Riverside has a new newsletter via the Riverside Association
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The Riverside Tide's History Lesson — who knew that Riverside Avenue was once named in honor of the Irish?
Before it was the Riverside we know today, this area was called Mianus Neck—a quiet, tight-knit farming and fishing community where Riverside Avenue was known simply as the Potato Road. [Or, as some would have it, Bog Trotter Lane — Ed]
Everything changed in 1869 when real estate developer Jeremiah Atwater and attorney Luke Vincent Lockwood swooped in. They renamed the area, built a dedicated train station, and marketed the neighborhood to New Yorkers looking for a beautiful summer escape.
The bet paid off. Today, Riverside proudly boasts two sites on the National Register of Historic Places:
The Riverside Avenue Bridge (1894): Connecticut's only surviving cast-iron bridge.
The Samuel Ferris House (c. 1760): A historic colonial farmhouse located at 1 Cary Road, originally owned by some of Riverside's earliest settlers.
