Killingworth, Connecticut

Killingworth, Connecticut
NECTA	New Haven
Region	Connecticut River Estuary
Named	1667
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
• First selectman	Marty Klein
Area
• Total	92.7 km2 (35.8 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	6,403
• Density	70/km2 (181/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	06419
Website	http://www.killingworthct.com/

For other uses, see Killingworth (disambiguation).

Killingworth is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,018 at the 2000 census. Killingworth contains Chatfield Hollow State Park. It is run by a first selectman and Democrat, Marty Klein. Established from the area called Hammonasett, taken from the local native american Indian tribe of the same name.The area originally encorporated the town now called Clinton (1823)which separated along ecclesiatical borders. It was named after Kenilworth, England. Kenilworth's name was more similar to "Killingworth" during the American colonial period, and over time the pronunciation and spelling drifted to the modern one. Coincidentally, there is a town and village in England called Killingworth and Killingworth Village in the county of Tyne and Wear, which do not seem to have any connection with Killingworth, Connecticut.

The town's name can easily be confused with another Connecticut town, Killingly, or a Vermont ski area, Killington. The town was the subject of the poet H.W. Longfellow's poem "The Birds of Killingworth" published in "The Tales of the Wayside Inn" There are a number of interesting street names in Killingworth. One such is named "Roast Meat Hill Road". Urban legend states an awful thunderstorm fell upon the town resulting in lightning strike which hit a few cows on a local farm, and so stuck the name.

Students attending school in Killingworth are a part of Connecticut's Regional School District #17, which consists of Haddam and its villages of Haddam Neck, on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River, and Higganum. The high school is called 'Haddam-Killingworth High School', and is located in Higganum. The school's sports teams are called the 'Cougars'. A new middle-school, built in 2006, in Killingworth currently holds grades 7 and 8 for the 2006/2007 school year. Grades 5 and 6 will move to the new middle-school for the 2007/2008 school year. The old middle-school, which is connected to the high school by "cat-walks", is now a district-run child day-care facility.

Killingworth is home to Jonathan Bush, American banker and uncle of current President George W, as well as author and naturalist John Himmelman. Ricki Lake, John Travolta, and the founder of Zymol car wax are also said to be residents or past residents.

Jeff Bagwell, former professional baseball player, grew up in town.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 92.7 km² (35.8 mi²). Of this total, 91.5 km² (35.3 mi²) is dry land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) — or 1.34% — is water-covered.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 6,018 people, 2,196 households, and 1,765 families residing in the town. The population density was 65.8/km² (170.3/mi²). There were 2,283 housing units at an average density of 24.9/km² (64.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.54% White, 0.42% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.

There were 2,196 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,805, and the median income for a family was $87,874. Males had a median income of $61,650 versus $38,289 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,929. None of the families and 0.7% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 1.4% of those over 64.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005
Party		Active Voters	Inactive Voters	Total Voters	Percentage	Republican	1,149	17	1,166	25.28%	Democratic	892	8	900	19.51%	Unaffiliated	2,511	33	2,544	55.15%	Minor Parties	3	0	3	0.07%
Total		4,555	58	4,613	100%

External links

• Town government Web site