Greenwich, town, Fairfield County, southwestern Connecticut, on Long Island Sound. It is a fashionable residential community and a resort, with beautiful beaches and several yacht clubs. Several major corporations have their headquarters here. Greenwich is the site of the Bruce Museum, with displays on natural history; Putnam Cottage (1731), from which the American general Israel Putnam is said to have fled when surprised by the British in 1779; and the Audubon Center in Greenwich, a nature preserve. The first permanent settlement was established here in 1640 by agents of the New Haven Colony. It was named for Greenwich, England. During the American Revolution, the town was plundered in 1779 by British troops under General William Tryon. Population 59,578 (1980); 58,441 (1990).
