Cos Cob is a neighborhood and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the town of

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

, United States. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina {{Geodis, uscounty ...

. It had a population of 6,873 at the 2020 census. Cos Cob is located on the western side of the mouth of the

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeas ...

. The

American Impressionist American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose ...

Cos Cob Art Colony flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An offshoot of the group, the

Greenwich Art Society Known originally as The Greenwich Society of Artists, the Greenwich Art Society is an organization dedicated to promoting arts education in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded in 1912 by artists affiliated with the "Cos Cob School, ...

, continues to support local artists in town. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct sections or neighborhoods, such as Banksville, Byram, Cos Cob, Glenville, Mianus,

Old Greenwich Old Greenwich is a coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct sections or neig ...

, Riverside and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

(sometimes referred to as central, or downtown, Greenwich). Of these neighborhoods, three (Cos Cob, Old Greenwich, and Riverside) have separate postal names and ZIP codes. From 1883 to 1885, the official post office name of Cos Cob was Bayport. In 2015, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked Cos Cob the 287th wealthiest place in the US with a median house sale price of $1,329,107.

History

The term "Cos Cob" comes from the Coe family that settled in the area in 1641. During their time, a wall (also known as a "cob") was built on the shoreline by Robert Coe to protect the land he gave to his brother. Henceforth, the place was known as Coe's Cob, later becoming Cos Cob. The community is situated on Cos Cob Harbor, a sheltered area on the north side of

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. Cos Cob's role as a commercial shipping port, supplying potatoes and apples to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, disappeared with the appearance of the railroad and damming of the Mianus River. The river is now one source of the town's drinking water. From 1883 to 1885, the official post office name of Cos Cob was Bayport.

Train station and bridge

The Cos Cob train station and the

Railroad Bridge are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

"On Christmas Day, 1848, the last rails were laid over the Cos Cob Bridge, thereby supplying the last link needed to complete the railroad from New Haven to New York," according to the Stamford Historical Society Web site. "The first trial run was made on that day."Web page title
"Murals: Scenes from Yesteryear"
on the web site of the Stamford Historical Society. Accessed 25 August 2006.

Editors of two Stamford newspapers reported on the event. William H. Holly, Esq., founder of the ''Stamford Sentinel'' and a guest on the first trial run, wrote: "The train had to remain at Cos Cob Bridge some three hours for the last rails to be laid over it and the delay gave ample opportunity to the people to come and witness the wonderful feat. The general impression among them seemed to be, that the first train that attempted to cross this pass would also be the last." Edgar Hoyt, editor of the ''Stamford Advocate'', wrote: "The citizens of the village as well as the horses, cattle, etc., were nearly frightened out of their propriety ... by such a horrible scream as was never heard to issue from any other than a metallic throat. Animals of every description went careening round the fields, snuffling the air in their terror."

Twentieth and twenty-first centuries

The coal-fired steam turbine Cos Cob Power Plant built by Westinghouse in 1907 was a Mission Style structure. It was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1982 by the

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

and the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

. Despite being listed on the

and local and national debate, the plant was decommissioned in 1987 and demolished in 2001.

Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson; August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was a Canadian and American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of the foun ...

lived in Cos Cob on an estate which is now a town park. Over 75 years ago what would eventually become the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

was in part founded by him here. On June 28, 1983, a elevated portion of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

(the

Mianus River Bridge The Mianus River Bridge is a span that carries Interstate 95 ( Connecticut Turnpike) over the Mianus River, between Cos Cob and Riverside, Connecticut. It is the second bridge on the site. The original bridge collapsed in 1983, resulting in ...

) collapsed, killing and injuring several motorists. Interstate 95 is the principal highway between

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country. Because the road was not fully reopened for six months, it created a bottleneck which affected the New York to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

transportation corridor. In 2006, NRG Energy Inc. of

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, proposed adding additional capacity of 40 megawatts to the current 60 megawatt plant to supplement

Connecticut Light and Power Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to appr ...

during peak periods in southwestern

. Two additional jet turbines would be added to the existing plant in 2008.

Education

As with other parts of the Town of Greenwich, Cos Cob is in the

Greenwich Public Schools Greenwich Public Schools is a school district located in Fairfield County, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The district has boundaries that are coterminous with those of the town. Approximately 8,840 students ...

school district. The district's comprehensive high school is

Greenwich High School Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves roughly 2,700 students. It offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-cu ...

