ABOUT OUR BOROUGH

Bantam is one of the five sections of Litchfield, distinct with its own identity and an independent spirit. Its heart is the Borough of Bantam, incorporated in 1915 to collect taxes for a fire department, after several factories had burned to the ground. The Borough of Bantam comprises one square mile of Litchfield. Many of the residents who live outside the Borough but within the Bantam Fire District consider themselves Bantam residents. The Borough’s total population in 2020 was over 720.

Bantam can be seen as the entrepreneurial and artistic part of Litchfield, the rural home of makers, builders, and small business owners. The Bantam River powered saw and grist mills in the 1700s, and water-powered factories in the 1800s and early 1900s. In the 1800s, Bantam’s immigrant artisans built the estates in historic Litchfield. During WWII, Bantam manufacturing was at its apex; many of those manufacturing sites have been repurposed. The Shepaug Railroad Station was located on the Bantam River on the site of the current Bantam Fuel Depot.

The Borough of Bantam is now home to innovative businesses, such as custom wallpaper and fine cabinetmaking. Dining options range from fine restaurants to lunch spots to ice cream and coffee shops. West on Route 202 is the Gooseboro Drive-in, known for great hamburgers, award-winning hot dogs, soft-serve, and many decades of summer jobs for our youth.

Bantam is fast becoming an Art District. Visit Bantam Cinema, offering films and cabaret shows, and The Bantam Arts Factory, ateliers for many artists. Individual artists work in the area, such as Guy Wolff Pottery and Artur Matuszwski Sculpture Gallery.

Spend a quiet moment at the Bantam River Park, on the former site of the Bantam Methodist Church, blown away in the tornado of 1989. The park overlooks Bantam Falls, which is still producing electricity. The park and the Bantam Borough Hall have exhibits and information on Bantam’s history. Walk the trails of White Memorial Conservation Center and the Litchfield Land Trust’s Prospect Mountain Reserve, just outside the borough on Old Prospect Mountain Road. Rent a kayak and float down Bantam River to Bantam Lake.

For more of Bantam’s history, see Rachel Carley’s Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town (2011) , Peter Vermilyea’s Hidden History of Litchfield County (2014), and Ralph White’s Images of America: Litchfield (2011). The word “Bantam,” is derived from a word of the native peoples, who lived around Bantam Lake: peantum, meaning “he prays, or is praying.” Bantam was the name used in the 1716 land purchase made before the Town of Litchfield was formed.