 2010 that covers local issues.

The train goes west and east, with Grand Central Terminal and New Haven Union Station being the final stops.

[77] Norwalk is within reasonable distance of 11 airports - four general aviation, two regional, and five international.

Electric power and natural gas in most of Norwalk are provided by Eversource Energy.

Both the second (SNEW) and third (TTD) district electric departments belong to the six member Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative which pools their wholesale power purchasing to obtain lower rates for their customers.

The service consists of hospital-based paramedics and EMT-Is who serve Norwalk as well as New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, and Westport.