Trumbull, Connecticut

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trumbull, Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°13′59″N 73°13′6″W / 41.23306, -73.21833
NECTA Bridgeport-Stamford
Region Greater Bridgeport
Incorporated 1797
Government
 - Type First selectman-Town council
 - First selectman Raymond G. Baldwin, Jr.
Area
 - Total 60.9 km² (23.5 sq mi)
 - Land 60.3 km² (23.3 sq mi)
 - Water 0.6 km² (0.2 sq mi)
Elevation 81 m (266 ft)
Population (2005)
 - Total 35,299
 - Density 585/km² (1,515/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06611
Area code(s) 203
FIPS code 09-77200
GNIS feature ID 0213518
Website: http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/

Trumbull is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 34,243 at the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] History

Originally settled by the English as a part of the town of Stratford, Connecticut. On May 15, 1656, the Court of the Colony of Connecticut in Hartford, granted Stratford's request to establish their bounds 12 miles inland from the sound, which included all of present day Trumbull. In 1661 and 1662, Stratford selectmen Lt. Joseph Judson, Captain Joseph Hawley and John Minor, signed deeds of transfer with the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation for the land in northern Trumbull. By the early 1670s, the fertile area around Mischa Hill, located in the Nichols section of Trumbull, was surveyed and divided by the townsmen. The early farmers built their homes along the Farm Highway, establishing a new village separate from Stratford. Some of these early farms extended for over a mile. In 1679, Ebenezer Curtiss was granted land near Lt. Joseph Judson's farm at that time owned by Abraham Nichols. In 1683, Ephraim Hawley built his home on his father's farm commonly called "Captain's Farm". In 1688, John Curtiss gifted his farm, at the time called "Mischa Hill", to his son Benjamin. Zachariah Curtiss built a home and small barn between 1696 and 1721 at his father's farm, commonly called "Old Farm".

[edit] Unity

In 1725, the families residing at Mischa Hill, desiring to have their own meeting house, were given permission to form their own Parish called Unity and in 1730 they established the Unity Congregational Church. Others began settling the areas of Trumbull now called Chestnut Hill, Stratfield, Trumbull Center, Long Hill, and Tashua. In 1744, the Parish of Unity and the Long Hill Parish of the Stratfield section of Stratford, asked permission to combine and become the Society of North Stratford. The General Assembly in Hartford referred to the eastern boundaries of Unity at that time as ancient when they approved the new town in 1744. The name of the town changed to Trumbull in 1797 when the town was incorporated and local government was established. The new town was named after Jonathan Trumbull who served as an advisor to General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War and became Connecticut's first governor.

[edit] Revolutionary War

Huldah Hawley was born February 23, 1755 and died June 27, 1856, at the age of 101. The widow of Tory Chauncey Beardsley, Huldah took pleasure in talking of the exciting times of the Revolution and related during her lifetime about the time that two companies of French soldiers, under the command of French General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, encamped a whole winter during the American Revolutionary War on what is now known as Mountain Hill, a high rocky bluff in the central part of the Village of Nichols Farm's. This bluff, at the time, commanded a view of seventy miles. Hawley said the soldiers would compel her to cook for them and she furnished provisions for them through fear that they would kill her. It is also believed that from June 28 to June 30, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, units of the French cavalry called Lauzun's Legion encamped overnight on a hilltop in present day Abraham Nichols Park. The Legion was commanded by Colonel Armand Louis de Gontaut-Biron, duc de Lauzun and was sent ahead to protect the French General Rochambeau's main army marching south through North Stratford to reinforce American troops under the command of General George Washington at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781. French coins have since been found near the site of their camp.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.5 square miles (60.9 km²), of which, 23.3 square miles (60.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 34,243 people, 11,911 households, and 9,707 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,470.6 people per square mile (567.7/km²). There were 12,160 housing units at an average density of 522.2/sq mi (201.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.02% White, 1.88% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.70% of the population.

There were 11,911 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living within them, 71.7% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $79,507, and the median income for a family was $88,290. Males had a median income of $62,201 versus $41,384 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,931. About 1.4% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] On the National Register of Historic Places

Historical
population of
Trumbull[1]
1800 1,291
1810 1,241
1820 1,232
1830 1,242
1840 1,204
1850 1,309
1860 1,474
1870 1,335
1880 1,323
1890 1,453
1900 1,587
1910 1,642
1920 2,597
1930 3,624
1940 5,294
1950 8,641
1960 20,379
1970 31,394
1980 32,989
1990 32,016
2000 34,243
  • Christ Episcopal Church and Tashua Burial Ground — 5170 Madison Ave. (added May 25, 2001)
  • David, Jr. Mallett House — 420 Tashua Road (added March 20, 1986)
  • Kaatz Icehouse — 255 Whitney Ave. (added October 19, 1977)
  • Nichols Farms Historic District — Center Road, 1681-1944 Huntington Turnpike, 5-34 Priscilla Place, and 30-172 Shelton Road (added September 20, 1987)
  • Old Mine Park Archeological Site (added 1990)

[edit] Notable people, past and present

[edit] High schools

[edit] Major roadways

Route 8 runs through the southeast part of town. Route 8 is a freeway that leads to Waterbury and I-84. Route 25 goes from the northern part of town to the southern part where it merges with Route 8 at the Bridgeport line and continues overlapped with Route 8 (commonly known as the Route 8/25 connector) into Bridgeport ending at Interstate 95. Continuing north on Route 25, the freeway ends and continues as a surface road towards I-84 in Newtown leading to Danbury. Route 15, also known as the Merritt Parkway, goes north (east) to New Haven (eventually connecting to I-91) and south (west) towards New York City. Route 15 runs along the southern part of town. Route 127, also known as White Plains Road/Church Hill Road, runs through the town center south to north from the East Side of Bridgeport. Route 127 ends at Route 111 at the Town Hall. Route 111, also known as Main Street in Trumbull and Bridgeport, also goes north to south. Continuing north on Route 111, the road crosses Route 25 and eventually heads into Monroe. Main Street continues south past Route 15 (where it is exit 48 off of Route 15) and past Westfield Shopping Town Trumbull into the North End of Bridgeport. Connecticut Route 108, also known as Nichols Avenue and Huntington Turnpike, heads north into southeastern Trumbull from Stratford and is considered by some to be the third oldest documented highway in Connecticut [2].

[edit] Leisure activities

Plasko's Farm is very popular in the Fall for their corn maze. Many good restaurants are in the town including the Grille and Bar in Trumbull Center, Town Hall Restaurant, and since Trumbull is close to many other towns, you can easily cross the border to go to other towns for wonderful cuisine.

[edit] Movies filmed (or partially filmed) in Trumbull

[edit] External links


[edit] References

  • Reverend Orcutt, History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Fairfield Historical Society, 1886
  • History of Trumbull Dodrasquicentennial 1797-1972 Commemorative Book, Trumbull Historical Society, 1972
  • Isaac William Stuart, Life of Jonathan Trumbull Sen., Governor of Connecticut, Crocker and Brewster, 1859
  • Henry Phelps Johnston, The Yorktown Campaign and the Surrender of Cornwallis, 1781, Ayer Publishing, 1971

[edit] See also

Flag of Connecticut
v • d • e

 
State of Connecticut
Hartford (capital)
Topics
Regions
Counties
Cities
Places
v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Cities
Towns
Borough
Unincorporated
communities