Easton, Connecticut
Easton, Connecticut
Town of Easton | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W / 41.26583°N 73.30083°W | |
Country | United States |
U.S. state | Connecticut |
County | Fairfield |
Metropolitan area | Bridgeport-Stamford |
Incorporated | 1845 |
Villages | Easton Aspetuck Plattsville |
Government | |
• Type | Selectman-town meeting |
• First selectman | Adam Dunsby |
• Selectman | Kristi Sogofsky |
• Selectman | Robert Lessler |
Area | |
• Total | 28.6 sq mi (74.1 km2) |
• Land | 27.4 sq mi (71.0 km2) |
• Water | 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2) |
Elevation | 301 ft (92 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 7,490 |
• Density | 261.9/sq mi (101.1/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
ZIP code | 06612 |
Area code(s) | 203/475 |
FIPS code | 09-23890 |
GNIS feature ID | 0213427 |
Website | www |
Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census.[1] Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck.
The town is situated among Redding, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Weston, and Newtown.
History
Easton was first settled in 1757 by men and women from Fairfield. In 1762 a congregation called the North Fairfield Society was established, and it gradually evolved into Easton. In 1787 Weston, then including lands now defined as Easton, was incorporated out of Fairfield. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River, and so it was not until 1845 that what is now Easton separated from Weston. Today, half of the town's property is owned by the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, the major supplier of water in the area.
On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death. The local middle school bears her name.
The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was a 76-foot (23 m) Norway Spruce donated from a private residence in Easton.
On the National Register of Historic Places
- Aspetuck Historic District — Roughly, Redding Rd. from jct. with Old Redding Rd. to Wells Hill Rd. and Old Redding Rd. N past Aspetuck R. (added September 23, 1991)
- Ida Tarbell House — 320 Valley Rd. (added May 19, 1993)
- Bradley-Hubbell House 535 Black Rock Turnpike (added April 18, 2003)
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.6 square miles (74 km2), of which, 27.4 square miles (71 km2) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) of it (23.83%) is water.
Emergency services
Emergency medical services
Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service (EVEMS) is located at 448 Sport Hill Road and offers the EMT-B certification course.[2] The agency was established in 1946 and currently has two ambulances, a Polaris UTV and 2006 GMC pickup and a staff of three Chief officers, two career techs and twenty nine volunteers.[3]
Ambulance 852 GM/PL Custom 2016 Ambulance 851 Ford/Lifeline 2009
Fire department
The town of Easton is protected constantly by the eight paid firefighters of the Easton Fire Department (EFD) and the volunteer firefighters of the Easton Volunteer Fire Company # 1. Founded in 1921, EFD operates out of one fire station, located at 1 Center Road in the center of town, and runs an apparatus fleet of three engines, one attack engine, one haz-mat unit, one brush unit, and one command vehicle. The Easton Fire Department responds to over 500 emergency calls annually. In 2015, the fire department responded to 539 incidents.[4]
Police department
The Easton Police Department (EPD) is located at 700 Morehouse Road. The department includes a K9 unit, D.A.R.E and an animal control unit.[5] The Easton Police Explorer Post 2001 is an affiliated with the department.[6] Easton Police are also first responders for all EMS calls in town. They are all certified EMR's or EMT's and can provide oxygen, perform basic first aid, and defibrillation.[7]
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1850 | 1,432 | — | |
1860 | 1,350 | −5.7% | |
1870 | 1,288 | −4.6% | |
1880 | 1,145 | −11.1% | |
1890 | 1,001 | −12.6% | |
1900 | 960 | −4.1% | |
1910 | 1,052 | 9.6% | |
1920 | 1,017 | −3.3% | |
1930 | 1,013 | −0.4% | |
1940 | 1,262 | 24.6% | |
1950 | 2,165 | 71.6% | |
1960 | 3,407 | 57.4% | |
1970 | 4,885 | 43.4% | |
1980 | 5,962 | 22.0% | |
1990 | 6,303 | 5.7% | |
2000 | 7,272 | 15.4% | |
2010 | 7,490 | 3.0% | |
2014 (est.) | 7,631 | [8] | 1.9% |
U.S. Decennial Census[9] |
As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 7,490 people, 2,465 households, and 2,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.2 people per square mile (102.4/km2). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 91.6 per square mile (35.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.[10]
Of the 2,465 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.23 individuals.[11]
In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 37% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. The sex ratio is 94.3 males per 100 females.[11]
The median income for a household in the town was $132,000, and the median income for a family was $155,227. Males had a median income of $101,636 versus $83,333 for females. The per capita income for the town was $59,546. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.[11]
Government and politics
Historically, Easton has been a reliably Republican stronghold. However, in 2016, town residents voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton with a plurality.[12]
Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | 48.67% 2,203 | 47.08% 2,131 | 4.24% 192 |
2012 | 43.16% 1,841 | 55.79% 2,380 | 1.05% 45 |
2008 | 49.47% 2,238 | 49.93% 2,259 | 0.60% 27 |
2004 | 44.34% 2,002 | 54.53% 2,462 | 1.13% 51 |
2000 | 42.76% 1,783 | 52.18% 2,176 | 5.06% 211 |
1996 | 38.86% 1,475 | 50.16% 1,904 | 10.99% 417 |
1992 | 30.85% 1,232 | 47.80% 1,909 | 21.36% 853 |
1988 | 29.94% 1,106 | 68.65% 2,536 | 1.41% 52 |
1984 | 24.83% 895 | 74.79% 2,696 | 0.39% 14 |
1980 | 23.91% 821 | 64.11% 2,201 | 11.97% 411 |
1976 | 29.38% 921 | 69.92% 2,192 | 0.70% 22 |
1972 | 23.77% 681 | 74.24% 2,127 | 1.99% 57 |
1968 | 27.05% 655 | 68.07% 1,648 | 4.87% 118 |
1964 | 38.09% 801 | 61.91% 1,302 | 0.00% 0 |
1960 | 24.39% 466 | 75.61% 1,445 | 0.00% 0 |
1956 | 14.79% 251 | 85.21% 1,446 | 0.00% 0 |
1952[14] | 17.87% 262[15] | 76.74% 1,125[16] | 5.39%[17] 79[18] |
Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018[19] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Active voters | Inactive voters | Total voters | Percentage | |
Republican | 1,793 | 68 | 1,861 | 31.67% | |
Democratic | 1,487 | 60 | 1,547 | 26.33% | |
Unaffiliated | 2,320 | 68 | 2,388 | 40.64% | |
Minor parties | 75 | 5 | 80 | 1.36% | |
Total | 5,675 | 201 | 5,876 | 100% |
Bridge issues
The Route 59 bridge in Easton, which carries more than 10,000 cars and trucks every day over the Mill River, has a substructure rated in critical condition by state safety inspectors. As of early August 2007, the bridge was one of 12 in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are considered to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.[20]
Notable people
- Anne Baxter, actress.[21]
- Phoebe Brand, blacklisted actress
- Elise Broach, children's book author
- Morris Carnovsky, blacklisted actor
- Hume Cronyn, actor[21]
- Anthony Fanzo, Original Beastie Boy
- Debrah Farentino, actress and journalist
- Edna Ferber, playwright and novelist[21]
- Eileen Fulton, TV actress [21]
- Helen Keller, blind and deaf author, the town middle school is named in her honor.[21]
- James Prosek, painter and author
- Dan Rather, CBS News anchor[21][22]
- Igor Sikorsky, aircraft designer[21]
- Jessica Tandy, actress [21]
- Ida M. Tarbell, "muckraker" known for helping to break up the Standard Oil monopoly"[21]
- Johnny Winter, blues guitarist[21]
School systems
Easton has three schools: Samuel Staples Elementary school, for children in grades from kindergarten to 5th grade, Helen Keller Middle School, for children in grades 6 through 8, and the private school Easton Country Day for children K-12 (formerly Phoenix Academy). High school students attend Joel Barlow High School in Redding.
Additionally, Easton has a privately owned, non-profit community center named Easton Community Center. This community center has a preschool named Playtots Preschool and is for ages under 2 to 5 years old.
Notes
- ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Easton town, Connecticut". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ http://www.eastonems.com
- ^ [1] Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Waugh, Steven. "Town of Easton Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Town of Easton, CT. p. 21. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
Currently there are more than 20 active firefighters serving in the Fire Company. [...] There are currently eight career firefighters who are on staff with the Easton Fire Department. The firehouse is staffed by a rotating crew of two firefighters working a 24 hour shift. This provides staffing in the Fire House 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Many times during the workweek, due to Easton being a bedroom community, the "on-duty" firefighters are at times, the only ones responding to calls. In addition to their other duties, the career firefighters perform the crucial task of maintaining the Town's firefighting equipment.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Index of / Archived 2010-05-10 at the Wayback Machine. Explorers.eastonctpolice.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ [2] Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b c "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/connecticut
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov//SOTS/Election-Services/Statement-Of-Vote-PDFs/General-Elections-Statement-of-Vote-1922
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
- ^ https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
- ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of November 5, 2018" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
- ^ Kaplan, Thomas, Martineau, Kim, and Kauffman, Matthew, "12 state bridges are judged to be in critical condition" article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, article reprinted from The Hartford Courant, August 5, 2007, pp. 1, A6
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j [3] Kaufman, Joanne. "Weekender: Easton, Conn." article in The New York Times, October 12, 2002, accessed September 25, 2006
- ^ Ikenson page 24
External links
- Town of Easton official website
- Historical Society of Easton official website
- "Living in: Easton, Conn.: A Town of Homes and Country Roads," by Eleanor Charles, an article in the Real Estate section of The New York Times, July 8, 2001