Easton, Connecticut
| Easton, Connecticut | |||
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| — Town — | |||
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| Coordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W / 41.26583°N 73.30083°WCoordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W / 41.26583°N 73.30083°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Connecticut | ||
| NECTA | Bridgeport-Stamford | ||
| Region | Greater Bridgeport | ||
| Incorporated | 1845 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting | ||
| • First selectman | Thomas A. Herrmann | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 28.6 sq mi (74.1 km2) | ||
| • Land | 27.4 sq mi (71.0 km2) | ||
| • Water | 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 427 ft (130 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 7,490 | ||
| • Density | 260/sq mi (100/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 06612 | ||
| Area code(s) | 203 | ||
| FIPS code | 09-23890 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0213427 | ||
| Website | www.eastonct.gov | ||
Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census.[1] Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck.
The town is a small rural community situated amongst Redding, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Weston, and Newtown.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.6 square miles (74 km2), of which 27.4 square miles (71 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), or 4.23%, is water. The city has three named sections/neighborghoods: Easton center, Aspetuck, and Plattsville.
[edit] History
Easton was first settled in 1757 by men from Fairfield. In 1762 a congregation called the North Fairfield Society was established, and it gradually evolved into Easton. In 1787 Weston, then including lands now defined as Easton, was incorporated from Fairfield. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River, and so it was not until 1845 that Easton was incorporated from Weston. Today, while close to the New York metropolitan area, Easton remains a quiet and even rural residential town. Half of the town's property is owned by the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, the major supplier of water in the area.
On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death.
The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was a 76-foot (23 m) Norway Spruce donated from a private residence in Easton.
[edit] On the National Register of Historic Places
| Historical population of Easton[2] |
|
| 1850 | 1,432 |
| 1860 | 1,350 |
| 1870 | 1,288 |
| 1880 | 1,145 |
| 1890 | 1,001 |
| 1900 | 960 |
| 1910 | 1,052 |
| 1920 | 1,017 |
| 1930 | 1,013 |
| 1940 | 1,262 |
| 1950 | 2,165 |
| 1960 | 3,404 |
| 1970 | 4,885 |
| 1980 | 5,962 |
| 1990 | 6,303 |
| 2000 | 7,272 |
| 2010 | 7,490 |
- Aspetuck Historic District — Roughly, Redding Rd. from jct. with Old Redding Rd. to Wells Hill Rd. and Old Redding Rd. N past Aspetuck R. (added September 23, 1991)
- Bradley-Hubbell House — 535 Black Rock Turnpike (added April 18, 2003)
- Ida Tarbell House — 320 Valley Rd. (added May 19, 1993)
[edit] Working farms
Maple Row Tree Farm is located at 539 North Park Avenue. It was started in the mid 1950s. During the 1700s it was a dairy farm owned and run by the Edwards family. The farm is over 200 acres (81 ha) in size, and the Edwards family continues to own and operate the farm. During the Christmas season, visitors can choose and cut their own tree, or they can buy a pre-cut tree. Pre-cut trees are up to 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, while trees to select and cut may be up to 9 feet (2.7 m) tall. Maple Row Tree Farm grows eight different types of trees, including Balsam Fir, Canaan Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, Concolor Fir, Douglas-fir, Eastern White Pine, Fraser Fir, Norway Spruce and White Spruce.[2]
Silverman’s Farm is located at 451 Sport Hill Road. The farm was started in the 1920s by Ben Silverman. During the 1970s and 1980s Silverman’s became a pick your own fruit farm. In 2004 the apple cider mill was closed due to changes in the pressing standards. Today apple cider is sold at Silverman’s Farm Market, but it is not made on the premises. Silverman’s has a petting farm which includes buffalo, llamas, sheep, pigs, goats, fallow deer, donkeys, emu, and other animals. The farm also has tractor rides, an orchard, a farm market and a florist.[3]
[edit] Emergency services
[edit] Emergency medical services
Easton Volunteer EMS is located at 448 Sport Hill Road and offers the EMT-B certification course.[4] The agency was established in 1946 and currently has two ambulances and a staff of two officers, two career techs and twenty nine volunteers.[5]
[edit] Fire department
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011) |
The town of Easton is protected 24/7, 365, by the 8 professional firefighters of the Easton Fire Department(EFD). Founded in 1921, the Easton Fire Department is a combination professional/volunteer fire department that operates out of 1 Fire Station, located at 1 Center Rd. in the center of town, and also operate a fire apparatus fleet of 3 Engines, 1 Attack Engine, 1 Haz-Mat. Unit, 1 Brush Unit, and a Command Vehicle. The Easton Fire Department responds to approximately 100 emergency calls annually.
