Chris Pia (R) Kaitlyn T. Shake (D) Lesette Franceshi (D) Gregory Cann (D) Kimberly Rice (D) Ken Poisson (R) Jean Marie Sutton (R) James Connor (R) William O'Brien (R) Laura Dancho (R)
The population was 52,355 as of the 2020 census.[1] It is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, to the north by Trumbull and Shelton, and on the east by Milford (across the Housatonic River). Stratford has a historical legacy in aviation, the military, and theater.
History
Stratford Public Library, as seen in a 1909 postcardStreet of the Triple Elms, as seen in the 1890s
Founding and Puritan era
Stratford was founded in 1639 by Puritan leader Reverend Adam Blakeman, William Beardsley, and either 16 families (according to legend) or approximately 35 families (suggested by later research) who had recently arrived in Connecticut Colony from England seeking religious freedom. In 1639 the General Court in Hartford made reference to the town as the "new plantation at Pequannock".[2] In 1640 the community was known as Cupheag, a Native American Paugussett word meaning "at the enclosed place" or "place of shelter".[3] By April 13, 1643, the growing town was known as Stratford, changed to honor William Shakespeare's birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon in England.[4]
Stratford is one of many towns in the northeastern American colonies founded as part of the Great Migration in the 1630s when Puritan families fled an increasingly polarized England in the decade before the civil war between Charles I and Parliament. Some of the Stratford settlers were from families who had first moved from England to the Netherlands to seek religious freedom, like their predecessors on the Mayflower, and decided to come to the New World when their children began to adopt the Dutch culture and language.
Like other Puritan or Pilgrim towns founded during this time, early Stratford was a place where church leadership and town leadership were united under the pastor of the church, in this case Reverend Blakeman. The goal of these communities was to create perfect outposts of religious idealism where the wilderness would separate them from the interference of kings, parliaments, or any other secular authority.
Blakeman ruled Stratford until his death in 1665, but as the second generation of Stratford grew up, many of the children rejected what they perceived as the exceptional austerity of the town's founders. This and later generations sought to change the religious dictums of their elders, and the utopian nature of Stratford and similar communities was gradually replaced with more standard colonial administration. By the late 17th century, the Connecticut government had assumed political control over Stratford.
Many descendants of the original founding Puritan families remain in Stratford today after over 350 years; for centuries they often intermarried within the original small group of 17th century Pilgrim families. Despite its Puritan origins, Stratford was the site of the first Anglican church in Connecticut, founded in 1707 and ministered by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson.[5] Settlers from Stratford went on to found other American cities and towns, including Newark, New Jersey, established in 1666 by members of the Stratford founding families who believed the town's religious purity had been compromised by the changes after Blakeman's death. Other towns such as Cambria, New York (now Lockport, New York) were founded or expanded around new churches by Stratford descendants taking part in the westward migration. U.S. President Gerald Ford was a descendant of one of the Stratford founding families, that was led by William Judson.
Towns created from Stratford
Stratford was one of the two principal settlements in southwestern Connecticut, the other being Fairfield. Over time it gave rise to several new towns that broke off and incorporated separately. The following towns were created from parts of Stratford:
Shelton (originally Ripton) in 1789. In 1789 Ripton Parish separated from Stratford and became the Town of Huntington.
A trolley was built connecting Lordship to Bridgeport in 1914, connecting the resort area to the neighboring city.[6]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.9 square miles (52km2), of which 17.6 square miles (46km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0km2), or 11.52%, is water. Stratford has a minimum elevation of zero feet above sea level along its coastline, with a maximum altitude of 295 feet (90m) near its northern border,[7] and an average elevation of 23 feet (7.0m).[citation needed]
Long Beach – Approximately 1.5 miles (2.4km) long, the eastern end of the beach is open to the public and has parking and lifeguards. The central part of the beach is a nature preserve whose land is set aside for wildlife, particularly nesting raptors, such as American kestrels and ospreys. The western end of the beach was once the site of about 40 cottages, which were abandoned because of the town's discontinuation of the lease to the land. The cottages were demolished in fall 2010.
Russian Beach – Located between Long and Short beaches, Russian Beach has parking and the Point-No-Point walkway. Fishing is allowed, as is swimming although this beach has no lifeguards.
Short Beach – Short Beach Park is 30 acres (120,000m2) in size and sits at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It has three picnic pavilions, basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a handicapped-accessible playground, a skateboard park, a lighted softball field, a soccer field, two baseball fields and a lacrosse field. The beach has 1,000 feet (300m) of frontage with a concession stand, bathrooms, a deck and lifeguards. The park is also home to Short Beach Golf Course, a nine-hole par-3 course.
