Glastonbury, Connecticut

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Glastonbury, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°41′13″N, 72°32′41″W
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Incorporated 1693
Government type Council-manager
Town manager Richard J. Johnson
Town council Susan Karp, Chm.
Whit Osgood, Vice Chm.
Carol Hemlock Ahlschlager
Stewart Beckett, III
Kurt P. Cavanaugh
Marti Curtiss
Thomas J. Kehoe
Carolyn M. Treiss
Barbara C. Wagner
Area  
 - City 135.5 km²  (52.3 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2005) 33,089
 - Density 249/km² (644/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06033, 06073
Website: http://www.glasct.org/

Glastonbury (41n43, 72w37 EST) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. It was named after the English Glastonbury. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, south east from Hartford.

Contents

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 135.4 km² (52.3 mi²). 133.0 km² (51.4 mi²) of it is land and 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (1.76%) is water.

The town begins on the banks of the Connecticut River and extends up into foothills, many of which provide a view of Hartford's skyline. Some major developments in the town are built entirely on relatively steep hills, such as "Minnechaug Mountain", the major residential area developed from the 70s until late 90s.

Part of Glastonbury resides in an area locally called "Rattlesnake Mountain" because it has a small population of Timber Rattlesnakes. Since that area is sparsely developed and mostly in a state forest, the snakes don't pose much of a threat and incidents are rare and every known bite has been treated in time.

The town boasts a small lake named Diamond Lake, which is surrounded by growing subdivisions of large homes.

A couple state parks and state forests touch the town, including Gay City State Park, a popular area for hiking, horseback riding, and camping.

[edit] Demographics

Glastonbury is the wealthiest town east of the Connecticut River (in terms of household income) in the state of Connecticut.[1] Many estates are perched on hills with views of the Hartford skyline. Glastonbury has experienced continuous rapid growth since the 1950s, and was on the edge of Hartford's urban sprawl until the mid-1990s. By mid-1990s, growth moved beyond Glastonbury as the open land became sparse and the municipality began buying back land. Currently, most of the development are subdivisions of large homes on relatively small lots, and existing property has experienced a significant growth in real-estate values as the state of Connecticut began constructing a green belt, increasing the land shortage for metro Hartford.

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 31,876 people, 12,257 households, and 8,984 families residing in the town. The population density was 239.6/km² (620.5/mi²). There were 12,614 housing units at an average density of 94.8/km² (245.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.10% White, 1.53% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.40% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population.

There were 7 households out of which 1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,660, and the median income for a family was $94,978. Males had a median income of $68,083 versus $43,810 for females. The per capita income for the town was $40,820. About 1.5% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[1]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
Democratic 6,204 193 6,397 28.46%
Republican 6,182 243 6,425 28.58%
Unaffiliated 9,255 399 9,654 42.95%
Minor Parties 3 0 3 0.01%
Total 21,644 835 22,479 100%

[edit] History

Glastonbury was originally settled in 1636, and split off from Wethersfield in 1693, after residents on the eastern side of the Connecticut River complained of having to cross the river to attend church in Wethersfield. The Rocky Hill - Glastonbury Ferry, the oldest continiously running ferry in the United States, started running in 1655 between Rocky Hill (which was then also a part of Wethersfield) and South Glastonbury. Once a church was established and a reverend was appointed, Glastonbury (originally spelled several different ways, including "Glassenbery") became an established village. (A result of being split off was that the town was built along a main road, rather than the large green that anchors most New England towns. After part of New London Turnpike was realigned to eliminate the rotary in the middle of town during the mid-20th century, a small green was established there.)

[edit] Notable inhabitants

[edit] References

  1. ^ Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.

[edit] External links

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