The relationship between residents and the land has shaped the community for as long as people have lived here. Litchfield was founded on the traditional territory of the Potatuck people, who cultivated crops, foraged, fished, and hunted on the land. Litchfield residents in the 18th and 19th centuries grew and harvested most of what they needed from their own property. Today, most homes are surrounded by gardens and lawns that serve more ornamental purposes. The land surrounding the Tapping Reeve House has been re-imagined as a community resource with landscape elements from Litchfield's past.