Located in the north end of Stratford, this 250-acre (1.0km2) site is primarily a mixed deciduous forest, with some wetlands and ponds. Named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was set aside in the 1930s, when much of the infrastructure was created as a Works Progress Administration project. The forest includes campsites with cooking pits, picnic tables, and walking trails.
Superfund sites
Cleanup of a Raymark Industries Superfund site, in Stratford
From 1919 to 1989, Raymark manufactured brake pads and other friction products for the automobile industry under the name Raybestos. The company disposed of wastes containing lead, asbestos, PCBs and other hazardous substances at its Stratford manufacturing plant. Raymark dried the waste material and made it available for use as fill material for lawns, playgrounds, and schoolyards. In 1993, the EPA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection began working together to complete the cleanup of contamination Raymark left behind in Stratford. EPA completed its cleanup of the contaminated residential properties in 1995 and the former Raymark plant property in 1997. Plans for cleanup of the Ferry Creek area and surrounding properties where additional Raymark waste was historically disposed are currently being developed by the EPA.[9] The cost of cleaning up the Raymark Site is estimated to have exceeded $200 million.[10]
As of the census[12] of 2010, there were 51,384 people, 20,095 households, and 13,614 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,919.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,127.2/km2). There were 21,091 housing units at an average density of 1,198.4 per square mile (462.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 76.4% White, 14.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.8% of the population.
There were 20,095 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,494, and the median income for a family was $64,364. Males had a median income of $45,552 versus $34,575 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,501. About 3.5% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
The Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division in Stratford built a total of 7,829 F4U fighters from 1940 to 1952, including the prototype. These planes saw extensive combat in the Pacific Theatre of operations during World War II, and played a supporting role in the Korean War. A Corsair sits on a pedestal at the airport as a memorial to the war effort.[14]
The Stratford Eagles Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, is based in Stratford, at the Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
Sikorsky Aircraft Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq in 2005
Stratford is home to the headquarters of Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin (LMT) subsidiary founded by Igor Sikorsky, developer of the first successful American helicopter. Every Marine One (the helicopter of the President of the United States) has been manufactured in Stratford since 1957. On July 20, 2015, Lockheed Martin announced an agreement to purchase Sikorsky Aircraft from UTC for $9 billion.[16]
Stratford Army Engine Plant
The Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP) was a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command installation and manufacturing facility, located along the Housatonic River and Main Street opposite Sikorsky Airport. Because of the Base Realignment and Closure actions of the United States Department of Defense, closure of the plant was recommended in July 1995. The SAEP closed on September 30, 1998. For the next 11 years the Army was involved with "Team Stratford" to develop the property. The United States Army, which owns the 78-acre (320,000m2) site, auctioned it off on March 19, 2008,[17] with a winning bid of $9,612,000 which also includes the 1,720,000-square-foot (160,000m2) facility of over fifty buildings. This bid failed to be paid off and is now being placed for rebid. Currently Robert Hartmann of Hartmann Development has a $1 billion plan to develop the former Army engine plant into a destination resort.[18]
Although owned by the City of Bridgeport, Sikorsky Memorial Airport is located in Stratford. The 800-acre (3.2km2) facility includes two paved runways (both under 4800 feet), a helipad, and two hangars. It provides helicopter service to New York and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and is used as a landing site for blimps and small aircraft. In 2019, 155 aircraft were based at the airport, with an average of 136 operations per day.[19]
Rail
Stratford (Metro-North station) is a stop on the New Haven Line, 59 miles (95km) east of Grand Central Terminal. Average travel time into Manhattan is about 90 minutes. The station platforms are only long enough to handle four cars and the station has limited parking for fewer than 300 vehicles. It has three ticket machines, a bus connection to neighboring Bridgeport, and handicapped access.
