Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other financial services firms. Greenwich is a principal community of the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolitan statistical area, which comprises all of Fairfield County. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut as well as in the six-state region of New England. The town is named after Greenwich, a royal borough of London in the United Kingdom. History The town of Greenwich was settled in 1640, by the agents Robert Feake and Captain Daniel Patrick, for Governor Theophilus Eaton of New Haven Colony, who purchased the land from the Siwanoy Indians in exchange of 25 English coats. One of the founders was Elizabeth Fones Winthrop, daughter-in-law of John Winthrop, founder and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. What is now called Greenwich Point was known for much of the area's early history as "Elizabeth's Neck" in recognition of Elizabeth Fones and their 1640 purchase of the Point and much of the area now known as Old Greenwich. Greenwich was declared a township by the Connecticut General Assembly in Hartford on May 11, 1665. During the American Revolution, General Israel Putnam made a daring escape from the British on February 26, 1779, in Greenwich. Although British forces captured and sacked the town, Putnam was able to warn Stamford. In 1974, Gulliver's Restaurant and Bar, on the border of Greenwich and Port Chester, burned, killing 24 young people. In 1983, the Mianus River Bridge, which carries traffic on Interstate 95 over an estuary, collapsed, resulting in the death of three people. For many years, Greenwich Point (locally termed "Tod's Point"), was open only to town residents and their guests. However, a lawyer sued, saying his rights to freedom of assembly were threatened because he was not allowed to go there. The lower courts disagreed, but the Supreme Court of Connecticut agreed, and Greenwich was forced to amend its beach access policy to all four beaches in 2001. These beaches include Greenwich Point Park, Island Beach, Great Captain Island, and Byram Park. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau in 2000, the town had a total area of , of which is land and , or 28.88%, is water. In terms of area, Greenwich