West Hartford, Connecticut

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"West Hartford" redirects here. For the unincorporated community in Vermont, see West Hartford, Vermont.
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford Center at Farmington Ave. and LaSalle Rd.

Logo
Motto: Where City Style meets Village Charm
Coordinates: 41°46′04″N 72°45′14″W / 41.76778°N 72.75389°W / 41.76778; -72.75389
Country United States
State Connecticut
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Incorporated 1854
Government
 - Type Council-manager
 - Town manager Ronald F. Van Winkle;
 - Town council Scott Slifka, Mayor
Art Spada, Deputy Mayor
Shari Cantor
Barbara Carpenter
Charles Coursey
Maureen K. McClay
Mark C. Sinatro
Carolyn Thornberry
Joseph Verrengia
Area
 - Total 22.4 sq mi (58.0 km2)
 - Land 22.0 sq mi (56.9 km2)
 - Water 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km2)
Elevation 164 ft (50 m)
Population (2005)[1]
 - Total 61,173
 - Density 2,781/sq mi (1,074/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06107, 0611x
Area code(s) 860
FIPS code 09-82590
GNIS feature ID 0213529
Website http://www.west-hartford.com/

West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford.

The population was estimated at 61,173 in 2005.[1] The town is primarily an upmarket inner-ring suburb of Hartford. The town has a downtown area called West Hartford Center. This area is centered around Farmington Avenue and South/North Main Street. West Hartford Center has been the community's hub since the late 1600s.

In Money Magazine's Best Places to Live 2008 ranking, West Hartford placed 76th.[2]

Contents

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.4 square miles (57.9 km²), of which 22.0 square miles (56.9 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km² or 1.70%) is water.

The west side of West Hartford is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous traprock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet Ridge in West Hartford include Talcott Mountain and a number of highland reservoirs belonging to the Metropolitan District, which maintains watershed and recreation resources on the property. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge.

West Hartford is adjacent to and west of Hartford, the State capital, and neighbors Bloomfield, Newington, Farmington, and Avon. West Hartford is approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Boston, Massachusetts and 100 miles northeast of New York City. I-84 runs through West Hartford.

[edit] Demographics

Historical population of
West Hartford[3]
1850 4,411
1860 1,296
1870 1,533
1880 1,828
1890 1,930
1900 3,186
1910 4,808
1920 8,854
1930 24,941
1940 33,776
1950 32,402
1960 32,382
1970 38,031
1980 41,301
1990 50,110
2000 61,046
West Hartford Town Hall

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 63,589 people, 24,576 households, and 15,925 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,892.6 people per square mile (1,117.0/km²). There were 25,332 housing units at an average density of 1,152.3/square mile (445.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.96% White, 4.78% African American, 0.12% Native American, 4.80% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.61% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.27% of the population.

There were 24,576 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $61,665, and the median income for a family was $77,865 (these figures had risen to $79,443 and $97,873 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[5]). Males had a median income of $52,450 versus $39,051 for females. The per capita income for the town was $33,468. About 2.9% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.1% ages 65 or older.

[edit] Transportation

West Hartford is accessible by major thoroughfares including Interstate 84 which passes through the mid-southern portion of town. U.S. Route 44, Albany Avenue, passes through the town from Hartford over Talcott Mountain to Avon, CT. The northern section of town is traversed by CT Route 218 along North Main Street, which starts at the intersection of U.S. Route 44 in Bishops Corner and leads to Bloomfield, CT.

West Hartford is served by several bus routes of Connecticut Transit Hartford. Major roads served are Albany Avenue (Route 58), New Britain Avenue (Routes 37 and 39), Park Street (Routes 31 and 33), Farmington Avenue (Routes 60, 62, 64, and 66), Asylum Avenue (Route 72), Hillside Avenue (Route 63), and Boulevard/South Quaker Lane (Route 69).

Amtrak's Union Station in Hartford is approximately ten minutes from the center of town by way of Farmington Avenue.

[edit] Educational Institutions

In 2006 Money Magazine ranked West Hartford as the 10th most educated town in the United States, as measured by the percentage of town residents holding graduate or professional degrees.[6] Connecticut Magazine 2006 rankings put West Hartford Public School education in the top three be among all the cities and towns in Connecticut and for its population class of greater than 50,000 people behind only Greenwich and Fairfield.[7]

[edit] Public Schools

The American School for the Deaf

The town is home to two public high schools, Conard High School and Hall High School, as well as 11 elementary schools and 3 middle schools in the West Hartford Public Schools. The elementary schools are Aiken, Braeburn, Bugbee, Charter Oak, Duffy, Morley, Norfeldt, Smith, Webster Hill, Whiting Lane and Wolcott. The three middle schools are King Philip, Sedgwick, and the newest Bristow Middle School, located where Kingswood-Oxford Middle school was formerly located. The eleven elementary schools are evenly distributed to either King Philip or Sedgwick, and those that enroll at Bristow are chosen by lottery. After middle school students continue onto high school with their same student body. Those at Sedgwick go on to Conard High School, while those at King Philip go to Hall High School, and students at Bristow return to the same school district they were in during elementary school.

The town also hosts many private and parochial schools including most notably the American School for the Deaf, Kingswood-Oxford School, Renbrook School, the Hebrew High School of New England, the Solomon Schechter Day School, and the German School of Connecticut.

[edit] Private Catholic Schools

[edit] Colleges and Universities

Institutions of higher learning located in town include the following colleges and universities:

[edit] Media

[edit] Print media

[edit] Radio stations

[edit] TV stations

  • WHC-TV, access cable television on Comcast Cable Channels 5, 19 and 21

[edit] Blogs

[edit] Notable people

Noah Webster statue by West Hartford sculptor Korczak Ziółkowski

In alphabetical order:

[edit] Conard graduates

Main article: Conard High School#Notable alumni

[edit] Hall graduates

Main article: Hall High School (Connecticut)#Notable alumni

[edit] Points of interest

Blue Back Square

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
  2. ^ "Best Places to Live 2008 – West Hartford". CNN Money (Cable News Network). 2008. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL0982660.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-27. 
  3. ^ [1][2][3]
  4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  5. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=06000US0900382590&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US06%7C16000US0673220&_street=&_county=west+hartford&_cityTown=west+hartford&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
  6. ^ "Best Places to Live– Most educated". CNN Money (Cable News Network). 2006. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top25s/educated.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-11. 
  7. ^ "Rating the Towns 2006: Population Over 50,000". Connecticut Magazine. 2006-12-04. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17547448&BRD=2329&PAG=461&dept_id=487245&rfi=6. Retrieved on 2007-06-11. 
  8. ^ Larry Collins at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ^ Vincent Liff at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ Rita Morley at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] External links

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