Bethel, Connecticut

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Bethel, Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°22′27″N 73°23′42″W / 41.37417, -73.395
NECTA Danbury
Region Housatonic Valley
Incorporated 1855
Government
 - Type Selectman-town meeting
 - First selectman Robert E. Burke
Area
 - Total 43.8 km² (16.9 sq mi)
 - Land 43.5 km² (16.8 sq mi)
 - Water 0.2 km² (0.1 sq mi)
Elevation 147 m (482 ft)
Population (2005)[1]
 - Total 18,760
 - Density 431/km² (1,117/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06801
Area code(s) 203
FIPS code 09-04720
GNIS feature ID 0213390
Website: bethelct.org

Bethel is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA, about sixty miles from New York City.

The town is easily accessible from Interstate 84 and has a train station on the Danbury Branch of Metro-North's New Haven line.

Contents

[edit] In Bethel

  • Bicycle manufacturer Cannondale and battery manufacturer Duracell are headquartered in Bethel.
  • Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore and actress Meg Ryan are from Bethel.
  • In 1934, Rudolph Kunett started the first vodka distillery in the U.S. after purchasing rights to the recipe from the exiled Smirnoff family.
  • Bethel High School is home to an award-winning NJROTC unit. [1]

[edit] History

For 96 years, until its secession in 1855, Bethel was a parish of Danbury. The name "Bethel" means "House of El (God)".

[edit] On the National Register of Historic Places

  • Greenwood Avenue Historic District — Roughly along Greenwood Ave., P.T. Barnum Sq., Depot Pl., and South St. (added 1999)
  • Rev. John Ely House — 54 Milwaukee Ave. (added May 25, 2001)
  • Seth Seelye House — 189 Greenwood Ave. (added September 29, 1977)

[edit] Historic pictures

Bird's eye view, ca. 1910

P.T. Barnum Fountain, ca. 1914

Greenwood Avenue, ca. 1909

South Street, ca. 1910

[edit] Notable people, past and present

[edit] Movies filmed (at least partly) in Bethel

Source: Internet Movie DataBase Web site's page for Bethel, Connecticut

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²), of which, 16.8 square miles (43.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.53%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

Historical
population
of Bethel[2]
1860 1,711
1870 2,311
1880 2,727
1890 3,401
1900 3,327
1910 3,792
1920 3,201
1930 3,886
1940 4,105
1950 5,104
1960 8,200
1970 10,945
1980 16,004
1990 17,541
2000 18,067
2002 18,449
(est.)

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 18,067 people, 6,505 households, and 4,846 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,075.7 people per square mile (415.5/km²). There were 6,653 housing units at an average density of 396.1/sq mi (153.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town in 2005 was 85.86% White, 1.91% African American, 0.26% Native American, 4.58% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.20% from other races or of multiple races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.33% of the population. 20.2% were of Italian, 17.5% Irish, 9.1% German, 7.0% English, 6.7% American and 6.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000 [3]. 88.7% spoke English, 4.4% Spanish, 3.3% Portuguese, 1.5% German and 1.0% French as their first language [4].

There were 6,505 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $68,891, and the median income for a family was $78,358. Males had a median income of $51,816 versus $36,544 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,927. About 1.2% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[4]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
  Republican 2,732 95 2,827 24.84%
  Democratic 2,569 125 2,694 23.68%
  Unaffiliated 5,468 288 5,756 50.58%
  Minor Parties 93 9 102 0.90%
Total 10,862 517 11,379 100%

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
  2. ^ Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state ", article in Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Thurston Moore, leader of alt-rock legends Sonic Youth, who grew up in Bethel")
  3. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ 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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