In writing a new book about Litchfield’s history, architectural historian Rachel Carley has recently debunked a commonly held belief about the Litchfield green. Sources indicated that landscape architect John C. Olmsted, of the noted Brookline, Mass firm, Olmsted Brothers, was responsible for the look of the Colonial Revival-era landscape. However, a blueprint at the Historical Society (shown above) provides evidence that the designer was actually Walter A. Williston, an engineer from Torrington. Olmsted was involved in the project, consulting with the town’s Village Improvement Society on the aesthetics. The only suggestion he made that appears to have been followed was to remove the pipe-rail fences from around the green, which were initially installed to prevent citizens from driving on it.