Guilford, Connecticut

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Guilford, Connecticut
Town
Guilford Green and Christ Episcopal Church
Guilford Green and Christ Episcopal Church
Official seal of Guilford, Connecticut
Seal
Motto: "Discover A Piece Of Connecticut History"[1]
Location in New Haven County, Connecticut
Location in New Haven County, Connecticut
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country United States
State Connecticut
NECTA New Haven
Region South Central Region
Settled 1639
Established 1643
Government
 • Type Selectman-town meeting
 • First selectman Joseph M. Mazza (R)[2]
 • Selectman Charles Havrda (R)
 • Selectman Cynthia Carter (R)
 • Selectman Carl Balestracci, Jr. (D)
 • Selectman Gary MacElhiney (D)
Area
 • Total 49.7 sq mi (128.7 km2)
 • Land 47.1 sq mi (121.9 km2)
 • Water 2.7 sq mi (6.9 km2)
Elevation 56 ft (17 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 22,375
 • Density 450/sq mi (170/km2)
 • Demonym Guilfordian
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06437
Area code(s) 203
FIPS code 09-34950
GNIS feature ID 0213438
Website www.ci.guilford.ct.us

Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 22,375 at the 2010 census.[3] It was named one of the top 100 places to live in the United States by Money magazine in 2005.[4]

First settled by Europeans in 1639 after being purchased from Native American leader Wequash, Guilford is considered by some to have the third largest collection of historic homes in New England, with important buildings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.[5] There are five historic house museums, including Dudley Farm and the Henry Whitfield House (1639), the oldest dwelling house in Connecticut and the oldest stone house in North America. The Comfort Starr House (1645–46) is one of the oldest wooden framed private dwellings in Connecticut, and one of the few houses remaining of the original signers who settled Guilford.[6]

Visit http://visitguilfordct.com for more information.

History

File:Gilford, Conn. ca. 1900.png
Guilford, ca. 1900

Guilford was named after the town of Guildford, in England,[7] whose name differs from its own less in pronunciation than in spelling.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.7 square miles (129 km2), of which 47.0 square miles (122 km2) is land and 2.7 square miles (6.9 km² or 5.39%) is water.

The primary settlement in Guilford, known as Guilford Center, is located in the southern part of town around the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Connecticut Route 77. It is served by three exits of Interstate 95, which passes just north of the town center. The Guilford Center census-designated place had a population of 2,597 at the 2010 census.[8]

The northwest side of Guilford is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet ridge in Guilford include Totoket Mountain; its most notable peak, Bluff Head; and two eastern high points on the Totoket Mountain ridge named East Sugarloaf and West Sugarloaf. The 50-mile (80 km) Mattabesett Trail traverses Bluff Head;, a shorter network of trails criss-cross the Sugarloafs. Guilford also contains the Westwoods Trail System which covers 39 miles (63 km) of trails on 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of land.

Transportation

The Shore Line East train stops at Guilford station with service to New Haven and New London and the Connecticut Transit S bus travels between Guilford and New Haven several times each day.

Principal communities

  • Guilford Center
  • Leetes Island
  • North Guilford
  • Nut Plains
  • Sachems Head (named after three Pequot chiefs who were captured and decapitated there by Mohegans)[citation needed]

Other minor communities and geographic features in Guilford are Guilford Lakes, Indian Cove, and Old Quarry.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1820 4,131 —
1850 2,653 —
1860 2,624 −1.1%
1870 2,576 −1.8%
1880 2,782 8.0%
1890 2,780 −0.1%
1900 2,785 0.2%
1910 3,001 7.8%
1920 2,803 −6.6%
1930 3,117 11.2%
1940 3,544 13.7%
1950 5,092 43.7%
1960 7,913 55.4%
1970 12,033 52.1%
1980 17,375 44.4%
1990 19,848 14.2%
2000 21,398 7.8%
2010 22,375 4.6%
Est. 2014 22,413 [9] 0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

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See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 21,398 people, 8,151 households, and 6,039 families residing in the town. The population density was 454.8 people per square mile (175.6/km²). There were 8,724 housing units at an average density of 185.4 per square mile (71.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.04% White, 0.93% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population.

There were 8,151 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $76,843, and the median income for a family was $87,045 (these figures had risen to $90,026 and $104,852 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[12]). Males had a median income of $60,623 versus $40,307 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,161. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 30, 2014[13]
Party Active voters Inactive voters Total voters Percentage
  Democratic 4,743 551 5,294 33.05%
  Republican 3,183 333 3,516 21.95%
  Unaffiliated 5,995 1113 7,108 44.38%
  Minor Parties 94 5 99 0.62%
Total 14,015 2,002 16,017 100%

Economy

American Cruise Lines has its headquarters in Guilford.[14][15]

List of town parks

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The town government operates these parks:[16]

  • Bittner Park — 123 acres (0.50 km2) of woodlands and 15 acres (61,000 m2) of playground, a lighted softball field (Cash Mitchell Field), baseball and soccer fields, jogging/walking path; trout trail; roller sports complex with a skate park, roller hockey and roller blading. Ice skating available in winter.[16]
  • Chaffinch Island — Picnic areas, short walking trails, salt marsh.[16]
  • Chittenden Park — Softball and soccer fields, bocce courts, picnicking, unsupervised beach area[16]
  • Jacobs Beach — Public swimming (salt water), playground, volleyball courts, picnicking; nonresidents may use the beach, but are charged a daily fee at the gate.[16]
  • Lake Quonnipaug — Public swimming, picnic area, small craft launch.[16]
  • Long Hill — 8-acre (32,000 m2) park with playing fields for baseball, football, soccer/lacrosse and field hockey[16]
  • Mill Pond — Lighted, supervised ice skating in winter; fishing[16]
  • Nut Plains — Lacrosse/soccer field[16]
  • Town Green — available for special events[16]

Notable locations

National Historic Places and other historic sites

Historic sites in or near Guilford, which may or may not be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, include:

The Comfort Starr House
File:Henry Whitfield House.jpg
The Henry Whitfield House, built in 1639, is the oldest stone house in New England.[citation needed]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Money Top 100 Best Places to Live 2005 Retrieved on 2008-01-09
  5. ↑ The Connecticut Nutmegger, Connecticut Society of Genealogists (Connecticut Society of Genealogists, 1981).
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=06000US0900331240&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US09%7C05000US09003%7C06000US0900331240&_street=&_county=guilford&_cityTown=guilford&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=060&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "General Information". American Cruise Lines. Retrieved on January 15, 2012. "American Cruise Lines, Inc. operates from headquarters in Guilford, Connecticut[...]"
  15. ↑ "Cruise News." (Archive) American Cruise Lines. Retrieved on January 15, 2012. "741 Boston Post Road ٠ Suite 200 ٠ Guilford, CT"
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9 [1] Web page titled "Guilford" at Hartford Courant Web site, dated August 16, 2006, accessed January 14, 2007
  17. ↑ Guilford-Acadians website retrieved on 2009-05-13
  18. ↑ "Abraham Baldwin (1754-1807)", New Georgia Encyclopedia (2009-01-06), Retrieved on 2013-07-21
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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