Community Corner
Greens of All Shapes and Sizes
What's in the shape of a New England Green, and is Branford's special? That's our question this week!
As a Midwesterner by birth, I hadn't heard of the tradition of a town green or village common until I moved to Massachusetts – and even then, the first one I encountered was Boston Common, which could have been a city park rather than a green space in grand New England tradition. It wasn't until I moved to Connecticut that I discovered that the village green was an open space common to most area towns. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – but how many of them are triangular? That's the question that comes to us this week from , who writes:
"I was informed recently that Branford has the only triangular shaped green in New England, but haven't been able to verify yet. Anyone know for sure?"
Rather than just confirm or deny what Wendy's heard, I'd like to explore a little of the history of Branford's green as well – and maybe the idea of the village green in general. What do you readers know about the tradition behind a common green area and its presence in New England towns? Any ideas when the Branford Green was established in its current form?
