Resource Inventory The Connecticut Historic Resource Inventory lists 230 structures in Redding, the oldest built in 1710 by early settler Moses Knapp. The Town of Redding lists another 285 structures that are believed to have been built before 1901 that are not listed in the Connecticut Historic Resource Inventory, the oldest built in 1711 by John Read. Disasters Redding has experienced several disasters, including the 2020 pandemic of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, with Connecticut declaring on March 10, 2020, a public health emergency and federal agencies subsequently approving Connecticut for disaster assistance. Through June 30, the state of Connecticut listed 69 Redding residents as having contracted COVID-19 or probably so, with eight town residents having died of complications from coronavirus. Statewide, schools closed and businesses furloughed workers after the closure of work sites deemed "non-essential" with the state allowing a phased resumption of business activities starting May 20. More than 700 Redding residents filed initial claims for unemployment compensation between March 15 and June 29, with unemployment peaking in mid-April when 434 residents were receiving benefits. Most other disasters were the result of severe weather events including Hurricane Sandy with tropical storm-force winds when it reached Connecticut October 29, 2012, toppling trees throughout the town and cutting power to 98 percent of homes and businesses. Sandy was the third storm to cause extensive electrical outages and property damage in Redding and Connecticut within the space of just over 14 months, along with Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and the so-called "Halloween nor'easter" in late October that year. The nor'easter dropped extensive snow onto trees that still had foliage, resulting in an increased number of snapped branches and trunks that damaged property and power lines, with some areas not seeing electricity restored for 11 days. In 1995, police arrested and a jury subsequently convicted Geoffrey K. Ferguson on charges he shot and killed tenants Scott D. Auerbach and David J. Froehlich, as well as three other men named David A. Gartrell, Sean E. Hiltunen, and Jason M. Trusewicz, at a house in Georgetown. Beginning October 15, 1955, heavy rains caused flooding along the Norwalk River and other Connecticut waterways. The flood of 1955 resulted in a dam failing at the Gilbert and Bennett factory and the inundation of the Georgetown neighborhood, amid other damage to property and infrastructure. A 1938 hurricane known as "the Long Island Express" destroyed crops in