Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Stratford Downtown

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Stratford Downtown

25% of Stratford Downtown’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1891 on.

0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Stratford Downtown’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 Stratford Downtown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18916 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1984. Watch Stratford Downtown change.Old housesHalf of Stratford Downtown’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stratford Downtown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stratford Downtown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Stratford Downtown on the map, 1891 to 1984

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

Stratford Downtown on the 1891 USGS mapStratford Downtown on the 1920 USGS mapStratford Downtown on the 1951 USGS mapStratford Downtown on the 1960 USGS mapStratford Downtown on the 1970 USGS mapStratford Downtown on the 1984 USGS map1891Bridgeport 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 Stratford Downtown.

The story so far

Stratford Downtown, in brief

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

Stratford Downtown is a census-designated place (CDP) corresponding to the town center of Stratford, Connecticut, United States. U.S. Route 1 (Barnum Avenue) runs east–west through the center of the CDP, and Interstate 95 forms the southeastern border, with access from Exit 32B (West Broad Street) at the southern limit of the CDP and from Exit 33 (U.S. Route 1 and Connecticut Route 130) at the eastern limit. The Stratford Center Historic District falls outside the CDP, just to the south. As of the 2020 census, Stratford Downtown had a population of 1,473. Stratford Downtown 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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Stratford Downtown

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

See all →
M
Meg RyanAmerican actress · b. 1961
Robert MitchumAmerican actor · b. 1917
John MayerAmerican musician · b. 1977
Brian DennehyAmerican actor · b. 1938
Alexandra BreckenridgeAmerican actress · b. 1982
H
Henry Fairfield OsbornAmerican geologist · b. 1857

Questions about Stratford Downtown’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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.