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History · Lakes West

Half of Lakes West’s homes were built after 1966

Most of Lakes West was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1892 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Lakes West’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lakes West are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1998. Watch Lakes West change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lakes West’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lakes West’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Lakes West on the map, 1892 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lakes West. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lakes West on the 1892 USGS mapLakes West on the 1945 USGS mapLakes West on the 1958 USGS mapLakes West on the 1970 USGS mapLakes West on the 1984 USGS mapLakes West on the 1998 USGS map1892Carmel sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lakes West.

The story so far

Lakes West, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lakes West yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lakes West is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Ridgefield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is in the northern part of the town on the north side of Ridgebury Mountain and extending north into a valley occupied by Lake Windwing. It is bordered to the east by the Lakes East CDP and to the northwest by Ridgebury. As of the 2020 census, Lakes West had a population of 1,186. Lakes West was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Lakes West

Nobody well known was born in Lakes West itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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P. T. BarnumAmerican showman and politician · b. 1810
Charles IvesAmerican modernist composer · b. 1874
Hope LangeAmerican actress · b. 1933
Jonathan BrandisAmerican actor · b. 1976
Fanny Crosby19th century Christian hymnist · b. 1820
Lindsey JacobellisAmerican snowboarder · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Ridgebury2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakes EastIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lakes West’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.