The National Register of Historic Places is the federal government’s list of places worth preserving. Westport has 17 entries, from single houses to entire neighborhoods. The Merritt Parkway, which runs through town, is listed as well. Here they are in the order they were listed, according to the register’s records for Fairfield County.

ListedPlaceNote
1977Godillot PlaceHistoric house
1982Town HallCivic building
1984Bradley-Wheeler HouseHistoric house
1984National Hall Historic DistrictHall built 1873
1987Saugatuck River Bridge, Route 136Now the Cribari Bridge
1987Saugatuck River Railroad BridgeRail crossing
1991Compo-Owenoke Historic DistrictBeach resort, 1910 to 1940
1991Mill Cove Historic DistrictHistoric district
1991Green Farms SchoolSchool building
1998Kings Highway North Historic District106 contributing buildings
1999Shambaugh HouseCharles E. Cutler, about 1923
2006Westport Bank and TrustDowntown
2010The Allen HouseRoy Binkley Jr., 1958
2012U.S. Post OfficeFormer post office
2015Sturges-Wright HouseBuilt 1764
2016Westport Center Historic DistrictDowntown core
2018Bridge Street Historic DistrictBuildings from 1809 to about 1920
Godillot Place, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Godillot Place, the first Westport listing, in 1977. Photograph by Kohlnf via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Houses

Five individual houses span almost two centuries. The Sturges-Wright House on Cross Highway was built in 1764 by Eliphalet Sturges and later became the home of the illustrator George Hand Wright, regarded as the founder of the Westport artists’ colony. The fieldstone Shambaugh House on Old Hill Road was designed by Charles E. Cutler around 1923. The Allen House on Burritt’s Landing is a 1958 design by Roy Binkley Jr., a protégé of Mies van der Rohe. The Bradley-Wheeler House and Godillot Place complete the list. Our Allen House profile and our story on the artists’ colony go further.

The Sturges-Wright House on Cross Highway
The Sturges-Wright House on Cross Highway, built in 1764. Photograph by Jerrye & Roy Klotz, M.D. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Districts

The districts protect whole streetscapes. Kings Highway North counts 106 contributing buildings in Colonial, Federal and Greek Revival styles along the road laid out in 1672. Compo-Owenoke covers 154 acres built as a beach resort between 1910 and 1940, largely to designs by Sanford Evans and Ernest G. Southey. Westport Center, Bridge Street, National Hall and Mill Cove round out the list of districts.

Houses in the Compo-Owenoke Historic District
The Compo-Owenoke Historic District, listed in 1991. Photograph by WestportWiki via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Public buildings and bridges

The Saugatuck River Bridge carrying Route 136, now called the Cribari Bridge, joined the register in 1987, and its future is now under study by the state, which prefers to replace it. The railroad bridge over the same river was listed the same year. Town Hall, Green Farms School, the former U.S. Post Office and Westport Bank and Trust complete the civic set.

The Route 136 swing bridge over the Saugatuck River, now called the Cribari Bridge
The Route 136 swing bridge over the Saugatuck River, documented by the Historic American Engineering Record. Photograph by Robert Moore, Historic American Engineering Record via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

What listing means

National Register listing recognizes significance and can make some rehabilitation work eligible for tax incentives. It does not, by itself, stop a private owner from altering or demolishing a building. Westport’s stronger local tools, its seven local historic districts and 22 designated properties, are described in our story on saving a saltbox.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfield County, Connecticut, accessed Oct. 2026
  2. Wikipedia, Kings Highway North Historic District, accessed Oct. 2026
  3. Wikipedia, Compo-Owenoke Historic District, accessed Oct. 2026
  4. Westport Library, George Hand Wright research guide, accessed Oct. 2026
  5. Town of Westport, Local historic districts and local historic properties, accessed Oct. 2026
Filed underArchitecturePreservationKings HighwayDowntownCompo BeachSaugatuck