[edit] Police department
The Easton Police Department (EPD) is located at 700 Morehouse Road. The department includes a K9 unit, D.A.R.E and an animal control unit.[6] The Easton Police Explorer Post 2001 is an affiliated with the department.[7] Easton Police are also first responders for all EMS calls in town. They are all certified MRT’s and can provide oxygen, perform basic first aid, and defibrillation.[8]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 7,272 people, 2,465 households, and 2,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.2 people per square mile (102.4/km²). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 91.6 per square mile (35.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.
There were 2,465 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the town the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $125,557, and the median income for a family was $135,055. Males had a median income of $85,777 versus $51,528 for females. The per capita income for the town was $53,885. About 1.9% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[10] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | |
| Republican | 1,797 | 68 | 1,865 | 35.08% | |
| Democratic | 1,011 | 37 | 1,048 | 19.71% | |
| Unaffiliated | 2,307 | 87 | 2,394 | 45.03% | |
| Minor Parties | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0.17% | |
| Total | 5,124 | 192 | 5,316 | 100% | |
[edit] Bridge problems
The Route 59 bridge in Easton, which carries more than 10,000 cars and trucks every day over the Mill River, has a substructure rated in critical condition by state safety inspectors. As of early August 2007, the bridge was one of 12 in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are considered to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.[11]
[edit] Notable residents, past and present
- Anne Baxter, a weekend resident.[12]
- Phoebe Brand, blacklisted actress, married to Morris Carnovsky, Group Theatre (New York).
- Elise Broach, children's book author, is a current resident.
- Morris Carnovsky, blacklisted actor, Group Theatre (New York).
- Hume Cronyn, actor and husband of Jessica Tandy[12]
- Edna Ferber, playwright and novelist, was a weekend resident.[12]
- Eileen Fulton was a resident.[12]
- Helen Keller, blind, deaf author, lived in town. The town middle school is named for her.[12]
- Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor, has been a weekend resident.[12]
- Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972), aviation pioneer and helicopter inventor.[13][14]
- Jessica Tandy, actress (wife of Hume Cronyn)[12]
- Ida M. Tarbell,'Muckraker', about whom Weinberg encapsulates: "How ...[she] brought down the world's greatest tycoon [John D. Rockefeller] and broke up the Standard Oil monopoly."[12]
- Johnny Winter, blues guitarist, is a current resident.[12]
[edit] School systems
Easton has three schools, Samuel Staples Elementary school, for children in grades from kindergarten to 5th grade, Helen Keller Middle School, for children in grades 6 through 8, and the private school, Easton Country Day (formerly Phoenix Academy). High school students attend Joel Barlow High School in Redding.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Easton town, Connecticut". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ http://www.mrfarm.com/index.html
- ^ http://www.silvermansfarm.com/farm_history.html
- ^ http://www.eastonems.com
- ^ http://www.eastonems.com/aboutus.html
- ^ http://explorers.eastonctpolice.com/calendar/index.html
- ^ http://explorers.eastonctpolice.com/
- ^ http://www.eastonems.com/responsetocalls.html
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20060923151511/http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/lists/2005OctRegEnrollStats.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
- ^ Kaplan, Thomas, Martineau, Kim, and Kauffman, Matthew, "12 state bridges are judged to be in critical condition" article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, article reprinted from The Hartford Courant, August 5, 2007, pp1, A6
- ^ a b c d e f g h i [1] Kaufman, Joanne. "Weekender: Easton, Conn." article in The New York Times, October 12, 2002, accessed September 25, 2006
- ^ U.S. Patent 1,848,389
- ^ Ikenson page 24
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Easton, Connecticut |
- Town of Easton official website
- "Living in: Easton, Conn.: A Town of Homes and Country Roads," by Eleanor Charles, an article in the Real Estate section of The New York Times, July 8, 2001
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