Burning of Fairfield Landing and Town Site (1779)
CT - Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Up This Road memorial, Beach Road at Sunnieholm Drive, Old Burying Ground, Fairfield, CT, USA
MONUMENT
VISITOR INFORMATION
Connected the Event to the Burr Homestead Marker and retained this broader raid-site draft. The Master narrative's statement that no wartime action occurred at the property needs correction. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: The pin represents the Up This Road memorial outside Fairfield's Old Burying Ground. It commemorates the July 7, 1779 British march and burning, not a verified beach landing point or every burned building. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: The retained point is a commemorative memorial, not the British beach landing or every burned building. There is no parking within Old Burying Ground, and toilets at the memorial itself remain unverified; nearby museum visitor restrooms are described below. Nearby museum parking is described below for a combined museum and Commons walking-tour visit.
Parking reviewed October 3, 2026: Nearby free parking serves Fairfield Museum visitors at 370 Beach Road. Combine the museum/Commons visit with its published walking tour to Old Burying Ground and the Beach Road memorial. The cemetery itself has no parking; after-hours or unrelated use of the museum lot is not confirmed.
Visitor information continued October 3, 2026: Tours describes the published self-guided Museum Commons / Town Green route that includes Old Burying Ground. Nearby accessible restrooms are confirmed inside Fairfield Museum for a combined museum/Commons visit during museum hours. They are not at the memorial or guaranteed after hours.
For a combined Commons walking-tour and Fairfield Museum visit, the nearby museum at 370 Beach Road opens Tuesday–Sunday 10 am–4 pm, closed Monday and listed major holidays. General museum admission is free January 13–November 25, 2026; library access and selected programs have separate terms. Museum visitor parking is free and accessible restrooms are indoors during museum opening. These museum hours and admission terms are separate from the Old Burying Ground / Up This Road memorial; follow posted cemetery access rules.
The associated Fairfield Museum reports more visitors on weekends and holidays, plus spring/fall school groups. The wider landing and town site's annual peak month is unconfirmed.
May-June or September-October for Fairfield heritage walks and a confirmed museum visit. For a quieter museum experience, the operator recommends Monday or Tuesday mornings; arrange other historic interiors separately.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
TICKET INFORMATION
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About Burning of Fairfield Landing and Town Site (1779)
Fairfield's shoreline and historic town were the setting for a destructive British raid in July 1779. Troops landed, occupied the town, and burned homes and other property. Local testimony makes the episode a powerful record of how coastal warfare affected families and communities.
The Old Burying Ground memorial supplies a nearby reference for the town's wartime experience. Rebuilt houses and later monuments help interpret Fairfield's recovery, but each property's surviving fabric must be distinguished from structures destroyed during the raid.
History happened here at Burning of Fairfield Landing and Town Site (1779)
British troops landed at Fairfield on July 7, 1779, during raids along the Connecticut coast. Over two days, fire and military occupation devastated much of the town. Residents later described their experiences in depositions, documenting both destruction and encounters between civilians and soldiers.
Fairfield rebuilt after the raid, leaving a landscape that combines older places, replacement buildings, and later remembrance. The museum's collected testimony preserves details that the physical town alone cannot convey. The landing area and burned settlement should be interpreted together while remaining distinct locations within the event.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 3, 2026. Event IDs 8fa40d29-0d52-4e7d-987e-4a66a9da3140; Events Latest 10PM.csv rows 327.
https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/burning-of-fairfield/
https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/the-people-of-fairfield/
https://fairfieldct.org/09-27-2021_Backup.pdf
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. The pin represents the Up This Road memorial outside Fairfield's Old Burying Ground. It commemorates the July 7, 1779 British march and burning, not a verified beach landing point or every burned building.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=27155
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: Up This Road memorial outside Fairfield’s Old Burying Ground.
Prose batch 4 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Fairfield Museum account and depositions reviewed. Nearby Old Burying Ground marker is not a landing pin. Distinguish rebuilt Burr home from burned predecessor and existing Sites Master entry.
Parking follow-up researched October 3, 2026. Fairfield Museum confirms a free front parking lot and publishes a Museum Commons walking tour that includes Old Burying Ground as stop 3. Nearby free parking serves Fairfield Museum visitors at 370 Beach Road. Combine the museum/Commons visit with its published walking tour to Old Burying Ground and the Beach Road memorial. The cemetery itself has no parking; after-hours or unrelated use of the museum lot is not confirmed.
https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/visit/
https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/about/museum-commons-town-green/
https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Museum-Commons-Brochure_20230804.pdf