At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present-day Redding, Native American trails crossed through portions of the area, including the Berkshire Path running north–south.

[6] There are varying accounts as to the first colonial landholder in the Redding area; multiple citations suggest a Fairfield man named Richard Osborn obtained land there in 1671, while differing on how many acres he secured.

Probably more accurately, however, town history attributes the name to John Read,[8] an early major landholder who was a prominent lawyer in Boston as well as a former Congregationalist preacher who converted to Anglicanism.

[5] Getting word of the depot, the British dispatched a force of some 2,000 soldiers to destroy the stores, landing April 26 at present-day Westport and undertaking a 23-mile march north.

The column halted on Redding Ridge for a two-hour respite, with many residents having fled to a wooded, rocky area dubbed the Devil's Den.

The Redding encampment allowed Putnam's soldiers to guard the replenished supply depot in Danbury and support any operations along Long Island Sound and the Hudson River Valley.

Soldiers at the Redding camp endured supply shortages, cold temperatures and significant snow, with some historians dubbing the encampment "Connecticut's Valley Forge.

Fillow began extracting mica in the Branchville section of Redding, two Yale University mineralogists noted the presence of previously undiscovered minerals lodged in pegmatite there and furnished funds to expand the operation.

[19] In 1834, Gilbert & Bennett Co. purchased the site of a former comb mill alongside the Norwalk River in the Georgetown section of Redding, and began producing wire mesh cloth for varying uses, in time to include sieves and window screens.

[20] In a 1987 nomination document for the National Register of Historic Places, proponents cited Gilbert & Bennett as an "anachronism" in the history of U.S. industry and labor.

The predictable ethnic neighborhoods did exist in Georgetown, outside the district for the most part, but their employees were apparently encouraged to occupy, or build houses next to the mansions of the managers and officers.

"[21] In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated the factory pond and surrounding land a federal Superfund site to spur the remediation of pollution there.

[28] Most other disasters were the result of severe weather events including Hurricane Sandy with tropical storm-force winds when it reached Connecticut October 29, 2012, toppling trees throughout the town and cutting power to 98 percent of homes and businesses.

[29] Sandy was the third storm to cause extensive electrical outages and property damage in Redding and Connecticut within the space of just over 14 months, along with Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and the so-called "Halloween nor'easter" in late October that year.

The nor'easter dropped extensive snow onto trees that still had foliage, resulting in an increased number of snapped branches and trunks that damaged property and power lines, with some areas not seeing electricity restored for 11 days.

[33] The flood of 1955 resulted in a dam failing at the Gilbert and Bennett factory and the inundation of the Georgetown neighborhood, amid other damage to property and infrastructure.

[34] A 1938 hurricane known as "the Long Island Express" destroyed crops in Redding,[35] but western Connecticut was spared the brunt of the storm that was the most destructive in New England recorded history.

[41] Redding's topography is dominated by three ridges, running north to south, with intervening valleys featuring steep slopes and rocky ledges in some sections.

[52] Secrets of Redding Glen, a children's book written and illustrated by Jo Polseno, chronicles the natural cycle of wildlife along a section of the Saugatuck River.

[53] Multiple works by the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington are on display in Redding, including "Mother Bear and Cubs" and "Sculpture of Wolves" at the entrance to Collis P. Huntington State Park; "General Israel Putnam" at the entrance to Putnam Memorial State Park; "Fighting Stallions" at Redding Elementary School; "A Tribute to the Workhorse" at John Read Middle School; and a smaller version of "The Torch Bearers" at the Mark Twain Library, the original on display in Madrid, Spain.

[61] Redding Ridge artist Dennis Luzak designed a block of commemorative stamps titled "International Youth Year" and issued October 7, 1985, by the U.S.

The composition is renowned for Ives attempt to produce an auditory experience akin to that experienced by a child at a parade, borrowing elements of several patriotic songs including "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and employing orchestral techniques to approximate the parade experience, for instance the sound of a band approaching while playing a song even as another recedes into the distance playing a different tune.

As of 2013, the town's next largest organizational taxpayers were Northeast Utilities subsidiary Connecticut Light & Power, which in 2015 became known as Eversource Energy; the Redding Country Club; and Aquarion Water Co.

Actors and directors who have resided in Redding include Hope Lange,[81] Barry Levinson,[82] Jessica Tandy and her spouse Hume Cronyn,[81] and Christopher Walken.

[87] Athletes who have lived in Redding include Charlie Morton,[88] a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves; and Brooklee Han, a figure skater who represented Australia in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Authors who have lived in Redding include Joel Barlow,[89] a poet and diplomat, born in town; Samuel Clemens, who in 1908 moved into a mansion dubbed Stormfield that was built on land located on present-day Mark Twain Lane and lived there until his death in 1910; Howard Fast;[81] Lawrence Kudlow, author and host of the "Kudlow and Company" television program;[90] Dick Morris, political consultant and author; Flannery O'Connor (who wrote her novel Wise Blood while a boarder at the home of fellow writer Robert Fitzgerald);,[91] futurist Alvin Toffler[92] and economist Stuart Chase, who lived in Redding from 1930 and served on the town's planning commission from 1956 until his death in 1985.

[81] Composers, musicians and singers who have lived in Redding include Leonard Bernstein,[94] Daryl Hall,[81] Jascha Heifetz,[81] Charles Ives,[81] Meat Loaf, Andy Powell and Mary Travers.