Redding, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Mark Twain
, a resident of the town in his old age, contributed the first books for a public library which was eventually named after him.
form of government. Day-to-day administration of the town is performed by a board of selectmen
composed of three elected persons. Executive authority is vested in the first selectman
, held by Natalie Ketcham as of 2009. Legislative authority is vested in the Town Meeting. All town residents aged 18 and over who own property worth at least $1,000 can participate in the Town Meeting, which is held on an as needed basis.
Municipal elections are held every odd-numbered year. In addition to the board of selectmen, other elected town positions are the Town Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Constables, and members of various Boards.
of 2000 http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=redding&_cityTown=redding&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y, there were 8,270 people, 2,918 households, and 2,377 families residing in the town. The population density
was 262.5 people per square mile (101.4/km²). There were 3,086 housing units at an average density of 98.0 per square mile (37.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town as of 2000 was 96.20% White, 0.70% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.80% from other races
or from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 2,918 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% were married couples
living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were non-families. 13.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $104,137, and the median income for a family was $109,250. In 2009, the median family income rose to $141,609. Males had a median income of $77,882 versus $52,250 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $50,687. About 1.2% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.
.
Many well-known people have lived in town, including numerous actors, musicians and other entertainers. Among them are Leonard Bernstein
(in the 1950s), Comedian Michael Ian Black
, Daryl Hall
(of Hall & Oates
), Jascha Heifetz
(in the 1940s), Charles Ives
, Hope Lange
, film director Barry Levinson
(a current resident), rock singer Meat Loaf
(Marvin Lee Aday who was Joel Barlow High School
softball coach while his daughters attended the school during the 1990s), actress Jessica Tandy
and her husband Hume Cronyn
(in the 1940s and 1950s) and Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary
.
The photographer Edward Steichen
purchased a farm that he called Umpawaug in 1928. Steichen lived there until his death in 1973. After his death, Steichen's farm was made into a park, known as Topstone Park. Topstone Park is open seasonally to this day.
Authors and writers who have lived in Redding include Mark Twain
, who lived on present-day Mark Twain Lane and owned property in town until his death in 1910; Joel Barlow
, a poet and diplomat, born in town; Howard Fast
(in the 1980s); Flannery O'Connor
(who wrote her novel Wise Blood while a boarder at the home of fellow writer Robert Fitzgerald
and family on Seventy Acre Road from 1949 to 1951). Dan Beard, an illustrator and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, lived on Great Pasture. Dick Morris
, political consultant and author, is a current town resident. Charlie Morton
, a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates
organization, grew up in Redding and attended Joel Barlow High School
. Joan Walsh Anglund, born January 3, 1926, author and illustrator of children's books, moved to Redding in 1976. She lived with her husband on the corner of Blackrock Turnpike and Church Hill Road. Ruth Stout
(1884–1980), writer about organic gardening and author of "How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back", lived on Poverty Hollow.
Lawrence Kudlow
, host of Kudlow and Company television program, is a current resident. John Byrum
, film director and screenwriter, is a longtime resident. Orville Schell
, civil Liberties lawyer, has lived in town. Alfred Winslow Jones
, called "the father of the hedge fund
industry," lived on Poverty Hollow Road. Major General Samuel Holden Parsons
, commander in the Continental Army
under Gen. Israel Putnam
, later chief judge of the Northwest Territory
, lived on Black Rock Turnpike.
by James Lincoln Collier
was based in Redding during the Revolutionary War.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, a resident of the town in his old age, contributed the first books for a public library which was eventually named after him.
Government
Redding is governed by an open town meetingOpen town meeting
An open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
form of government. Day-to-day administration of the town is performed by a board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
composed of three elected persons. Executive authority is vested in the first selectman
First Selectman
The first selectman is the head of the board of selectmen in some New England towns....
, held by Natalie Ketcham as of 2009. Legislative authority is vested in the Town Meeting. All town residents aged 18 and over who own property worth at least $1,000 can participate in the Town Meeting, which is held on an as needed basis.
Municipal elections are held every odd-numbered year. In addition to the board of selectmen, other elected town positions are the Town Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Constables, and members of various Boards.
Attractions
- Highstead ArboretumHighstead ArboretumThe Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut, USA was founded in 1982. It covers 36 acres of woodland, meadow, and wetland and ranges from to in elevation. It hosts both native and cultivated plant varieties...
