While the Borough of Litchfield is today a bustling crossroads, much of its historical significance lies in the fact that in the late 18th century, its location was remote and difficult to reach. Miles from the seacoast, distant from major population centers, and in the foothills of the Berkshires, it was safe from British raids in the American Revolution. Litchfield became a supply depot for the Continental Army, with stockpiles of food and materiel lining its streets. Oliver Wolcott, Sr., whose home still stands on South Street, signed the Declaration of Independence and organized the removal of a statue of King George III – whose gilded exterior masked the fact that it was made of lead – from New York City’s Bowling Green to Litchfield, where it was melted down and turned into bullets. George Washington visited Litchfield, spending the night at the Sheldon Tavern, which still stands on North Street. The post-war years saw Litchfield attain national prominence as a commercial, cultural, educational, and legal center. Prominent in this time period was the establishment of Tapping Reeve’s Litchfield Law School on South Street, the first law school in the United States. Also, Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy on North Street was one of the most important institutions for the education of young women. These two schools would bring more than 3,000 students from all over the country to Litchfield. The rapid growth of the town center led the Connecticut General Assembly to create, in May 1818, an incorporated village in the heart of Litchfield. The Village of Litchfield’s boundaries were set by the legislature, which provided that residents of the new municipality would elect a president, treasurer, and clerk. This Assembly’s actions were the result of a petition from the citizens of the village, who felt that their “houses [were] as contiguous as they are in many of our cities” and the growth of the town center created a “local situation” different from the town at large. Their primary concern was fire. The legislature declared that the petitioners and their “associates residing within the limits described” were “forever thereafter a body corporate in fact as in name, by the name of the Corporation of the Village of Litchfield.” Many boroughs were established by the Connecticut General Assembly during this time period, as these municipalities could provide services the larger towns either could not or would not. The powers granted to the new governmental entity were similar to those of other boroughs in the state. It could levy taxes for fire equipment and for “other improvements as should be deemed necessary to protect the village against fires; to order and direct in all matters related to sidewalks, shade-trees, and the sinking of public wells and pumps ….” The Village government could also “pass by-laws and regulations, with suitable penalties attached, as might from time to time thought to be necessary for the attainment of the objects contemplated in this charter.” While a separate act of the legislature on March 21, 1879, changed the name of the municipality to the “Borough of Litchfield,” the same officers continued in their roles and minutes of board meetings continued to be recorded in the same book. In January 1885, the Connecticut legislature passed legislation related to boroughs state-wide. This was done as the growing town centers posed new problems in the state, while the state also sought to take greater control over certain governmental services, like education. Thus, this session declared that all “dwellers within the limits” were declared to be a “body politic,” and a system of warden and burgesses was set up. It appears that this was not unique to Litchfield, but rather to any part of a municipality looking to establish itself as a borough. For example, Bantam used this model when it became a borough in 1915. Special circumstances continued to make the Borough necessary for the center of the town to prosper. The lack of a municipal water supply was a major factor in Litchfield’s population falling by over 25% between 1820 and 1890, a trend that was reversed when water came to the Borough in 1891. Equally galvanizing was the 1939 demolition of the Phelps Tavern, an iconic structure that, according to historian Rachel Carley, was believed to be the “oldest continually operating inn in the state.” The Borough Board of Warden and Burgesses passed an ordinance banning new construction or alterations to existing structures within the Borough of Litchfield. Two decades later, the Borough of Litchfield was designated a historic district by a special act of the Connecticut General Assembly, with the name “Old and Historic Litchfield Historic District”. This was the first such district in Connecticut. Then, in 1968, the central portion of the borough was given National Historic Landmark status as the “Litchfield Historic District.” In 1978, the fortieth anniversary of the Borough’s historic preservation ordinance, the entire borough – 840 acres and 459 buildings – was declared an historic district and was added to the prestigious National Register of Historic Places. Preservation Connecticut has called the Borough of Litchfield “Probably New England’s finest surviving example of a typical late 18th century New England town”. With the Borough now in its third century, the Board of Warden and Burgesses, in concert with the Historic District Commission, works diligently to maintain that historic quality, to protect and preserve the Litchfield Green, and to ensure that the needs of the borough residents and the citizens of the larger town are met with a vibrant, functional and attractive town center. 

See especially: 
Carley, Rachel. Litchfield: The Making of a New England Town. Litchfield: Litchfield Historical Society, 2011.
Charter and By-laws of the Village of Litchfield from its Incorporation and Organization in 1818 to 1862. Litchfield: Enquirer Job Printing Office, 1862.
White, Alain. The History of the Town of Litchfield, 1720-1920. Litchfield: Litchfield Historical Society, 1920.