New Fairfield, Connecticut

"New Fairfield" redirects here. For the small community in the midwestern United States, see New Fairfield, Indiana.

New Fairfield, Connecticut
—  Town  —
Seal
Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°28′57″N 73°29′19″W
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Region	Housatonic Valley
Incorporated	1740
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
• First selectman	John E. Hodge
Area
• Total	25.1 sq mi (65.0 km2)
• Land	20.5 sq mi (53.0 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (11.9 km2)
Elevation	755 ft (230 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	13,881
• Density	553.1/sq mi (213.6/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06812
Area code(s)	203
FIPS code	09-50860
GNIS feature ID	0213469
Website	New Fairfield

New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,881 at the 2010 census. The town is considered part of the greater New York Metropolitan Area and lies approximately 50 miles (80 km) from New York City. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. New Fairfield neighbors Sherman, Danbury, and Brewster, NY.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.1 square miles (65 km²), of which 20.5 square miles (53 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²), or 18.32%, is water.

There are four lakes in New Fairfield: Candlewood Lake, Squantz Pond, Ball Pond, and Margerie Reservoir. Candlewood Lake dominates the eastern side of the town and extends both north and south beyond the town borders. Once a summer resort destination, the lake within New Fairfield is now mostly populated with many year-round homes. To the north of New Fairfield, in the towns of Sherman and New Milford, the lakeshore still contains a large number of summer communities filled with residents from NYC and western New England.^{[citation needed]}

Principal communities

• Ball Pond
• Candlewood Isle
• Candlewood Knolls
• Candlewood Shores
• Knollcrest
• New Fairfield center

Other minor named locales in the town are Bogus Hill, Candlewood Hills, Hillyview Drive, Hollywyle Park, Inglenook, Joyce Hill, Locust Glen, Sail Harbor, Possum Ridge, and Lavelle Avenue.

The newer communities with larger houses can be found in Sail Harbor. Many communities have large houses with direct waterfront access to Candlewood Lake, such as Sail Harbor, Candlewood Isle, and Bogus Hill. There has been many new subdivisions such as communities off Warwick Road, Route 39/37, Pine Hill, Beaver Bog, Dick Fin, and Shortwoods Road.

Attractions

• Cosier-Murphy House — 67 Route 39 (added to the National Register of Historic Places August 31, 1991)
• New Fairfield Historical District
• Squantz Pond State Park is partly in the town.

Historical population of New Fairfield[1]
1756	713
1774	1,308
1782	1,441
1790	1,573
1800	1,665
1810	772
1820	788
1830	939
1840	956
1850	927
1860	915
1870	870
1880	791
1890	670
1900	584
1910	551
1920	468
1930	434
1940	608
1950	1,236
1960	3,355
1970	6,991
1980	11,260
1990	12,911
2000	13,953
2010	13,881

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,953 people, 4,638 households, and 3,905 families residing in the town. The population density was 681.9 people per square mile (263.3/km²). There were 5,148 housing units at an average density of 251.6 per square mile (97.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.83% White, 0.39% African American, 0.04% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.

The 2000 census reported that New Fairfield was the most heavily Irish-American community in Connecticut, with about 32% of the residents claiming Irish ancestry [2]

There were 4,638 households out of which 44.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.8% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $84,375, and the median income for a family was $92,576. Males had a median income of $65,978 versus $40,284 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,928. About 1.0% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town has one high school, New Fairfield High School, one middle school for grades 6 through 8, New Fairfield Middle School, one elementary school for grades 3 to 5, Meeting House Hill School, and a primary school for Kindergarten through grade 2, Consolidated School and a preschool/day care center, Bright Beginnings.

Zip code 06812

When ZIP codes were introduced in 1963, the original Danbury code, 06810, also covered the whole of New Fairfield. When Danbury received additional ZIP codes in 1984, a new code, 06812, was introduced for New Fairfield.

New Fairfield was home to the Candlewood Playhouse, a 650-seat summer stock theater run by the Gateway Playhouse, currently operating in Bellport, New York. The land once occupied by it is now a Stop and Shop supermarket.

Notable residents (past and present)

• Margot Austin, author illustrator.
• Emmure (Joe & Ben Lionetti), metal band.
• Jennifer Rizzotti, UCONN basketball player, who once was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated

External links

• Town of New Fairfield official website
• New Fairfield School District
• New Fairfield Library
• New Fairfield Connects community website
• New Fairfield Going Green recycling campaign