Outdoors
Heritage
Railroad Days
Commerce
Welcome to Canaan, Connecticut
Please bear with us while we are in the process of constructing an exciting new web site!
Affordable country living and a strong focus on community activities. This steadily growing town nestled in historic Canaan valley has gorgeous views of the berkshire foothills and is located in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Canaan (settled in 1738), has officially been called North Canaan since 1858, when the southern section of town split off. During the second half of the 19th century, the Housatonic and Connecticut Western railroads crossed here, bringing 12 passenger trains and sending two milk trains daily to New York City. Freight trains loaded up on pig iron, nails, and ship anchors smelted and forged along the Blackberry River from Salisbury ore; local quarries supplied the limestone and marble used in constructing the state capitol building in 1879. Currently we can still see some of those quarries carved into the hillsides south of town. Mining is still part of Canaan's economy, especially the high-grade magnesium favored by the atomic-energy industry.