In January 1983 a truck slammed into a line of cars waiting to pay a toll on Interstate 95 in Stratford, killing seven people. This accident was one of the reasons toll booths were removed throughout the state.[20]
Government
Stratford town vote by party in presidential elections[21]
The Town of Stratford operated under a council-manager government from 1921 until 2005 when it changed to a mayor-council type of government. The first mayor, James Miron, was elected in November 2005 to a four-year term. The second mayor was John Harkins.[22] The town has a ten-member town council, elected by district to two-year terms. It appoints one of its members to serve as chairman. The mayor and the council are responsible for setting policy through the enactment of ordinances and resolutions. Current Mayor is Laura R. Hoydick (R)
Emergency services
Emergency medical services
Established in 1977, Stratford Emergency Medical Service (SEMS) is the state-licensed, third-service, advanced life support (paramedic) and basic life support, municipal EMS provider to the Town of Stratford. The department responds to approximately 8500 calls annually.[22][citation needed]
Fire department
Established in 1909, the fire department operates out of four stations located throughout the town. The fire department staffs 4 engine companies, a truck company, a rescue unit, and a shift commander along with several specialized response units. The department responds to approximately 6000 calls annually.[23]
Police department
Created in 1917, the Stratford Police Department has a force of 98 officers. The department's units include arson investigation, crime prevention, identification & forensic unit and narcotics & vice. Stratford also has a boat patrol, a K-9 unit,[24] and an animal control unit.[25]
Education
Public education
Public education in Stratford is managed by the Stratford Board of Education, which operates 13 schools: two high schools, two middle schools, and nine elementary schools.[26] The district has about 6,800 students and 1,095 staff, including 577 teachers, counselors, and specialists.[27]
Stratford has two private (Catholic) elementary and middle schools:
St. James School (K–8)
St. Mark School (K–8)
Higher education
The Connecticut School of Broadcasting maintains a location in Stratford and certifies students in television anchoring, commercial radio performance and journalism.[30]
The 30-acre (120,000m2) Boothe homestead in the Putney area of Stratford is a rolling parkland containing the original Boothe homestead and an eclectic assortment of buildings collected by the Boothe brothers during their lives and added to by the Friends of Boothe.
A tollbooth that was in service from 1940 to 1988 on Connecticut's Merritt Parkway is on display in Boothe Memorial Park.
The company operating the theater ceased operations in the mid-1980s, and the building has been vacant since then. In February 2005, the Town of Stratford received the deed for the Stratford Festival Shakespeare Theater from the state of Connecticut. In 2006 it selected a New York City development company to reopen the theater as a tourist destination, but the company's contract was terminated in July 2007 because of lack of progress. In 2019 the theatre burned to the ground.[33]
Since 1932, Sterling House has served as a community center for Stratford. Housed in a donated 1886 Romanesque mansion that was previously the home of John William Sterling, it hosts recreational and leisure activities for adults and children, charity events, and volunteer activities. The grounds include a gazebo, a rose garden, and a 2-acre (8,100m2) field.
Sports
Stratford is home to the Connecticut Brakettes women's fastpitch softball team. Formed in 1947 as the Raybestos Girl All-Stars, and later called the Raybestos Brakettes, they became known as the Stratford Brakettes in 1985 after Raybestos ceased its sponsorship. The team has posted 3,242 victories in 3,607 games played, as well as three world championships and 28 national A.S.A. championships, including a record eight consecutive titles from 1971 to 1978.[34][35] They also captured three consecutive titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Their most recent title came in 2006.[36][37] Nineteen former members have made the National Softball Hall of Fame, and 11 have been Olympians.[38] I The Brakettes play at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field.
Media
Movies filmed in Stratford
Movies filmed at least partially in Stratford:[39]
Stratford is served by Bridgeport's daily Connecticut Post and by the weekly digital Stratford Crier. The Stratford Star cesed publication in 2012.[41]
Andrew Adams (1736–1797), jurist, Connecticut delegate to the Continental Congress, state chief justice and signer of the Articles of Confederation,[43] born in Stratford
Calhoun, John D. & Lewis G. Knapp. Stratford: A Pictorial History, 1850–1970, (Images of America Series) Arcadia Publishing, 1999. ISBN0-7385-3579-6
Knapp, Lewis G. In Pursuit of Paradise: History of the Town of Stratford, Connecticut. West Kennebunk, ME: Phoenix Publishing, 1989. ISBN0-914659-42-1
Orcutt, Samuel. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1886.
Smith, Claude. The Stratford Devil. New York: Walker, 1984. ISBN0-8027-6544-0
Wilcoxson, William Howard. History of Stratford, 1639–1939, Stratford, CT: Stratford Tercentenary Commission, 1939.
Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957,419, representing 26.6% of Connecticut's overall population. The closest to the center of the New York metropolitan area, the county contains four of the state's top 7 largest cities—Bridgeport (1st), Stamford (2nd), Norwalk (6th), and Danbury (7th)—whose combined population of 433,368 is nearly half the county's total population.
Monroe is a town located in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.
Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. Milford is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region and New York metropolitan area.
