A hill town on the Shepaug River, once the Woodbury parish called Shippauge, where Mine Hill's steel ore drew silver hunters and ironmasters and Seth Warner lies beneath the obelisk on the green.

Litchfield County · Record checked October 11, 2026

2,260Population2020 census1
1743Named Roxburywhen the Woodbury parish called Shippauge became its own society2
1796Became a townset off from Woodbury in October1
860 ftRucum Hilla hill in the southeastern part of town3
5National Registerplaces, all still standing4

Roxbury on the map

Click the map to look closer.

Map of Roxbury, Connecticut in 2026, with the village center, Mine Hill, the Shepaug River and 34 numbered landmarks

2026

Roxbury today

By KNOWOL

Shaded hills from Mine Hill and Painter Hill down to Roxbury Falls, every street, Roxbury Station and Roxbury Falls by name, and a guide of 34 numbered landmarks with the National Register sites marked.5

See the 2026 printMore about this map

The story of Roxbury

The steel ore of Mine Hill

Mine Hill drew treasure hunters long before it drew steelmakers. Hurlbut and Hawley opened a mine there about 1750, and strange to say, they were after silver. Ownership of the hill was fought over in court from 1724 on, and in the 1760s the Bronsons leased most of the mine to Sampson Simson, Myer Myers and a partner. Nobody got rich. In 1854 the Woodbury historian called the steel ore of Mine Hill by far the most remarkable mine of its kind in the United States, and still almost totally neglected. In 1865 the Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company finally built furnaces and a village for its workers. Rev. Dr. Bushnell of Hartford named it Chalybes, from a Greek word for steel. The iron works closed in 1905.678910

Seth Warner comes home

Seth Warner was born in Roxbury parish in 1743, and his cousin Remember Baker was born here too. An 1851 county history names them as the two best known captains under Ethan Allen in the Green Mountain Boys. In May 1775 Allen sent Warner to take Crown Point, and Baker's company joined him there. After the war Warner came home to his Roxbury farm, and he died here in 1784. For years he lay in the Old Burying Ground, about a mile from the center, until the Woodbury historian scolded the town in print for neglecting the grave. The state put up $1,000, Warner's remains were moved in October 1858, and on April 30, 1859, a Quincy granite monument went up on the Centre Green.1112131415

Tophet Hollow and Hedgehog Swamp

Before it was Roxbury, this corner of Woodbury was called Shippauge, and the parish took its new name in 1743. The Woodbury historian walked the hills and wrote down what people called each place. West of Good Hill lies Tophet Hollow, a long ravine so dark, damp and dismal that the name stuck. In the rocks of Center Hill is a cave called Gamaliel Den. Hop Brook got its name from the wild hops that grew thick on its banks in the early days. Hedgehog Swamp, east of Warner's Mills, was said to be named for a fight between a dog and a porcupine, a story he told readers to take with many grains of allowance. Raven Rock, in the northwest, is a land trust preserve today.2105

Through the years

25 moments from 1713 to today.

  1. 1713English settlers come to the Shepaug country, part of Woodbury.1
  2. 1724The fight in court over who owns the mine on Mine Hill begins, and it runs on for generations.7
  3. 1728In 1728 or 1729 Dr. Ebenezer Warner buys Promiseck, at the town's southwest corner by the Shepaug.16
  4. 1743The parish called Shippauge becomes its own church society, under the name Roxbury.2
  5. 1743Seth Warner is born in Roxbury parish.11
  6. 1744The Society of Roxbury calls Thomas Canfield as its minister.17
  7. 1750About this year Hurlbut and Hawley open the Mine Hill mine, looking for silver.6
  8. 1762Nathaniel Smith is born in Roxbury, a farm boy from the town's rugged hills.18
  9. 1764Christ Church, the Episcopal parish, puts up its first building.19
  10. 1775Seth Warner and Remember Baker, both Roxbury natives, take Crown Point together.14
  11. 1784Seth Warner dies at home in Roxbury.11
  12. 1790The parish hires lawyers to press its petition to become a town.20
  13. 1795The Congregational church moves down from the old hilltop settlement to today's center.5
  14. 1796Roxbury becomes a town of its own in October.1
  15. 1838The Congregational church on Church Street is built, with its portico on Doric columns.5
  16. 1859Seth Warner's Quincy granite monument goes up on the Centre Green on April 30.15
  17. 1865The Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company buys Mine Hill and starts the iron works.9
  18. 1891Roxbury lives on farming and stone quarrying, with three stops on the Shepaug railroad.21
  19. 1899Garnet works join the town's list of industries.22
  20. 1903The Booth Free School is built as a high school.5
  21. 1905The iron furnace and mine on Mine Hill close.9
  22. 1907A large silica mill is counted among Roxbury's industries.23
  23. 1935The granite quarry at the foot of Mine Hill closes.9
  24. 1970The Roxbury Land Trust is founded to save the town's farms, woods and streams.5
  25. 1979The Roxbury Iron Mine and Furnace Complex is listed on the National Register.9

Places to see

The numbers match the landmark guide printed on the 2026 map.

