From New Milford, we make a side trip to its daughter town of Bridgewater, settled about 1734, and made a separate town in 1856. The name is probably descriptive. It occupies a high plateau broken by brook valleys, which rises in the north to 950 feet. The Housatonic River forms the western and southern boundary. Bridgewater has attracted many summer homes.
We enter the town from the northwest by R. 25, with superb views of the Housatonic valley below us as we climb the hill. From the village Green, which stands at an elevation of over 600 feet, there is a distant suggestion of the same view. The Congregational Church was built in 1807; there is fine carving on the old pulpit, which is stored in the front gallery. We find a number of good Colonial houses in the village and surrounding country, built in the late 18th or early 19th century.
For scenic drives, R. 67 should be followed east to Roxbury; and R. 25 south to Brookfield, with beautiful views of the Berkshire foothills, and two interesting house beyond the South Cemetery, 2 miles below the village. Taking Hut Hill Rd., about 1 1/2 miles south of the village, we come to Hut Hill, one of the high points in the town, with a complete horizon. The first side road to the west on R. 25 crosses the lower end of the attractive Platt Ravine; beyond this, a half mile climb to the right brings one to Rocky Hill, overlooking the river bend and the hills beyond. There is a somewhat similar view from Wolf Pit mt. above the Housatonic Gorge; it is reached by the road running due west from Bridgewater village, with a short climb to the north just before we descend to the river road.