West Hartford, Connecticut

"West Hartford" redirects here. For the unincorporated community in Vermont, see West Hartford, Vermont.

West Hartford, Connecticut
—  New England town  —
A View of West Hartford Center/Blue Back Square
Logo
Motto: Where City Style meets Village Charm
Location within Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°46′04″N 72°45′14″W
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 Steve Adler Tim Brennan, Deputy Mayor Shari Cantor Charles Coursey Leon S. Davidoff, Minority Leader Carolyn Thornberry Joseph Verrengia Joseph Visconti
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 (2010)
• Total	63,268
• Density	2,876/sq mi (1,265/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06107, 06117, 06119, 06110
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 63,268 in 2010. 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 17th century.

In 2010, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine listed West Hartford as one of the nation's "10 Great Cities for Raising Families." In 2010, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked West Hartford #9 on its "10 Best Cities for the Next Decade" list. In 2010, CNN Money ranked West Hartford as the 55th best small city in America. In 2010, the national online magazine travelandleisure.com cited West Hartford as one of 10 "coolest" suburbs in the nation. The magazine called the West Hartford Reservoir off Farmington Avenue "West Hartford’s version of Central Park," and it also noted the town's "vacation-worthy hot spots, with cutting-edge restaurants, great shopping, and plenty of parking."

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 trap rock 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 water 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. The Town's web site indicates that the highest point in town is 778 feet above sea level on Talcott (Avon) Mountain. The altitude at Town Hall is 120 feet.

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 (160 km) northeast of New York City. I-84 runs through West Hartford.

Demographics

Historical population of West Hartford
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
2010	63,268

West Hartford Town Hall

As of the census 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). 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.

Transportation

Highways

• US 44
• I-84 / US 6
• Route 71
• Route 4
• Route 218
• Route 173
• Route 9

Bus routes

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).

Train Station

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

Economy

Top employers

According to the town's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Town of West Hartford	1,000–2,000
2	University of Hartford	1,000–2,000
3	Hebrew Health Care	500–999
4	Wiremold	500–999
5	Goodrich	250–499
6	University of Connecticut	250–499
7	American Medical Response	250–499
8	The Cheesecake Factory	250–499
9	Saint Mary Home	250–499
10	Colt's Manufacturing Company	250–499

Educational institutions

In 2006 Moneymagazine 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. 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.

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 three 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.

Private Schools

• Watkinson School
• Saint Thomas the Apostle Elementary School
• Saint Timothy Middle School
• Northwest Catholic High School
• Saint Brigid Elementary School
• American School for the Deaf
• Kingswood-Oxford School
• Renbrook School
• the Hebrew High School of New England
• the Solomon Schechter Day School
• the German School of Connecticut.

Colleges and universities

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

• University of Hartford
• Saint Joseph College
• University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus

Media

Print

• The Jewish Ledger, weekly newspaper
• West Hartford Life, monthly newspaper
• West Hartford News, weekly newspaper

Radio

• WCCC (AM)
• WWUH

TV

• West Hartford Community Television (WHCTV)
• WVIT

Utilities serving the town

• Electric Grid:: Connecticut Light & Power
• Water: Metropolitan District Commission
• Natural Gas: Connecticut Natural Gas
• Telephone, ADSL/Fiber Internet, IPTV Television American Telephone & Telegraph
• Cable Television/Cable Internet: Comcast

Notable people

Noah Webster statue by West Hartford sculptor Korczak Ziółkowski

In alphabetical order:

• Chip Arndt, gay rights activist, philanthropist, and co-winner of The Amazing Race 4
• Stephen Barnett (1935–2009) legal scholar who opposed the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970
• E. Alexander Bergstrom, (1919–73) conservationist
• Manute Bol, (1962–2010) NBA player
• Ben Bova, science fact and fiction author
• Chris Carrabba, singer–songwriter from Dashboard Confessional
• Joyce Cohen, actress
• Larry Collins, actor
• John Droney, politician and lawyer
• Dominick Dunne (1925–2009) and John Gregory Dunne, (1932–2003), writers, were born in Hartford and grew up in West Hartford
• John Franklin Enders, Nobel Laureate 1954 for Medicine
• Katharine Houghton Hepburn, (1878-1951), social activist
• Liz Janangelo , professional golfer on the LPGA Tour
• Jared Jordan, drafted 45th by Los Angeles Clippers in the 2007 NBA Draft
• Vincent Liff, (1950–2003) director
• Frank Luntz, Notable Republican Pollster
• Edward Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist, early pioneer of chaos theory, inventor of the strange attractor notion, and coiner of the term butterfly effect
• Joseph Mascolo, actor and soap opera veteran
• Edward Morley, namesake of Morley Elementary School, scientist best-known for the Michelson–Morley experiment
• Rita Morley, actress
• William Thompson Sedgwick, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a key figure in shaping U.S. public health
• John O'Hurley, actor who played J. Peterman, clothing proprietor and Elaine Benes's boss on Seinfeld television series
• Peter Paige, actor
• John P. Reese, money manager and financial columnist
• Jimmy Shea, gold medalist in the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Noah Webster, lexicographer, textbook author, Bible translator, spelling reformer, writer, and editor
• John Woodruff, U.S. Representative
• Korczak Ziolkowski (1908–82), sculptor of Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota
• Brian Rosenworcel, hand percussionist/drummer from Guster

Conard graduates

Main article: Conard High School#Notable alumni

• Marcus Camby, professional basketball player (attended, Graduated From Hartford High School)
• Peter Dante, actor
• Kevin Galvin, business/health care advocate
• David Naughton, class of 1969, actor (An American Werewolf in London)
• James Naughton, actor, winner of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (1990, 1997)
• Robert Romanus, actor Fast Times at Ridgemont High, class of 1974
• Jim Shea, class of 1987, 2002 Olympic gold medal winner
• Matt Sinatro, class of 1978, Major League Baseball player and coach
• Jack Sonni, guitarist for Dire Straits (1985–1988)

Hall graduates

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

• Roger Sperry, (1913–94) neuropsychologist and Nobel Prize laureate
• Wavy Gravy, peace activist and "official clown" of the Grateful Dead
• Charlie Kaufman, Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich)
• David Alan Basche, actor (United 93, War of the Worlds)
• Brian Rosenworcel, musician and member of the band Guster
• Sara Roy, Middle East scholar
• Michael Schur, writer and producer (The Office, Saturday Night Live)
• Brad Mehldau, jazz pianist

Points of interest

Blue Back Square

• West Hartford Center
• Blue Back Square
• Bishops Corner (West Hartford)
• Elizabeth Park
• Noah Webster House
• Elmwood (West Hartford)
• Park Road (West Hartford)
• Westfarms Mall
• Westmoor Park

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in West Hartford, Connecticut

External links

• West Hartford Center
• Town of West Hartford
• Central Regional Tourism District
• West Hartford Community Television