Notable people

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

, brother of

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

and a famous actor of his day *

Mary McVicker Booth Mary Frances McVicker (born Mary Frances Runnion, also known as Mary McVicker Booth; September 17, 1848 – November 13, 1881) was an American stage actress and singer perhaps best known for her partnership with actor Edwin Booth, to whom she was ...

, actress * Orestes H. Caldwell, one of the first members of the

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by ...

Gary Dell'Abate Gary Dell'Abate (), also known by the nickname Baba Booey, is an American radio producer who has been the executive producer of ''The Howard Stern Show'' since 1984. His autobiography, '' They Call Me Baba Booey'', was released in 2010. Early lif ...

, producer for ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' *

Jim Himes James Andrew Himes (born July 5, 1966) is an American businessman and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2009. Himes is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...

, Democratic congressman from

Connecticut's 4th congressional district Connecticut's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the panhandle, the district is largely suburban and extends from Bridgeport, the largest city in the state, to Greenwich – an are ...

. * Finn Murphy, author of ''The Long Haul'' *

Barbara O'Neil Barbara O'Neil (July 17, 1910 – September 3, 1980) was an American film and stage actress. She appeared in the film ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' ...

, actress *

Anya Seton Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 – November 8, 1990), born Ann Seton, was an American author of historical fiction, or as she preferred they be called, " biographical novels". Early life and education Anya Seton was born Ann Seton on January 23, ...

, author of historical fiction *

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, lawyer, and politician. He was best known for hosting the controversial tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' from 1991 to 2 ...

, TV show host, ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jerry Springer. The show ran for twenty-seven seasons from September 30, 1991, to July 26, 2018, in which it broadcast 3,891 episodes. It was taped at the NB ...

'' *

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian, journalist and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for '' The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first mo ...

, historian * Frederick M. Warburg, investment banker

Places of interest

* Bush-Holley House, the only National Historic Landmark in Greenwich; built in about 1730; listed in 1988 *

House In addition to the Bush-Holley House, these sites in Cos Cob are listed by the National Register of Historic Places: * Mianus River Railroad Bridge, built: 1904; listed: 1987 * Cos Cob Railroad Station, built: c. 1890; listed: 1989 * Strickland Road Historic District, Strickland Road; built: c. 1730–1938; listed: 1990 *

Cos Cob Power Station Cos Cob Power Station was a historic power station near the Metro-North Railroad tracks, the Mianus River and Sound Shore Drive in the Cos Cob area of Greenwich, Connecticut. The Spanish Revival style station building of 1907 was significant ...

, Sound Shore Drive; built: 1907; listed: 1990; demolished, 2000

Community facilities

* The Cos Cob Library is a cultural center and community hub providing art gallery space, concert and lecture series, and free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

access. Although of recent construction, the building evokes

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

design and is set in a pocket park landscaped by local volunteers. * The neighborhood's ZIP Code is 06807. It has one post office. * There are two public schools in Cos Cob: Cos Cob Elementary School, 390 pupils, and Central Middle School, 710 pupils (both as of 2010),Web page titled "Greenwich Public School

on the web site of the

. Accessed 7 September 2010. though school boundaries cut across zip code boundaries and many students who live in Cos Cob attend other public schools in town. * Cos Cob has a fire department staffed by both full-time salaried firefighters and volunteers. * Cos Cob (Metro-North station), Cos Cob station is served by the

New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...

of the

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

, a commuter rail service that runs between

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

and

In popular culture

* In Season 5 of

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's TV series ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'', Cos Cob became the home to character

Pete Campbell Peter Dyckman Campbell (born February 28, 1934) is a fictional character on AMC's television series '' Mad Men''. He is portrayed by Vincent Kartheiser. Kartheiser has won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemb ...

and his family.''Mad Men'' ep. 5x05 "Signal 30" *

Gene Marshall Gene Marshall is a 15.5 inch tall collectible fashion doll inspired by Hollywood's Golden Age. It was created by the illustrator Mel Odom. Each doll features an intricate movie-styled theme based upon fashions from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950 ...

, a doll designed by artist Mel Odom as a Hollywood Golden Age film star, is described as having spent her formative years in Cos Cob.

Citations

General and cited references

* * * *

External links

Greenwich Historical Society

Greenwich Art Society

Cos Cob Library
{{authority control Greenwich, Connecticut Neighborhoods in Connecticut Connecticut placenames of Native American origin Census-designated places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Census-designated places in Connecticut Populated coastal places in Connecticut