Southwest (Hartford, Connecticut)

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Large farms covered much of the South West neighborhood through most of the 19th century.

The eastern boundary of the neighborhood is Fairfield Avenue, which runs along a natural ridge of land that is 159 feet above the Connecticut River and was once promoted as the "highest elevation in Hartford." The road was considered to be the main thoroughfare to Wethersfield and attracted leisure drivers with its sweeping vistas eastward and westward.

For many years, the Weed, Easton and Smith homes were the only structures on the road, giving it a rural feeling. When trolley lines were established along Fairfield Avenue, New Britain Avenue and Hillside Avenue, the area saw a building boom.

Cedar Hill Cemetery is located in the neighborhood. It is an exemplary landscape-park style open space. Laid out by landscape architect Jacob Weidenmann, the chapel, gatehouse and several monuments were designed by George Keller. Several notables are buried at Cedar Hill, among them J.P. Morgan, Samuel Colt, the Galludets, and poet Wallace Stevens.

Today, South West is a low density residential area, inhabited primarily by middle income households who own their own homes.