Winsted, Connecticut | |
---|---|
City of Winsted | |
Nickname: Laurel City | |
Coordinates: 41°55′15″N73°3′33″W / 41.92083°N 73.05917°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Connecticut |
County | Litchfield |
Region | Northwest Hills |
Town | Winchester |
Government | |
• Type | New England town (Winchester) |
• Board of selectmen | Todd Arcelaschi, Mayor Steven Sedlack William Hester Troy Lamere Paul Marino Althea Candy Perez William Pozzo [1] |
• Town Manager | Robert Geiger (interim) [2] |
Area | |
• Total | 4.8 sq mi (12.4 km2) |
• Land | 4.6 sq mi (12.0 km2) |
• Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2) |
Elevation | 713 ft (217 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 7,712 |
• Density | 1,668/sq mi (644.2/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP codes | 06363, 06098 |
Area code(s) | 860/959 |
FIPS code | 09-87350 |
GNIS feature ID | 0212198 |
Major highways | |
Website | www |
Winsted is a census-designated place and an incorporated city [3] in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the town of Winchester. The population of Winsted was 7,712 at the 2010 census, [4] out of 11,242 in the entire town of Winchester. Winsted is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region.
Settled in 1750, [5] the city of Winsted was formed at the junction of the Mad River and Still River and was one of the first mill towns in Connecticut. Manufactured products started with scythes at the Winsted Manufacturing Company in 1792. The city is within the town of Winchester, and its name derives from the fact that it is the business center for the towns of Winchester and Barkhamsted.
Winsted, along with New Haven, Connecticut, was a center for the production of mechanical clocks in the 1900s. The Gilbert Clock Company, located along the Still River north of town, was founded in 1871 by William L. Gilbert (1806–1890) and became one of the largest clock companies in the world around the start of the 20th century.
The Winsted post office contains an oil on canvas mural, Lincoln's Arbiter Settles the Winsted Post Office Controversy, painted by muralist Amy Jones in 1938. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. [6]
The Gilbert School, originally endowed with more than $600,000 by William L. Gilbert, [5] is a private secondary school that serves as the public high school for the town of Winchester.
In 1955, Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane passed over Connecticut within one week, flooding the Mad River and Still River through downtown. The Mad River, which parallels Main Street, caused flooding up to 10 feet (3.0 m) deep through the center of town. This damaged the buildings between Main Street and the river such that all buildings on that side of Main Street through the center of town were subsequently removed and Main Street widened to four lanes. The buildings on the north side of Main Street for the most part survived and were repaired. Further downstream, the Still River flowed between the buildings of the Gilbert Clock Company. The flooding caused extensive damage to their buildings, and this was the final blow to a company which was already in poor financial condition.
Northwestern Connecticut Community College was founded in 1965 by Winsted residents, including Ralph Nader's older brother, Shafeek. It occupies the original Gilbert School building. NCCC was one of the first four community colleges in Connecticut, and is accredited by both the Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Northwestern Community College Foundation was incorporated in 1981 to support the mission of Northwestern Connecticut Community College. NCCF generates private funds for the purpose of benefiting the students attending NCCC and the community of Winsted.
In 2013, Henry Centrella, the former city finance director, was served a complaint which stated that over $2.2 million was misappropriated during his 30-year tenure. [7]
Ralph Nader opened the American Museum of Tort Law in 2015, inside the former Winsted Savings Bank building at 654 Main Street. [8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km2), of which 4.6 square miles (12.0 km2) are land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km2), or 3.73%, are water. [9]
Winsted sits in the eastern part of the town of Winchester at the confluence of the Still and Mad Rivers. This Mad River is one of seven rivers with the same name in New England, one other of which is also in Connecticut. The Still River continues north as a tributary of the Farmington River and is part of the Connecticut River watershed.
The city is laid out in a horseshoe-shaped valley ringed by seven hills; two other hills stand amid this, comprising a total of nine named hills.
There are five stone churches in a crescent from east to west. In their exact center is the Castle Tower Civil War monument, a stone tower of over 40 feet erected in 1890. [10]
The city is crossed by U.S. Route 44, Connecticut Route 8, Connecticut Route 183 and Connecticut Route 263. US 44 leads southeast 25 miles (40 km) to Hartford, the state capital, and northwest 17 miles (27 km) to North Canaan. Route 8 leads south 9 miles (14 km) to Torrington and 28 miles (45 km) to Waterbury, and north 26 miles (42 km) to U.S. Route 20 in West Becket, Massachusetts.
As of the census of 2010, there were 7,712 people, 3,346 households, and 1,920 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,668 inhabitants per square mile (644/km2). There were 3,828 housing units, of which 482, or 12.6%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.6% White, 2.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 2.7% some other race, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.5% of the population. [4]
Of the 3,346 households in the community, 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were headed by married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.6% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28, and the average family size was 2.95. [4]
21.5% of the CDP population were under the age of 18, 8.7% were from 18 to 24, 24.6% were from 25 to 44, 30.1% were from 45 to 64, and 15.1% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. [4]
For the period 2013–2017, the estimated median annual income for a household in the CDP was $45,597, and the median income for a family was $58,962. Male full-time workers had a median income of $41,842 versus $45,208 for females. About 20.1% of families and 23.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 31.8% of people under the age of 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over. [11]
The closest major airport is Bradley International Airport (BDL), 24 miles (39 km) to the east in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Amtrak stations within a 30-mile radius include Windsor (WND [12] ), Hartford (HFD [13] ), Berlin (BER [14] ), and Springfield, Massachusetts (SPG [15] ). Greyhound Lines also has a bus station. [16]
Public transportation service is provided by the Northwestern Connecticut Transit District, which operates a weekday bus service [17] and a dial-a-ride service. [18]
Winsted is home to a growing number of arts and cultural organizations, including the arts and education center The American Mural Project, which holds the record for the largest indoor, collaborative mural in the world; Whiting Mills art studios, which offers art workshops; Ralph Nader's nonprofit The American Museum of Tort Law; and the Winchester Historical Society.
