[4] In 1746, Edward Cogswell secured the right to mine iron ore, as part of the New Milford North Purchase, and established an ironworks along the East Aspetuck River in New Preston.

1746 also marked the purchase of land from the Wyantenock tribe by the Averill family for a homestead on Baldwin Hill, which is still occupied and farmed by direct descendants of the original inhabitants.

Local residents provided a safe harbor for slaves fleeing captivity, and organized efforts to throw bounty hunters off the tracks of their pursuits.

Architect Ehrick Rossiter, then a recent graduate of the local Gunnery prep school, saw an opportunity to establish an understated alternative to Greenwich, Newport, and the ostentation favored by the nouveaux riches of the day.

[9] In collaboration with a coterie of wealthy New York patrons, Rossiter remade the Washington Green area into an idyllic summer colony, transforming it into an idealized version of the quintessential New England village.

During this period, the Congregational church received a makeover, commercial enterprises were eliminated for aesthetic purposes, and restrained but elegant summer homes—many of them designed by Rossiter himself—were constructed.

North of Washington Depot, twin culverts carrying the Shepaug River under U.S. Route 202 were plugged with debris, causing floodwaters to accumulate upstream.

The culverts and roadway succumbed to the resulting pressure, causing a wall of water to race down the river valley, washing away many of the homes and businesses in the Depot's village center, and killing a couple who ignored warnings to evacuate.

The layout and visual character of the Depot were also radically altered, and the village center assumed its contemporary appearance, which varies considerably from Washington's traditional architectural vernacular.

The proposed route ran through Lake Waramaug's eastern watershed, across the Shepaug River, and through the Steep Rock Reservation, with a secondary spur running through Washington Green and Nettleton Hollow.

In 1997, Washington residents voted unanimously to join a lawsuit against the City of Waterbury, which operates a reservoir at the headwaters of the Shepaug River in the adjacent town of Warren.

The lawsuit, which the town of Roxbury also joined, sought to compel Waterbury to release more water into the river, which slowed to a trickle during summer months, impeding important ecological functions.

After considerable legal maneuvering on both sides, river advocates prevailed in February 2000, when a Superior Court judge ordered Waterbury to release more water into the Shepaug.

In 1998, Sempra Energy submitted a proposal to the Connecticut Siting Council to construct a power plant approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Washington in New Milford.

The plant was to emit 443 tons of pollutants per year, many of which would have projected toward Washington, owing to the region's prevailing wind patterns and complex terrain.

[17][18][19] In 2008, Optasite submitted an application to the Connecticut Siting Council to erect a telecommunications tower atop Tanner Hill in a visually conspicuous location above the Macricostas Preserve, some 250 feet (76 m) north of the Washington town line.

Working with a coalition that included Governor Jodi Rell, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and an ad-hoc community organization called CROWW,[21] they built an environmental and legal case against the tower proposal.

Town meetings serve as Washington's chief legislative body,[4] and several specialized boards and commissions, run by volunteer residents, tend to municipal business.

Washington's volunteer boards and commissions are supplemented by a small paid staff, which includes the full-time elected positions of First Selectman, Town Clerk,[35] Tax Collector,[36] and Judge of Probate.

Many residents give freely of their time and resources to operate town government, provide emergency services, and support local community organizations.

Washington was one of the first Connecticut municipalities to establish zoning regulations, which were enacted in 1939,[39] The town's contemporary land-use policies are substantially natural resource-based, and they have been expressly conceived to maintain the community's rural character.

[40] Washington is one of only two municipalities in Connecticut to base permissible residential density on the soils composition of land parcels, and it was one of the first Connecticut towns to adopt net-density subdivision regulations, which render wetlands, flood plains, and steep slopes ineligible for satisfying the minimum acreage requirements for creating new building lots[40] Consequently, even large tracts of land may not qualify for subdivision.

Restaurants, inns, speciality retail shops, and professional services also play an important role in Washington's economy, as do educational institutions.

Washington has many well preserved historic homes, built in the Georgian, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Shingle styles, and many 19th century mill structures, barns, and other agricultural outbuildings.