Town of Redding - Brief History of the Town of Redding’s Cultural Resource Preservation Efforts

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Brief History of the Town of Redding’s Cultural Resource Preservation Efforts

120 Years of Cultural Resource Preservation in the Community

Redding has a very long tradition of historic preservation and archaeology. In 1887 the property for Putnam Park was purchased by private citizens and turned over to the State of Connecticut in order to preserve the remains of a Revolutionary War Encampment, becoming Connecticut’s 1st State Park. The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and in 2001 it was designated as the States 1st Archaeological Preserve.

Recent Efforts

1984	Redding’s Town Plan of Development acknowledged the importance of Historic Sites and the need for Historic Districts.
1986	Redding adopted a Scenic Road Ordinance to preserve the rural character of some the town’s historic roads.
1988	Town wide Architectural Survey of Historic Structures which was later up dated with a second phase in 1992. This was part of the State Historic Resource Inventory.
1987-92	National Register Districts established in Redding Center and Georgetown.
1998-99	Town wide Cultural Resource Assessment Survey was done to identify areas sensitive for the presence of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites and above ground historic structures. This resulted in the identification of 106 archaeological sites and the systematic review of 2,253 structures.
1999	A revised Town Plan of Development listed 13 priorities for historic and archaeological site preservation. The Town of Redding passed new subdivision ordinance requiring Cultural Resource review and survey of proposed subdivisions.
2004	The Town of Redding decided to sell Heritage House (link to HH page) back into private ownership with the added protection of historic easements to preserve its historic character.
2006	An ad-hoc committee was formed to explore the future of Historic Preservation in Redding. The goal of this committee is to include Historic Property Owners in this process.

Redding Town Hall 100 Hill Road, P.O. Box 1028, Redding, CT 06875
Hours: Mon. - Wed. 8:30am - 5:30pm, Thurs. 8:30am - 6pm, Closed Friday

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