, which may be visited by appointment - The Mark Twain Library, endowed by Redding's most famous resident of 1908–1909
- Redding Road House, restaurant and bar with live music
- Devil's Den PreserveDevil's Den PreserveFor other places with the "Devil's Den" name, see Devil's DenThe Lucius Pond Ordway Devil's Den Preserve in Weston and Redding, Connecticut, encompassing , is the largest preserve in Fairfield County, Connecticut and one of the larger preserves in the metropolitan New York area...
, which features hiking and scenic views of the Saugatuck Reservoir from the "Great Ledge" - Putnam Memorial State ParkPutnam Memorial State ParkPutnam Memorial State Park is named for Major General Israel Putnam who chose the site as the winter encampment for his men during the winter of 1778/1779. The former American Revolutionary War encampment and park is located at the intersection of Route 107 and Route 58 in Redding, Connecticut, in...
, of historical interest for the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and for its unique geologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and caves - Collis P. Huntington State ParkCollis P. Huntington State ParkCollis P. Huntington State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Characterized by its life-like sculptures of bears and wolves that welcome visitors, Huntington is a setting featuring open fields and dense woodlands. The park was donated to the citizens of Connecticut by the...
for hiking, horse-back riding and biking - New Pond FarmNew Pond FarmNew Pond Farm is an environmental education center and teaching farm located in Redding, Connecticut. In 2007 they won the prestigious Connecticut Dairy Farm of Distinction Award.-History:...
, a working farm founded by Carmen Matthews. It offers camps during the summer for locals, in addition to a camp for inner city kids.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000 http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=redding&_cityTown=redding&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y, there were 8,270 people, 2,918 households, and 2,377 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 262.5 people per square mile (101.4/km²). There were 3,086 housing units at an average density of 98.0 per square mile (37.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town as of 2000 was 96.20% White, 0.70% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.80% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 2,918 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were non-families. 13.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $104,137, and the median income for a family was $109,250. In 2009, the median family income rose to $141,609. Males had a median income of $77,882 versus $52,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $50,687. About 1.2% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.
Rankings
Redding was selected as the 4th best small town by Connecticut Magazine in 2010 http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2010/Rating-the-Towns-2010-Population-6500-10000/. It was selected as the 4th Best Town to Live In (in the country) by CNNMoney in 2009.http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0907/gallery.bplive_6_figure_towns.moneymag/4.htmlNotable residents, past and present
For more names see People of Redding, ConnecticutPeople of Redding, Connecticut
People associated with Redding, Connecticut listed in the area they are best known:-Actors, musicians and entertainers:*Paul Avgerinos, musician and electronic music composer.*Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor, lived on Fox Run Road in the 1950s....
.
Many well-known people have lived in town, including numerous actors, musicians and other entertainers. Among them are Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
(in the 1950s), Comedian Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black is an American comedian, actor, writer and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including The State, Ed, Viva Variety, Stella and Michael & Michael Have Issues. He is also a prominent poker player, appearing on Celebrity Poker Showdown several times...
, Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...
(of Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
), Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
(in the 1940s), Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, Hope Lange
Hope Lange
Hope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
, film director Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
(a current resident), rock singer Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
(Marvin Lee Aday who was Joel Barlow High School
Joel Barlow High School
Joel Barlow High School is a high school in Redding, Fairfield County, Connecticut. The school serves Redding and Easton students....
softball coach while his daughters attended the school during the 1990s), actress Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
and her husband Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
(in the 1940s and 1950s) and Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
.
The photographer Edward Steichen
Edward Steichen
Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Steichen also contributed the logo design and a custom typeface...
purchased a farm that he called Umpawaug in 1928. Steichen lived there until his death in 1973. After his death, Steichen's farm was made into a park, known as Topstone Park. Topstone Park is open seasonally to this day.
Authors and writers who have lived in Redding include Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, who lived on present-day Mark Twain Lane and owned property in town until his death in 1910; Joel Barlow
Joel Barlow
Joel Barlow was an American poet, diplomat and politician. In his own time, Barlow was well-known for the epic Vision of Columbus. Modern readers may be more familiar with "The Hasty Pudding"...
, a poet and diplomat, born in town; Howard Fast
Howard Fast
Howard Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
(in the 1980s); Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
(who wrote her novel Wise Blood while a boarder at the home of fellow writer Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Stuart Fitzgerald was a poet, critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students." He was best known as a translator of ancient Greek and Latin...
and family on Seventy Acre Road from 1949 to 1951). Dan Beard, an illustrator and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, lived on Great Pasture. Dick Morris
Dick Morris
Dick Morris is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant....
