Litchfield, on a plateau above the Naugatuck Valley, has preserved a semblance of the 18th century through both its many early homes and its air of peace and quiet. Because the railroads laid their main lines below in the valley, industry largely bypassed Litchfield. The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher and his sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, grew up in Litchfield. Tapping Reeve established the first law school in the country here in the late 18th century.