Old Greenwich is a neighborhood/section and census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 in Greenwich

Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

 in Fairfield County

Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. It was founded in 1641 and has been a long-time beach community. One of the founding settlers was Elizabeth Fones

Elizabeth Fones

Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony where her father-in-law John Winthrop served as Governor...

 Winthrop, niece and daughter-in-law of John Winthrop

John Winthrop

John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...

, founder and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

. What is now called Greenwich Point was known for much of its early history as "Elizabeth Neck" in recognition of Elizabeth (Fones) Winthrop Feake and their 1640 purchase of the Point and much of the area now known as Old Greenwich.

The Old Greenwich Railroad Station

Old Greenwich (Metro-North station)

The Old Greenwich Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of the Old Greenwich section of Greenwich, Connecticut via the New Haven Line.The station is from Grand Central Terminal. The station has 578 parking spaces, 397 owned by the state...

, originally called the "Sound Beach Railroad Station", built in 1894 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, serves commuters in the neighborhood. The town's largest beach is on a long, thin peninsula at the southwest end of the neighborhood. The town's local beach is called Tod's Point after a former resident. The beach is now public property, which belongs to the town of Greenwich. Residents can purchase a seasonal beach pass. Non-residents can purchase a one-day pass for $20 per vehicle. During "off season", Innis was a popular sledding destination for kids in Old Greenwich and neighboring Stamford.

Old Greenwich was called "Sound Beach" in the last century, and the main road through the small downtown business section is Sound Beach Avenue. This street serves as a popular hangout for children and teenagers as well as hosting annual street fairs and events.

Old Greenwich had an industrial presence back in the 1950's/60's when Electrolux

Electrolux

The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...

 had a vacuum manufacturing facility on Forest Avenue, opposite "ECCman Center" (now Greenwich Civic Center). The Civic Center also hosted a very fine swamp where local kids would pick cattails and search for frogs and turtles.

The town of Greenwich has one political body (RTM - Representative Town Meeting). It has several distinct sections each with its own mailing address and ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

, such as Byram, Cos Cob

Cos Cob, Connecticut

Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is located at 41.033 north, 73.6 west, on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,770 at the 2010 census....

, Glenville

Glenville (Greenwich)

Glenville is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 2,327. It is located in the western part of Greenwich at the falls of the Byram River, which provided waterpower when...

, Mianus, and Riverside and Greenwich proper (downtown Greenwich). The original "well to do" population lived mainly in "The Back Country" (north of the Merritt Parkway

Merritt Parkway

The Merritt Parkway is a historic limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The parkway is known for its scenic layout, its uniquely styled signage, and the architecturally elaborate overpasses along the route. It is designated as a National Scenic Byway and is also listed in the...

) or in the exclusive Belle Haven area on the waterfront.