, political consultant and author, is a current town resident. Charlie Morton
Charlie Morton (pitcher)
Charles A. Morton is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He stands at 6'5" and weighs in at about 230 lbs. He is a right-hander.-Professional career:...
, a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
organization, grew up in Redding and attended Joel Barlow High School
Joel Barlow High School
Joel Barlow High School is a high school in Redding, Fairfield County, Connecticut. The school serves Redding and Easton students....
. Joan Walsh Anglund, born January 3, 1926, author and illustrator of children's books, moved to Redding in 1976. She lived with her husband on the corner of Blackrock Turnpike and Church Hill Road. Ruth Stout
Ruth Stout
Ruth Stout was an American author best known for her "No-Work" gardening books and techniques.- Early and Mid-Life :...
(1884–1980), writer about organic gardening and author of "How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back", lived on Poverty Hollow.
Lawrence Kudlow
Lawrence Kudlow
Lawrence "Larry" Kudlow is an American economist, television personality, and newspaper columnist. He is the host of CNBC's The Kudlow Report. As a syndicated columnist, his articles appear in numerous U.S. newspapers and web sites, including his own blog, Kudlow's Money Politic$.-Early...
, host of Kudlow and Company television program, is a current resident. John Byrum
John Byrum
John Byrum is an American film director and writer known for The Razor's Edge, Heart Beat, Duets and Inserts....
, film director and screenwriter, is a longtime resident. Orville Schell
Orville Schell
Orville Hickock Schell III is an activist and writer working on China, and is the Arthus Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York...
, civil Liberties lawyer, has lived in town. Alfred Winslow Jones
Alfred Winslow Jones
Alfred Winslow Jones , a sociologist, author, and financial journalist, is credited with forming the first modern hedge fund and is widely regarded as the father of the hedge fund industry.-Background:...
, called "the father of the hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
industry," lived on Poverty Hollow Road. Major General Samuel Holden Parsons
Samuel Holden Parsons
Samuel Holden Parsons was an American lawyer, jurist, and military leader.Parsons was born in Lyme, Connecticut, the son of Jonathan Parsons and Phoebe Parsons...
, commander in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
under Gen. Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam was an American army general and Freemason who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War...
, later chief judge of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
, lived on Black Rock Turnpike.
Culture
The fictional book My Brother Sam Is DeadMy Brother Sam Is Dead
My Brother Sam Is Dead is a young adult historical fiction novel by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. The book realistically depicts what happened in the American Revolution...
by James Lincoln Collier
James Lincoln Collier
James Lincoln Collier is a journalist, author, and professional musician.Collier was born to Edmund Collier and Katherine Brown. He came from a family of writers and teachers, including his father and several aunts and uncles. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1950...
was based in Redding during the Revolutionary War.
Movies filmed at least in part in Redding
(in reverse chronological order)- A Georgetown Story (2005–2008)-- Documentary about Georgetown, part of Redding.
- Old Dogs (2007/ 2008)-- Filmed in Redding Community Center, Putnam Park
- RecklessReckless (1995 film)Reckless is a 1995 American dark comedy film directed by Norman René. The screenplay by Craig Lucas is based on his 1983 play of the same title.-Plot:...
(1995) – filmed in Georgetown - Other People's MoneyOther People's MoneyOther People's Money is a 1991 drama/romantic comedy film starring Danny DeVito, Penelope Ann Miller and Gregory Peck. It is based on the play of the same name by Jerry Sterner. The director was Norman Jewison and the screenplay was credited to Alvin Sargent.-Plot:Corporate raider Lawrence...
(1991) – filmed in Georgetown - The Stepford WivesThe Stepford Wives (1975 film)The Stepford Wives is a 1975 science fiction–thriller film based on the 1972 Ira Levin novel of the same name. It was directed by Bryan Forbes with a screenplay by William Goldman, and stars Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman and Tina Louise...
(1975) - The Last House on the LeftThe Last House on the Left (1972 film)The Last House on the Left is a 1972 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.The story is inspired by the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is based on the 13th century Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge"...
(1972) - Rachel, RachelRachel, RachelRachel, Rachel is a 1968 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Stewart Stern is based on the 1966 novel A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence.-Plot:...
(1968) – filmed in Georgetown - Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls (film)The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
(1967) – filmed in Redding Center