Wethersfield, Connecticut

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Wethersfield, Connecticut
—  Town  —
Joseph Webb and Isaac Stevens Houses

Seal
Location within Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°42′04″N 72°40′10″W / 41.70111°N 72.66944°W / 41.70111; -72.66944Coordinates: 41°42′04″N 72°40′10″W / 41.70111°N 72.66944°W / 41.70111; -72.66944
Country United States
State Connecticut
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Settled 1632
Incorporated 1822
Government
 • Type Council-manager
 • Town manager Jeff Bridges
 • Town council Mayor Donna H. Hemmann (R)
Dep. Mayor John J. Console (R)
David L. Drake (R)
Mike J. Hurley (R)
Jeffrey R. Kotkin (D)
Stathis Manousos (R)
Jim McAlister (R)
Paul F. Montinieri (D)
Gerri Roberts (D)
Area
 • Total 13.1 sq mi (34.0 km2)
 • Land 12.3 sq mi (31.9 km2)
 • Water 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2)
Elevation 135 ft (41 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 26,668
 • Density Bad rounding here2,000/sq mi (Bad rounding here780/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 0666109
Area code(s) 860
FIPS code 09-84900
GNIS feature ID 0213533
Website www.wethersfieldct.com

Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name "Weathersfield", while Native Americans called it "Pyquag".[1] The population was 26,668 at the 2010 census.[2] The town's motto is "Ye most auncient towne in Connecticut".[3]

Contents

History [edit]

Founded in 1634, Wethersfield is recognized as the oldest town in Connecticut. Along with Windsor and Hartford, Wethersfield is thought by some to be represented by one of the three grapevines on the Connecticut state flag signifying the state's three oldest settlements.[citation needed]

Four witch trials and three executions for witchcraft occurred in the town in the 17th century. Mary Johnson was convicted of witchcraft and executed in 1648, Joan and John Carrington in 1651.[4] Landowner Katherine Harrison was convicted, and although her conviction was reversed, she was banished and her property seized by her neighbors.[5][6]

During the Pequot War, on April 23, 1637, Wongunk chief Sequin attacked Wethersfield with Pequot help. They killed six men and three women, a number of cattle and horses, and took two young girls captive. They were daughters of Abraham Swain and were later ransomed by Dutch traders.[7]

Silas Deane, commissioner to France during the American Revolutionary War, lived in the town. His house is now part of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. In May 1781, at the Webb House on Main Street, General George Washington and French Lt. Gen. Rochambeau planned the Siege of Yorktown, which culminated in the independence of the then rebellious colonies.

The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department was chartered by the Connecticut Legislature on May 12, 1803, making it the first formally chartered fire department in Connecticut, and is the oldest chartered volunteer fire department in continuous existence in the United States.[8]

Wethersfield was "for a century at least, the centre of the onion trade in New England", during the late 1700s and early to middle 1800s.[9] According to Yankee magazine, "Outsiders dubbed the Connecticut village 'Oniontown,' with a crosshatch of affection and derision, for this was home of the world-famous Wethersfield red onion."[10]

In addition, the town was home to William Comstock, a well-known 19th century gardening expert, author of the era's most prominent gardening book, Order of Spring Work. In 1820 Comstock founded Comstock, Ferre & Company, currently America's oldest continuously operating seed company, pioneering the commercial sale of sealed packets of seeds as he had learned from the Amish. Other nationally prominent seed companies in and around the town are the offspring of this agricultural past.[10][11]

A meteorite fell on Wethersfield on November 8, 1982. It was the second meteorite to fall in the town in the span of 11 years, and crashed through the roof of a house without injuring the occupants, as the first Wethersfield meteorite had also done. The Wethersfield Meteor was taken up as part of a collection at the Yale Peabody Museum.[12]

Popular culture [edit]

Wethersfield was the setting for Elizabeth George Speare's novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond, as well as the setting of the one-act play The Valiant by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass.