Shelton is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 40,869 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region.
Trumbull is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, and borders on the cities of Bridgeport and Shelton, as well as the towns of Stratford, Fairfield, Easton and Monroe. The population was 36,827 during the 2020 census. Trumbull was the home of the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation for thousands of years before the English settlement was made in 1639. The town was named after Jonathan Trumbull (1710–1785), a merchant, patriot and statesman, at its incorporation in 1797. Aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky lived in Trumbull during his active years when he designed, built, and flew fixed-wing aircraft and put the helicopter into mass production for the first time.
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by the Russian aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923, and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. It also produced seaplanes for passenger transport and surface vehicles such as trains and boats.
Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport is a public airport in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, owned by the city of Bridgeport. It is three miles (6 km) southeast of downtown, in the town of Stratford. It was formerly Bridgeport Municipal Airport.
George Lackman "Doc" Gunther was an American politician. He was the longest-serving state legislator in Connecticut history. Senator Gunther represented the 21st Connecticut Senate District, comprising all of Shelton, most of Stratford, and parts of Monroe and Seymour, Connecticut, from 1966 to 2006. When Gunther retired in 2006, he was replaced by his protégé and former campaign manager, Dan Debicella from Shelton.
Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site in the Putney section of Stratford, Connecticut. Built about 1840 and remodeled in 1914, it is said to be "The Oldest Homestead in America," since it sits on the foundations of a 1663 house, and has been continuously occupied. Circa 1914 two brothers, David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe, created the Boothe Memorial Museum which maintains a collection of twenty architecturally unique buildings. Some of the structures include a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse, windmill, a clock tower museum, trolley station, chapel, and a blacksmith shop. The property became a public park owned by the town of Stratford in 1949.
The Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP) was a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command installation and manufacturing facility located in Stratford, Connecticut, where it was sited along the Housatonic River and Main Street, opposite Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
Stamford-Bridgeport-Norwalk is a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The area is located in Southwestern Connecticut. In its most conservative form the area consists of the city of Bridgeport and five surrounding towns—Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull. This definition of the Stamford area has a population of more than 305,000 and is within the Stamford -Bridgeport-Norwalk-Danbury metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Fairfield County, Connecticut. The estimated 2015 county population was 948,053. The area is numbered as part of the New York-Newark Combined Statistical Area NY-NJ-CT-PA by the United States Census Bureau.
Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull in Fairfield County, Connecticut, is named after the family who maintained a large farm in its center for almost 300 years. The Nichols Farms Historic District, which encompasses part of the village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally home to the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation, the area was colonized by the English during the Great Migration of the 1630s as a part of the coastal settlement of Stratford. The construction of the Merritt Parkway through the village, and the subsequent closing of stores and factories, turned the village into a bedroom community in 1939. Aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky lived in three separate homes in Nichols during his active years between 1928 and 1951, when he designed, built and flew fixed-wing aircraft and put the helicopter into mass production for the first time.
The Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge carries the controlled-access Merritt Parkway over the Housatonic River, between Stratford and Milford, Connecticut.
Route 113 is a Connecticut state highway running from the Bridgeport-Stratford town line around the Lordship section of Stratford to the eastern part of the town.
The Washington Bridge, also known as the Devon Bridge, carries U.S. Route 1 (US 1) over the Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut, connecting the city of Milford to the town of Stratford. Its geographic location is N 41.20037 by W −73.11039. It is considered architecturally notable by the National Register of Historic Places for its five 100-foot-long (30 m) arches. It is designated Bridge No. 327 by the state Department of Transportation.
Raybestos is a brand of automotive brakes established in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Trumbull, a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States, was originally home to the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation, and was colonized by the English during the Great Migration of the 1630s as a part of the coastal settlement of Stratford.
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx. It borders the towns of Trumbull to the north, Fairfield to the west, and Stratford to the east. Bridgeport and other towns in Fairfield County make up the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, as well as the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolitan statistical area, the second largest metropolitan area in Connecticut. The Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolis forms part of the New York metropolitan area.
The Connecticut Air & Space Center is an aviation museum located near Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, Connecticut, that is focused on the history of aviation in Connecticut. Founded by George Gunther in 1998 after the closing of the Stratford Army Engine Plant, it occupied buildings 6 and 53 of the complex from 2001 until 2022. It now currently occupies a portion of the Curtiss Hangar and is open to the public.
Long Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Trumbull in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is located west of the Pequonnock River. The main thoroughfare is Connecticut Route 111, present-day Main Street. It was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.
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