Westport, Connecticut

The Seal of the Town of Wesport, Connecticut

Westport is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. A 2004 estimate of the population yielded a value of 26,544.

Westport borders Norwalk on the west, Weston to the north, Fairfield to the east and Long Island Sound to the south. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1, as well as the Saugatuck River, run through Westport.

Westport has two Metro North railroad stations, Westport and Green's Farms.

Westport is a member of Westports of the World (WOW), along with Westports in Ireland, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Indiana, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, and Missouri.

Its high school, Staples High School, is one of the top-ranked public schools in the country. Aside from Staples, Westport is home to the private school Greens Farms Academy. The co-ed school is located in the 1920's Vanderbilt estate overlooking Long Island Sound.

Westport is widely recognized for its wealth. It is one of the most affluent towns in the United States with an average income exceeding $150,000 annually per wage-earner.

Politics

The town government consists of the three-member Board of Selectmen, a Representative Town Meeting (RTM), a Board of Finance, a Board of Education, a Planning and Zoning Commission, and many other commissions, boards, and committees.

In a hotly contested race, Westport's former First Selectwoman, Diane Farrell, ran for Congress against long time incumbent Christopher Shays in the Connecticut 4th Congressional District in 2004 and lost. In 2005, she announced that she would not run for First Selectwoman again, and Gordon Joseloff, Democrat and founder of WestportNow.com, won the November 2005 election. He was sworn in as First Selectman of Westport November 21, 2005, along with Second Selectwoman, Shelly Kassen.

While the town has more registered Republicans than Democrats, it is widely known as a liberal town. John Kerry won Westport in the 2004 election. Despite this there still was significant support for George W. Bush.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 86.3 km² (33.3 mi²). 51.8 km² (20.0 mi²) of it is land and 34.5 km² (13.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 39.96% water.

Westport has two stations, Saugatuck and Greens Farms, on the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven line, which serves Grand Central Terminal in New York and Union Station in New Haven. This line is shared with Amtrak trains, as it is part of the Northeast Corridor, but no Amtrak services call at Westport. The nearest station at which these services stop is Stamford.

Westport station is the more widely used of the two, even among people living geographically closer to Greens Farms, and more trains call there. The wait for a parking sticker at Saugatuck station is now nearly four years.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,749 people, 9,586 households, and 7,170 families residing in the town. The population density was 496.8/km² (1,286.7/mi²). There were 10,065 housing units at an average density of 194.2/km² (503.0 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.16% White, 1.13% African American, 0.05% Native American, 2.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 2.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,586 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, 6.8% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $125,872, and the median income for a family was $158,894. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,269 for females. The per capita income for the town was $73,664. 2.6% of the population and 1.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 2.7% are under the age of 18 and 2.1% are 65 or older. The world GNP is $9,300 according to the CIA World Factbook. Westport has a significant population of businesspeople, those in the finance, healthcare and legal services industries along with academics and high level executives of mass media corporations.

History

The Town of Westport, CT was officially incorporated as a town in 1835.

Famous Places and Events of Westport

Westport's Compo Beach was the site of the British invasion of Danbury, also known as Tyron's Raid.
Also near Compo Beach is the famous Minuteman Statue. One may notice that this statue was built facing away from the beach. This is because it commemorates the way the Minutemen hid and waited until they could attack the large British army from behind.
Westport houses the Westport Country Playhouse, a theatre scene active since 1930.
The city was made famous by the I Love Lucy television show, as it is where the Ricky and Lucy Ricardo (played by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball) moved to after purchasing their new home. It was also the fictional residence of Darrin and Samantha Stephens on the television series Bewitched. The movie The Stepford Wives (both the original and the remake) are based on Westport. The original was filmed in Westport, and the remake takes place in Westport.
The Gregory Peck film "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956) was filmed, in part, in Westport.
Joe Arcudi (1993-1997) was the first and as of yet only Italian-American First Selectman in town history.
The film The Girl Next Door was set in Westport, however it was filmed in California.
"The Swimmer" (1968), starring Burt Lancaster and based on a short story by John Cheever, was filmed in Westport.

Famous Residents of Westport, Past and Present

External links

References

Klein, Woody. Westport, Connecticut: The Story of a New England Town's Rise to Prominence. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000.