Litchfield, Connecticut

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Litchfield, Connecticut
Town of Litchfield
Litchfield, CT 18 (9371884375).jpg
Commercial blocks on West Street
LitchfieldCTseal.JPG
Motto(s): 
Unitas Sub Lege(Latin)
"Unity Under the Law"
Litchfield County Connecticut Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Litchfield Highlighted 2010.svg
Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°44′50″N73°11′23″W / 41.74722°N 73.18972°W / 41.74722; -73.18972
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
U.S. state Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut
County Litchfield
Region Northwest Hills
Incorporated1719 [1]
Government
  Type Selectman-town meeting
  First SelectmanDenise Raap (D)
  SelectmenJodiAnn Tenney (D)
Christine Harding (R)
Jonathan E. Torrant (R)
Jeffrey J. Zullo (D)
Area
[2]
  Total56.8 sq mi (147.1 km2)
  Land56.1 sq mi (145.3 km2)
  Water0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
Elevation
1,080 ft (329 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total8,192
  Density146/sq mi (56.4/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
06750 [Bantam], 06759 [Litchfield], 06778 [Northfield]
Area code(s) 860/959
FIPS code 09-43370
GNIS feature ID0213452
Major highways Connecticut Highway 8.svg US 202.svg
Website www.townoflitchfield.org

Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. [3] The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. [4] The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporated villages: East Litchfield, Milton, and Northfield. Northfield, located in the southeastern corner of Litchfield, is home to a high percentage of the Litchfield population.

Contents

History

Originally called Bantam township, Litchfield incorporated in 1719. [5] The town derives its name from Lichfield, in England. [5] [6]

In 1751 it became the county seat of Litchfield County, and at the same time the borough of Litchfield (incorporated in 1879) was laid out. From 1776 to 1780, two depots for military stores and a workshop for the Continental army were maintained, and the leaden statue of George III., erected in Bowling Green (New York City), in 1770, and torn down by citizens on July 9, 1776, was cut up and taken to Litchfield, where, in the house of Oliver Wolcott, it was melted into bullets for the American army by Wolcott's daughter and sister. [5]

During the American Revolution, several prominent Loyalists were held prisoner in the town, including William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, [7] and David Mathews, Mayor of New York City. [8]

In 1784, the first law school in the United States, the so-named Litchfield Law School, was established by judge and legal scholar Tapping Reeve. Prior to its establishment, Reeve had accepted several legal apprentices since he had settled there in 1773, but saw such demand for his expertise that he formally opened the one-room school within a decade. [9] [10] During the school's fifty-year history it would accept more than 1,100 students, including Aaron Burr, Jr., Horace Mann, and Levi Woodbury, the first justice of the US Supreme Court to attend law school. [11]

Litchfield was also home to a pioneering institution of young women's education, the Litchfield Female Academy, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce.

Litchfield has a very rich history. The Litchfield Historical Society, located in the center of town, contains a wide variety of items with historical importance to the town. [12]

Geography

Located southwest of Torrington, Litchfield also includes part of Bantam Lake. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.8 square miles (147.1 km2), of which 56.1 square miles (145.2 km2) is land and 0.7 square mile (1.9 km2) (1.3%) is water.

Litchfield is about 95 mi (153 km) from Central Park in New York, approximately 50 mi (80 km) from the Hudson River Valley, and about 40 mi (64 km) from the nearest sea coast, on Long Island Sound.

Principal communities

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1790 20,342
1800 4,285−78.9%
1810 4,6398.3%
1820 4,610−0.6%
1830 4,456−3.3%
1840 4,038−9.4%
1850 3,953−2.1%
1860 3,200−19.0%
1870 3,113−2.7%
1880 3,4109.5%
1890 3,304−3.1%
1900 3,214−2.7%
1910 3,005−6.5%
1920 3,1805.8%
1930 3,57412.4%
1940 4,02912.7%
1950 4,96423.2%
1960 6,26426.2%
1970 7,39918.1%
1980 7,6052.8%
1990 8,36510.0%
2000 8,316−0.6%
2010 8,4661.8%
2020 8,192−3.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [13]

As of the census [14] of 2000, there were 8,316 people, 3,310 households, and 2,303 families residing in the town. The population density was 148.4 inhabitants per square mile (57.3/km2). There were 3,629 housing units at an average density of 64.7 per square mile (25.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.99% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.

