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Incorporated 1739 Area: 42 square miles Population : 2940 Government: Selectmen, Town meeting The Town of Sharon is located in the Northwestern corner of Connecticut bordering New York State and created from lands of colony. Settlement began in 1738 when 50 acre parcels were sold at auction. Early settlers had to clear land and build s small cabin to make their claim good. Although the emphasis has always been on agriculture and dairy, during colonial times and early 19th Century, Sharon boasted some light manufacturing, particularly iron products. Today, with more than 49% of its area forested, the town is characterized by its quiet, semi-rural atmosphere and a determination to preserve it. Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust and more recently the Sharon Land Trust and have both been actively protecting the rural landscape. A long village green, stretching for a mile and a half, is lined with historic houses.
The Sharon Historical Society reports that the greatly varied natural landscape of the area played a decisive role in Sharon’s historic evolution. Sharon is one of several communities which form the Northwest Highlands of Connecticut. It is a region of dramatic topography that is often hilly, even mountainous. Though each town in the area is distinct, they all share many geographic, historic, economic, and cultural features. Sharon’s surviving historic resources are located in a variety of settings, in the larger villages and hamlets (Sharon Center, Amenia Union and Ellsworth), as well as along principal historic routes. These resources encompass a range of historic homes, from mid-eighteenth-century structures, through all the popular nineteenth-century styles, and including many erected in the first half of the twentieth century. Other resources include historic churches, municipal and commercial buildings, cemeteries and monuments, and important industrial sites. The Sharon Audubon Center is a nature center and wildlife sanctuary owned and operated by the National Audubon Society. The Sharon Audubon Center has over eleven miles of scenic hiking trails, and includes 860 acres of mixed forest, meadows, wetlands, ponds and streams. Sharon Tri-Arts just west of the Green and a few 100 yards from the clock tower has become an important cultural center for the arts. They also produce 4 plays each summer. Definitely check them out. The Hotchkiss Memorial Library of Sharon on the Green was erected in 1892-93 thanks to the generous gift of Maria Bissell Hotchkiss in memory of her husband Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss of Sharon, Connecticut. The Building's style is Romanesque Revival. Its ou
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