  • 5Mine Hill PreserveNorthwest Roxbury. Restored furnace, ovens and old mine tunnels.Visit their website
  • 7Roxbury Town HallRoxbury Center. At the north end of the village.
  • 21Roxbury CenterChurch Street. Historic district with Seth Warner's obelisk.
  • 22Booth Free SchoolRoxbury Center. Built in 1903, still the town school.
  • 25Raven Rock PreserveNorthwest Roxbury. A land trust preserve.Visit their website
  • 27Good Hill SchoolhouseGood Hill. Refurbished by a student in 2006.
  • 31Gavel Family Farm PreserveRoxbury farmland. Saved in the Save Our Farms campaign.Visit their website
  • 32Brian E. Tierney Nature PreserveSquire Road. The land trust's first gift, 1974.Visit their website
  • 33Roxbury Congregational ChurchChurch Street. Built in 1838 on Doric columns.
  • 34Hodge Memorial Library and MuseumRoxbury Center. Library and museum south of the center.

On the National Register

All 5 places in Roxbury on the National Register of Historic Places that still stand today, oldest first, and why each one matters.4

  • Roxbury Center

    Listed 1983 · CT 67, Weller's Bridge Road, South and Church Streets

    The heart of town since the 1790s, with Federal and Greek Revival houses, two churches, the mid-1800s town hall and the 1937 library. Its oldest building is a 1740 tavern, and Seth Warner is buried beneath the obelisk on its green.24

  • Warham Williams House

    Built 1752 · Listed 1971 · Moved to Roxbury from Northford in 1978

    Built in Northford for its first minister, Rev. Warham Williams, it's prized for its elaborate front doorway with a broken scrolled pediment. It was taken down and rebuilt in a rural setting in Roxbury in 1978.25

  • Ezekial Beardsley-David Hare House and Studio

    Listed 2025 · 148 Good Hill Road

    A Good Hill Road house and studio tied to David Hare, the Surrealist sculptor and photographer, who moved to Roxbury as a young man and worked here as a color photographer.26

  • Roxbury Iron Mine and Furnace Complex

    Listed 1979 · Mine Hill Road

    The well-preserved remains of the iron works the Shepaug Spathic Iron and Steel Company began in 1865, with its blast furnace, roasting ovens, mine shafts and quarries. It's now the 360-acre Mine Hill Preserve of the Roxbury Land Trust.9

    Visit their website

  • Southbury Training School

    Built in the 1930s · Listed 1992 · 1461 South Britain Road (shared with Southbury)

    A state residential school for adults with intellectual disabilities, built in the 1930s on a campus of about 1,600 acres. The county list places it in Roxbury, and the district extends into Southbury.27

In their words

“Although it is by far the most remarkable mine of this ore in the United States.”

History of ancient Woodbury, 1854, on the steel ore of Mine Hill8

“A full history of this so honorably distinguished son of ancient Woodbury.”

History of ancient Woodbury, 1854, on Seth Warner of Roxbury28

“It was a dark, damp, heavily wooded, dismal place, and hence its name.”

History of ancient Woodbury, 1854, on Tophet Hollow10

Nearby towns

Sources

  1. Roxbury, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  2. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1871), on the Shippauge parish grant, Internet Archive
  3. A geographic dictionary of Connecticut (1894), Internet Archive
  4. National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  5. Map of Roxbury, Connecticut in 2026, KNOWOL (USGS elevation, Census Bureau roads)
  6. The Connecticut magazine (1899), on iron mining at Mine Hill, Internet Archive
  7. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on the Mine Hill title and leases, Internet Archive
  8. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on the steel ore of Mine Hill, Internet Archive
  9. Mine Hills Preserve, Wikipedia
  10. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Roxbury place names and Chalybes, Internet Archive
  11. Seth Warner, Wikipedia
  12. Remember Baker, Wikipedia
  13. A biographical history of the county of Litchfield, Connecticut (1851), on the Green Mountain Boys, Internet Archive
  14. A historical collection of the part sustained by Connecticut during the war of the revolution (1842), on Crown Point, Internet Archive
  15. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Seth Warner's monument, Internet Archive
  16. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Paquabaug and Promiseck, Internet Archive
  17. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Roxbury's first minister, Internet Archive
  18. A biographical history of the county of Litchfield, Connecticut (1851), on Nathaniel Smith, Internet Archive
  19. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Christ Church, Roxbury, Internet Archive
  20. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Roxbury's petition to become a town, Internet Archive
  21. Register and manual of the State of Connecticut (1891), Internet Archive
  22. Register and manual of the state of Connecticut (1899), Internet Archive
  23. Register and manual of the State of Connecticut (1907), Internet Archive
  24. Roxbury Center, Wikipedia
  25. Warham Williams House, Wikipedia
  26. David Hare (artist), Wikipedia
  27. Southbury Training School, Wikipedia
  28. History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut (1854), on Col. Seth Warner, Internet Archive