Middlesex County, Connecticut

Middlesex County, Connecticut
Location in the state of Connecticut
Connecticut's location in the U.S.
Founded	May 1785
Seat	none; since 1960 Connecticut counties no longer have a county government Middletown (1785-1960)
Largest city	Middletown
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	439.07 sq mi (1,137 km²) 369.26 sq mi (956 km²) 69.81 sq mi (181 km²), 15.90%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	165,676 449/sq mi (173.4/km²)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd, 3rd

Middlesex County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was created in May 1785 from portions of Hartford and New London counties. As of 2010, the population was 165,676.

As is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is now no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal, and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources, e.g. water, gas, etc. However, Middlesex County is merely a group of towns on a map, and no longer has any particular authority.

Government

There is no government in Middlesex County other than the Middlesex County Judicial District. All county functions other than courts and county sheriff's departments were discontinued in 1960, and again in 2000 when the county sheriff's departments were reorganized as the State of Connecticut Judicial Marshal, due to political corruption in the county sheriff's departments. Joseph E. Bibisi was the last person ever to serve as high sheriff of Middlesex County.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 439.07 square miles (1,137.2 km²), of which 369.26 square miles (956.4 km²) (or 84.10%) is land and 69.81 square miles (180.8 km²) (or 15.90%) is water.

The terrain trends from mostly level along the Connecticut River and Atlantic coast to gently rolling uplands away from them. The highest elevation is close to a triangulation station in Meshomasic State Forest, located at 916 feet (279 m) above sea level; the lowest point is sea level.

Middlesex County is also the home of Wadsworth Falls.

Adjacent counties

• Hartford County (north)
• New London County (east)
• New Haven County (west)

National protected areas

• Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	18,828		—
1800	19,874		5.6%
1810	20,723		4.3%
1820	22,405		8.1%
1830	24,844		10.9%
1840	24,879		0.1%
1850	27,216		9.4%
1860	30,859		13.4%
1870	36,099		17.0%
1880	35,589		−1.4%
1890	39,524		11.1%
1900	41,760		5.7%
1910	45,637		9.3%
1920	47,550		4.2%
1930	51,388		8.1%
1940	55,999		9.0%
1950	67,332		20.2%
1960	88,865		32.0%
1970	114,816		29.2%
1980	129,017		12.4%
1990	143,196		11.0%
2000	155,071		8.3%
2010	165,676		6.8%

As of the census of 2000, there were 155,071 people, 61,341 households, and 40,607 families residing in the county. The population density was 420 people per square mile (162/km²). There were 67,285 housing units at an average density of 182 per square mile (70/km²). According to the Census of 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 89.22% White, 4.64% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 4.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.4% were of Italian, 14.3% Irish, 11.1% English, 8.9% Polish and 8.2% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.1% spoke English, 2.6% Spanish, 1.9% Italian, 1.2% French and 1.0% Polish as their first language.

There were 61,341 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.40% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $59,175, and the median income for a family was $71,319. Males had a median income of $48,341 versus $35,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,251. About 2.30% of families and 4.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.00% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

Data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Rank	Town		Per capita income	Median household income	Median family income	Population	Number of households
1	Fenwick	Borough	$110,127	$114,375	$250,000+	43	26
2	Essex	Town	$57,365	$87,480	$105,982	6,683	2,916
3	Killingworth	Town	$45,404	$99,500	$108,232	6,525	2,474
4	Old Saybrook	Town	$43,400	$79,985	$99,595	10,242	4,247
5	Cromwell	Town	$41,926	$82,012	$99,362	14,005	5,752
6	Chester	Town	$40,783	$80,185	$89,760	3,994	1,714
7	Durham	Town	$39,579	$105,417	$110,583	7,388	2,610
8	Portland	Town	$39,100	$86,661	$96,016	9,508	3,822
9	Westbrook	Town	$38,158	$61,069	$72,969	6,938	2,948
10	Haddam	Town	$37,324	$86,179	$100,343	8,346	3,218
11	East Haddam	Town	$37,156	$82,695	$86,023	9,126	3,593
12	Clinton	Town	$37,117	$74,174	$82,839	13,260	5,303
13	Middlefield	Town	$36,747	$80,392	$94,432	4,425	1,742
14	Deep River	Town	$35,564	$65,250	$81,641	4,629	1,940
15	East Hampton	Town	$34,555	$88,281	$95,854	12,959	5,060
16	Middletown	City	$31,348	$57,655	$78,006	47,648	19,863

Race

Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, "Race alone or in combination with one or more other races."