There were 3,310 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,418, and the median income for a family was $70,594. Males had a median income of $50,284 versus $31,787 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,096. About 2.8% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 31, 2023 [15]
PartyActive votersInactive votersTotal votersPercentage
Democratic 1,8651432,00830.61%
Republican 1,8931092,00230.51%
Unaffiliated 2,2261932,41936.88%
Minor Parties119121312.00%
Total6,1034576,560100%

Government and infrastructure

Litchfield County Jail, 1907 PostcardLitchfieldCTLitchfieldCountyJail1907.jpg
Litchfield County Jail, 1907

The 1812 Litchfield County Jail, the town's oldest public building, is in Litchfield. [16] While controlled by the Connecticut state government, the facility historically held inmates convicted of minor offenses. [17] Governor of Connecticut Lowell P. Weicker Jr. ordered the facility closed for financial reasons in 1993. It was converted into the McAuliffe Manor, a substance abuse treatment center for women operated by Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc., [17] but in 2009 the contract between Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc. and the state expired, leading to the closure of McAuliffe Manor. [18]

Transportation

U.S. Route 202 is the main east-west road connecting Bantam and Litchfield center to the city of Torrington and New Milford, Connecticut. Route 63 runs north-south through the town center. The Route 8 expressway runs along the town line with Harwinton. It can be accessed from the town center via Route 118. The town is also served by buses from the Northwestern Connecticut Transit District connecting to the city of Torrington. The Shepaug Valley Railroad opened a Litchfield terminal in 1872, but passenger service ended in 1930 and freight service in 1948. [19]

Education

Litchfield Public Schools operates public schools. Litchfield High School is the area high school. Students may also attend Wamogo Regional Six to study agriculture, located in Litchfield, or Oliver Wolcott Technical School, located in Torrington.

Litchfield Center School hosts children in grades K–3, with a Pre-K program available. Students then move on to Litchfield Intermediate School, where they will remain through sixth grade. Students then finish their Litchfield Public School career at Litchfield High School.

Litchfield is also home to Forman School, a private boarding school for students in grades 9–12/PG with learning differences such as ADD/ADHD and dyslexia. [20]

Notable people

On the National Register of Historic Places

Ethan Allen birthplace in Litchfield PostcardLitchfieldCTEthanAllenBirthplace1916.jpg
Ethan Allen birthplace in Litchfield

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goshen, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwinton, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hartford, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomaston, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

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Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city population was 35,515 according to the 2020 census. The city is located roughly 23 miles (37 km) west of Hartford, 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Springfield, Massachusetts, 67 miles (108 km) southeast of Albany, New York, 84 miles (135 km) northeast of New York City, and 127 miles (204 km) west of Boston, Massachusetts.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapping Reeve</span> American lawyer, judge and law educator (1744-1823)

Tapping Reeve was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was also the brother-in-law of third vice-president of the United States Aaron Burr.

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The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. While Litchfield was independent, a long-term debate resulted in the 1966 recognition of William & Mary Law School as the first law school to have been affiliated with a university.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litchfield Female Academy</span> Defunct educational institution in Litchfield, Connecticut, United States

The Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce, was one of the most important institutions of female education in the United States. During the 30 years after its opening the school enrolled more than 2,000 students from 17 states and territories of the new republic, as well as Canada and the West Indies. Some 1,848 students known to have attended the school have been identified through school lists, diaries and journals, correspondence, as well as art and needlework done at the school. Many more, unidentified to date, attended, especially before 1814, when formal attendance lists were first kept. The longevity of the school, the size of the enrollments, the wide geographic distribution of the student body, the development of the curriculum and the training of teachers, all distinguish it from the numerous other female academies of the Early Republic. The young women were exposed to ideas and customs from all the relatively isolated parts of the new nation, developing a more national perspective than most Americans of the period.

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References

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Further reading