Winchester Public Schools is the public school district for grades K-6, while The Gilbert School serves as the public school for grades 7-12. Prior to 2011, middle school students went to schools operated by the Winchester district. [19]
Northwestern Regional School District No. 7 maintains Northwestern Regional High School, which is partly in Winsted. [20] However, the school does not act as the public school for Winsted. [21] Students who live in Winchester can attend Northwestern Regional High School through their Agricultural Education Program.
Also located in the town, is Explorations Charter School. Created to serve a diverse body of students, the school was designed to accommodate the unique educational, social, and emotional needs of its students.
Prior to closing in 2020, [22] the town also had a parochial Catholic school called St. Anthony School, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hartford. The school opened in 1865, [23] and maintained a class of around 200 students. Experiencing a large decrease in enrollment, the school dropped from serving around 200 students, to just 90. [24] When in operation, it was the oldest school continually operated by the archdiocese. [25]
Northwestern Connecticut Community College is also located in Winsted.
Beardsley Library and the Memorial Library is the local public library. Mrs. Eliot Beardsley donated $10,000 to establish the library. The buying of the land was funded by Jenison Whiting, who submitted a bequest in 1898, with the first building built the following year. [26]
Barkhamsted is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It contains seven villages: West Hill, Mallory, Barkhamsted Center, Center Hill, Washington Hill, Pleasant Valley, and Riverton. The population was 3,647 at the 2020 census, down from 3,799 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Barkhamsted was first incorporated in 1779, and named after Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England.
New Hartford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the New Hartford Center census-designated place (CDP). The town is mainly a rural community consisting of farms, homes, and parks. Brodie Park and Ski Sundown are located in New Hartford.
Norfolk is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The urban center of the town is the Norfolk census-designated place, with a population of 553 at the 2010 census.
Winchester is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,224 at the 2020 census. The city of Winsted is located in Winchester. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region.
Rockville is a census-designated place and a village of the town of Vernon in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 7,920 at the 2020 census. Incorporated as a city in 1889, it has been consolidated with the town of Vernon since 1965.
Winsted is a city in McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,240 at the 2020 census.
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies 14 miles (23 km) north of Danbury on the banks of the Housatonic River, and shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is the largest town in the state of Connecticut in terms of land area at nearly 63.7 mi2 (164.9822 km2). The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP).
The Litchfield Hills are a geographic region of the U.S. state of Connecticut located in the northwestern corner of the state. It is roughly coterminous with the boundaries of Litchfield County, for which it is named. The geographic region includes colloquial subregions—rural Northwestern Connecticut and the area associated with the city of Torrington, also known as the Upper Naugatuck River Valley or simply Litchfield Hills—which have also variously corresponded to designated government councils both past and present. Much of the area makes up the lowermost section of the Berkshires and is culturally similar to the rest of western New England.
Rose Nader was a Lebanese-American activist in her hometown of Winsted, Connecticut. She was the mother of U.S. activist, consumer advocate, and frequent third-party candidate Ralph Nader, professor Laura Nader, community advocate Shafeek Nader, and social scientist Claire Nader.
Falls Village is a village and census-designated place in the town of Canaan in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 538, out of 1,234 in the entire town of Canaan. Because Falls Village is the town center and principal constituent village in Canaan, the entire town is often referred to as "Falls Village". That usage also avoids confusion of the town with Canaan Village in the town of North Canaan, Connecticut, just to the north. Falls Village derives its name from a waterfall, known as Great Falls, on the Housatonic River within the village.
New Hartford Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It comprises the village of New Hartford, the adjacent Pine Meadow Historic District, and some surrounding forest land, all within the town of New Hartford. As of the 2010 census, the population of New Hartford Center was 1,385, out of 6,970 in the entire town of New Hartford.
Route 263 is a state highway in northwestern Connecticut running from Goshen to the city of Winsted in the town of Winchester.
Northwestern Connecticut Community College (NCCC) is a public community college in Winsted, Connecticut, United States. As measured by enrolment it is the smallest or second-smallest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges system.
The American Museum of Tort Law is a museum developed by Ralph Nader, located in his hometown of Winsted, Connecticut. The museum focuses on topics of civil justice and "aspects of the legal system that handle wrongful actions that result in injury". The museum opened to the public in September 2015. It is the first law museum in the United States.
Northwestern Regional High School is a public regional high school located in Winsted, Connecticut, serving the towns of Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Norfolk. Northwestern Regional High School, a part of Regional School District No. 7, is located in the same building as Northwestern Regional Middle School, which serves grades 7 and 8.
The Gilbert School is a privately endowed secondary school that serves as the public high school for the towns of Winchester and Hartland, Connecticut and the public middle school for Winchester. The Gilbert School serves grades 7-12. The school was founded in 1895 as the result of the bequest of William L. Gilbert who, in his will, made provision for the “establishment and maintenance of an institution of learning to be known as The Gilbert School.”
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.
Portland is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 9,384 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). It is situated across the Connecticut River from Middletown.
The Winsted Hosiery Mill, also known as the Whiting Mill, is an industrial complex at 210 Holabird Avenue in the Winsted section of Winchester, Connecticut. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was one of the largest industrial employers in the community for many years, and is relatively unaltered from its period of development. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is now subdivided for multiple industrial and commercial tenants.
Norfolk is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is the central village within the town of Norfolk. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 553, out of 1,709 in the entire town.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Regional School District No. 7 is composed of four rural-suburban towns: Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Norfolk.[...]