Rank	Town		Population	White	Black	Asian	American Indian	Other	Hispanic
1	Middletown	City	47,510	79.2%	15.7%	4.9%	0.6%	3.2%	8.1%
2	Cromwell	Town	13,951	93.2%	3.9%	3.3%	0.3%	0.5%	4.2%
3	Clinton	Town	13,291	95.8%	0.5%	2.1%	0.2%	1.8%	3.5%
4	East Hampton	Town	12,926	95.4%	1.6%	1.7%	0.3%	1.9%	3.8%
5	Old Saybrook	Town	10,307	97.8%	0.7%	1.8%	0.6%	0.0%	0.4%
6	Portland	Town	9,470	96.2%	2.2%	1.0%	0.2%	1.9%	4.4%
7	East Haddam	Town	9,069	99.3%	1.2%	0.0%	0.2%	0.7%	0.9%
8	Haddam	Town	8,267	98.5%	1.5%	0.5%	1.5%	0.2%	2.6%
9	Durham	Town	7,342	94.7%	0.5%	3.1%	0.2%	3.2%	5.3%
10	Westbrook	Town	6,891	95.4%	0.5%	4.0%	1.2%	0.0%	4.5%
11	Essex	Town	6,697	98.8%	0.6%	1.4%	0.1%	0.1%	0.6%
12	Killingworth	Town	6,499	96.7%	0.0%	7.5%	1.4%	0.7%	3.0%
13	Deep River	Town	4,652	88.7%	2.0%	0.3%	0.8%	7.5%	8.6%
14	Middlefield	Town	4,418	94.3%	1.7%	4.2%	0.0%	0.7%	1.5%
15	Chester	Town	3,984	98.3%	0.4%	1.7%	0.7%	0.0%	2.6%
16	Fenwick	Borough	51	100.0%	5.9%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Cities, towns, and villages*

Map of Middlesex County, Connecticut showing cities, boroughs, towns, and CDPs

• Chester (Town)
• Clinton (Town)
• Cromwell (Town)
• Deep River (Town) (Known as Saybrook until 1947, when name was changed to Deep River)
• --Winthrop (a village of Deep River)
• Durham (Town)
• East Haddam (Town)
• -- Moodus (a village of East Haddam)
• East Hampton (Town)
• -- Lake Pocotopaug (a village of East Hampton)
• Essex (Town)
• -- Essex Village (a village of Essex)
• -- Centerbrook (a village of Essex)
• -- Ivoryton (a village of Essex)
• Haddam (Town)
• -- Higganum (a village of Haddam)
• Killingworth (Town)
• Middlefield (Town)
• -- Rockfall (a village of Middlefield)
• Middletown (City)
• Old Saybrook (Town)
• -- Fenwick (a borough of Old Saybrook)
• -- Old Saybrook Center (a village of Old Saybrook)
• -- Saybrook Manor (a village of Old Saybrook)
• Portland (Town)
• Strafford (Town)
• Waterville (Town)
• Westbrook (Town)
• Westford (Town)

* Villages are named localities within towns, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Connecticut

External links

• Middlesex County Sheriff's Department (department is now defunct but the website is still available in an internet archive)
• Middlesex County Fire School (agency still exists but the site is an archive and now defunct)
• National Register of Historic Places listing for Middlesex Co., Connecticut
• Middlesex County Historical Society
• History
• Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce
•  "Middlesex: II. A S. county of Connecticut". The American Cyclopædia. 1879.