Durham, Connecticut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Durham, Connecticut | |
  Durham, Connecticut
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| NECTA | New Haven |
| Region | Midstate Region |
| Incorporated | 1708 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Selectman-town meeting |
| - First selectman | Laura L. Francis |
| Area | |
| - Total | 61.6 km² (23.8 sq mi) |
| - Land | 61.1 km² (23.6 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0.4 km² (0.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 52 m (171 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 7,266 |
| - Density | 119/km² (308/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 06422 |
| Area code(s) | 860 |
| FIPS code | 09-20810 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213419 |
| Website: http://www.townofdurhamct.org/ | |
Durham is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. It has grown into a wealthy suburb due to its peaceful character and central location in the state. Every autumn, during the last weekend in September, the town hosts the wildly successful Durham Fair, the largest volunteer agricultural fair in North America. The population was 6,627 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.8 square miles (61.5 km²), of which, 23.6 square miles (61.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (0.67%) is water. Miller's Pond State Park is located within the town.
The west side of Durham is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous traprock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet ridge in Durham include Trimountain, Fowler Mountain, Pistapaug Mountain, and the north tip of Totoket Mountain. The 50 mi (80 km) Mattabesett Trail traverses the ridge.
[edit] History
First settled in 1699 by Guilford resident Caleb Seward, Durham was originally called Coginchaug by the Native Americans who lived near the swampy area.
Durham is renowned for having one of the first public libraries in the United States. It was founded in 1733, two years after Benjamin Franklin started the Philadelphia library.[1]
In the 1830s Durham came to prominence as the birthplace of Richard P. Robinson, who was tried for and acquitted of the infamous murder of Helen Jewett.[1]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 6,627 people, 2,277 households, and 1,871 families residing in the town. The population density was 280.8 people per square mile (108.4/km²). There were 2,349 housing units at an average density of 99.5/sq mi (38.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.68% White, 1.15% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.30% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.
There were 2,277 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.3% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $77,639, and the median income for a family was $82,864. Males had a median income of $51,250 versus $38,833 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,306. About 1.3% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.4% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[3] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | |
| Republican | 1,284 | 21 | 1,305 | 26.58% | |
| Democratic | 1,044 | 22 | 1,066 | 21.72% | |
| Unaffiliated | 2,476 | 57 | 2,533 | 51.60% | |
| Minor Parties | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.10% | |
| Total | 4,809 | 100 | 4,909 | 100% | |
[edit] Notable people, past and present
- The Rev. Nathaniel Chauncey, first graduate of Yale University.
- Moses Austin, (1761-1821), born in Durham, noted businessman involved in the lead industry[4]
- Stephen Austin, Son of Moses Austin and founder of Texas.
- Chauncey Goodrich (1759-1815), lawyer and politician who served in the U.S. House of Represenatives and Senate. In the Sixth Congress, he served with his brother, Elizur.
- Elizur Goodrich (1761-1849), lawyer and politician
- Phineas Lyman (1716-74) major general in the Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War who later led settlers to a tract of land near Natchez, Mississippi
- James Wadsworth (1730–1816) lawyer, the second-highest ranked militia officer in the state during the American Revolutionary War and a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784.
[edit] Durham Meadows Superfund Site
The Durham Meadows superfund site encompasses an area of town around the abandoned Merriam Manufacturing, and the operational Durham Manufacturing companie. Both companies disposed of orgainic solvents, paint wastes, and degreasers in open lagoons and buried drums. The waste leached into the town's water supply, contaminating several private wells with methylene chloride, 1,4-dioxane, and other volitile organic carbons (VOC's).
The USEPA and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection are coordinating clean up and monitoring efforts, including the delivery of free bottled water to affected residents.
[edit] List of National Historic Sites in Durham
- Thomas Lyman House, added November 20, 1975
- Main Street Historic District, added September 4, 1986
[edit] External links
[edit] References
-
- ^ a b Cohen, Patricia C. (1999). The Murder of Helen Jewett. Vintage. ISBN 0679740759. p. 235
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.
- Fowler, Chauncey (1866). History of Durham, Connecticut, From the First Grant of Land in 1662 to 1866. Hartford, Conn.: Hartford, Wiley, Waterman and Eaton.
- http://yosemite.epa.gov/r1/npl_pad.nsf/f52fa5c31fa8f5c885256adc0050b631/9434A73086E515C18525690D00449688?OpenDocument
|
|
||||||||||||||||
