[1] Putnam, originally known as Aspinock, then part of Killingly, is a New England mill town incorporated in 1855.

Created from sections of Killingly, Pomfret, and Thompson, the town was named in honor of Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam.

On August 19, 1955, Putnam was devastated by floods from torrential downpours caused by two hurricanes, which hit Connecticut within the span of a week.

Hurricane Connie affected Connecticut on August 13, dropping between four and six inches (152 mm) of rain across the state.

Toward the end of the twentieth century, the town took advantage of the empty mills and underutilized downtown commercial buildings to develop a large antique center.

Beginning in the early 2000s, many of the antique stores begun to close and were replaced by restaurants, small shops, and a vibrant arts community.

Putnam was also the unlikely base of operations for the All-Russian Fascist Organization, a pre-war Russian emigre group that advocated fascism for the country under Anastasy Vonsiatsky.

Aligning Main Street, which runs through the center of Downtown, there are over seven arts-related businesses in just one block of the town.

In 2010, a small group of local business owners started First Friday Putnam, a monthly arts-based event running from March to October.

In 1914, the playhouse suffered a series of fires, and upon remodeling changed the interior to better showcase movies, as they were of increased popularity at the time.