Sherman, Connecticut
| Sherman, Connecticut | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 41°34′46″N 73°29′44″W / 41.57944°N 73.49556°WCoordinates: 41°34′46″N 73°29′44″W / 41.57944°N 73.49556°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Connecticut |
| NECTA | Danbury |
| Region | Housatonic Valley |
| Incorporated | 1802 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting |
| • First selectman | Andrea B. O'Connor |
| Area | |
| • Total | 23.4 sq mi (60.6 km2) |
| • Land | 21.8 sq mi (56.5 km2) |
| • Water | 1.6 sq mi (4.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 466 ft (142 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 3,581 |
| • Density | 153/sq mi (59.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 06784 |
| Area code(s) | 860 |
| FIPS code | 09-68310 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213505 |
| Website | http://www.townofshermanct.org/ |
Sherman is the northernmost and least populous town of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,581 at the 2010 census.[1] The town is named for New Haven's Founding Father, Roger Sherman.
Sherman has been named "Best Small Town in Connecticut" three times by Connecticut Magazine.
The Appalachian Trail goes through the northern end of Sherman. Part of Squantz Pond State Park is in the town.
Sherman has one area on the National Register of Historic Places: the Sherman Historic District, bounded roughly by the intersection of Old Greenswood Road and Route 37, northeast past the intersection of Route 37 East and Route 39 North and Sawmill Road. The district was added to the National Register on August 31, 1991.
Sherman is the only town in Fairfield County in the 860 area code; the remainder of the county is served by the area code 203/area code 475 overlay.
Contents |
[edit] Education
There is one public school in Sherman, the Sherman School. Its enrollment is about 500 students from pre-school to grade 8. There is no high school in Sherman; students instead are given a choice of six high schools that Sherman will pay for them to attend (New Milford High School, New Fairfield High School, Brookfield High School, Henry Abbot Tech, Shepaug Valley High School, and Nonnewaug High School). The principal of Sherman School is Mary Boylan. The Sherman School was named one of the top four schools in the state of Connecticut.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable residents, past and present
- Mikhail Baryshnikov lived in Sherman for a time with his family.
- Blackleach Burritt, clergyman in the American Revolution.
- Martha Clarke, American director and choreographer.
- Vinnie Colaiuta, drummer, owned a home in town for a short time.
- Arshile Gorky, abstract expressionist painter, lived in Sherman on Spring Lake Road. He is buried in North Cemetery in town.
- Daryl Hall, musician lives in Sherman.
- Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, has a home in Sherman.
- Howard Schatz, American photographer and ophthalmologist.
- Jeffrey Toobin, American lawyer, author and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.
- Scott Wise and his wife, Elizabeth Parkinson, choreographers and dancers, live in Sherman.
- George Wunder, artist for 26 years on Terry and the Pirates,
- Rob Zombie, musician and film director lives in Sherman.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.4 square miles (61 km2), of which 21.8 square miles (56 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2), or 6.68%, is water.
[edit] Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook
Sherman is the location of Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook (29 letters), in the north end of town near the New Milford border. The Indian name means "water flowing from the hills" (the English wording is 17 letters long). The Naromi Land Trust in Sherman derived its name from the brook.[2]
For some time the brook was officially known as Morrissey Brook (9 letters), but an official name change was put into Public Act 01-194, "An Act Concerning Certain Real Property Transactions," which was approved July 11, 2001.[3] The 29-letter name was noted in an 1882 book, History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, 1703–1882, by Samuel Orcutt.[4]
[edit] Candlewood Lake
Candlewood Lake stretches from Danbury in the south, north to Sherman at a park named Veterans' Field. The lake is the largest in Connecticut. It is artificial, created for the Rocky River hydro electric power plant in New Milford on the Housatonic River. The water is pumped through a large pipe into the lake.
[edit] Sherman Center
The town center is listed as the Sherman Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated in 1991 for its historic architecture including several houses, the town hall, school, and manufacturing facilities.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical population of Sherman[2] |
|
| 1810 | 949 |
| 1820 | 957 |
| 1830 | 947 |
| 1840 | 938 |
| 1850 | 984 |
| 1860 | 911 |
| 1870 | 846 |
| 1880 | 828 |
| 1890 | 668 |
| 1900 | 658 |
| 1910 | 569 |
| 1920 | 533 |
| 1930 | 391 |
| 1940 | 477 |
| 1950 | 549 |
| 1960 | 825 |
| 1970 | 1,459 |
| 1980 | 2,281 |
| 1990 | 2,809 |
| 2000 | 3,827 |
| 2010 | 3,581 |
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 3,827 people, 1,434 households, and 1,092 families residing in the town. The population density was 175.6 people per square mile (67.8/km²). There were 1,606 housing units at an average density of 73.7 per square mile (28.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.36% White, 0.55% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.
There were 1,434 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $76,202, and the median income for a family was $81,996. Males had a median income of $61,513 versus $42,134 for females. The per capita income for the town was $39,070. About 2.6% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Sherman in Popular Culture
Sherman is the location where a presidential candidate becomes possessed by the Devil (and/or sells his soul) in the novel "The Hell Candidate" by Graham Masterton (writing under the name "Thomas Luke") (Pocket Books 1980; currently out-of-print).
[edit] References
- ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Sherman town, Connecticut". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
- ^ Naromi Land Trust, accessed August 11, 2006
- ^ [1] Web page for Public Act 01-194 at Connecticut General Assembly Web site, accessed August 11, 2001
- ^ Web page reproducing part of the text of History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, 1703-1882, by Samuel Orcutt, at RootsWeb.com Web site, accessed August 11, 2006
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||