Wethersfield native, author Thomas Tryon set his action/romance novels The Wings of the Morning and In the Fire of Spring in Wethersfield, as well as a mystery/horror novel The Other.

The short film Disneyland Dream features the Barstow family from Wethersfield, including footage of their neighborhood.

Geography [edit]

A red onion

Wethersfield is located at 41° 42' 43" North, 72° 39' 48" West (41.7122° -72.6636°).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34.0 km2), of which 12.3 square miles (31.9 km2) is land and 0.81 square miles (2.1 km2), or 6.10%, is water.[2]

Wethersfield is bordered by Hartford on the north, Rocky Hill on the south and Newington on the west, and across the Connecticut River by East Hartford on the northeast and Glastonbury on the east.

Demographics [edit]

See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 26,268 people, 11,214 households, and 7,412 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,119.9 people per square mile (818.7/km²). There were 11,454 housing units at an average density of 924.3 per square mile (356.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.19% White, 2.09% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.82% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.19% of the population.

There were 11,214 households out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $53,289, and the median income for a family was $68,154 (these figures had risen to $66,044 and $86,432 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[14]). Males had a median income of $43,998 versus $37,443 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,930. About 2.4% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure [edit]

The Connecticut Department of Correction and the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles have their headquarters in Wethersfield.[15][16]

The United States Postal Service operates the Wethersfield Post Office.[17]

Transportation [edit]

Greater Hartford's only major method of public transportation is Connecticut Transit (CT Transit), a Connecticut Department of Transportation-owned bus service operating routes throughout the New Haven, Stamford and Hartford metro areas, including Wethersfield.

Education [edit]

The Wethersfield public school system encompasses five elementary schools (Highcrest School, Charles Wright School, Emerson-Williams School, A.W. Hanmer School and Samuel B. Webb Elementary School), one middle school (Silas Deane Middle School) and one high school (Wethersfield High School).

Wethersfield is also the home of Corpus Christi School, a Catholic K-8 school of 440 students.

Places [edit]

Streets and paths [edit]

Major streets include:

Heritage Way, a "linear park" developed in the 1990s, is a multi-use path that connects Wethersfield's open areas and recreation facilities.[18]

Points of interest [edit]

Wethersfield Cove

Landmarks and historic districts [edit]

Four buildings in Wethersfield are designated as historic landmarks by the National Register of Historic Places:

In 1970, Old Wethersfield, the district bounded by Hartford, the railroad tracks, I-91 and Rocky Hill, was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, the largest such in Connecticut; two square miles containing 1,100 buildings.[10]

Notable people, past and present [edit]

See also [edit]

Portal icon Connecticut portal

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionVII/townorder.htm
  2. ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Wethersfield town, Hartford County, Connecticut". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved November 28, 2012. 
  3. ^ Official Web Site of the Town of Wethersfield
  4. ^ List of New England witchcraft cases
  5. ^ Another list of New England witchcraft cases
  6. ^ Brief summary of Katherine Harrison case
  7. ^ Phil Konstantin, "This Day in North American Indian history", pp. 99-100
  8. ^ Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Dept
  9. ^ "A Great Trade Vanished. How Connecticut's Onion Monopoly Was Lost", New York Times, June 2, 1889
  10. ^ a b c "Wethersfield, CT, and Onions", Yankee Magazine, August 1993
  11. ^ "Comstock, Ferre & Co"
  12. ^ http://www.peabody.yale.edu/collections/met/met_wethersfield.html
  13. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  14. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=06000US0900384900&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US08%7C16000US0857630&_street=&_county=wethersfield&_cityTown=wethersfield&_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=
  15. ^ "Contact Us." Connecticut Department of Correction. Retrieved on December 7, 2009. "Public Information Office 24 Wolcott Hill Road Wethersfield, CT 06109"
  16. ^ "Contact Information." Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved on December 22, 2010. "Department of Motor Vehicles 60 State Street Wethersfield, CT 06161."
  17. ^ "Post Office Location - WETHERSFIELD." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 22, 2010.
  18. ^ Introduction to Heritage Way

External links [edit]

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