Storrs, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Storrs is a census-designated place
and part of the town of Mansfield
, Connecticut
located in eastern Tolland County
. The population was 10,996 at the 2000 census. It is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of the main campus of the University of Connecticut
.
It was named after Charles & Augustus Storrs, two brothers who founded the University of Connecticut
(originally called the Storrs Agricultural College) by giving the land (170 acre (0.6879662 km²)) and $5,000 in 1871
In the aftermath of September 2005's Hurricane Katrina
, Storrs was named by Slate
as "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster."
, the community has a total area of 14.8 km² (5.7 mi²). 14.7 km² (5.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.
of 2000, there were 10,996 people, 1,630 households, and 645 families residing in the community. The population density
was 748.8/km² (1,939.3/mi²). There were 1,701 housing units at an average density of 115.8/km² (300.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the community was 81.10% White, 5.67% African American, 0.09% Native American, 9.13% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.70% from other races
, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.40% of the population.
There were 1,630 households out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.6% were married couples
living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.70.
The age distribution, heavily influenced by UConn, is: 4.0% under the age of 18, 76.1% from 18 to 24, 10.1% from 25 to 44, 3.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the community was $76,000 and the median income for a family was $64,833. Males had a median income of $34,766 versus $23,229 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $9,947. About 10.0% of families and 33.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities dominated by students, such as Storrs.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
and part of the town of Mansfield
Mansfield, Connecticut
Mansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,720 at the 2000 census.Mansfield was incorporated in October 1702 from the Town of Windham, in Hartford County. When Windham County was formed on 12 May 1726, Mansfield then became part of that county...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
located in eastern Tolland County
Tolland County, Connecticut
Tolland County is a county located in the northeastern part of Connecticut. As of 2010, the population was 152,691.Counties in Connecticut have no governmental function: all legal power is vested in the state, city, and town governments...
. The population was 10,996 at the 2000 census. It is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of the main campus of the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
.
It was named after Charles & Augustus Storrs, two brothers who founded the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
(originally called the Storrs Agricultural College) by giving the land (170 acre (0.6879662 km²)) and $5,000 in 1871
In the aftermath of September 2005's Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, Storrs was named by Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
as "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster."
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the community has a total area of 14.8 km² (5.7 mi²). 14.7 km² (5.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.
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, there were 10,996 people, 1,630 households, and 645 families residing in the community. 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 748.8/km² (1,939.3/mi²). There were 1,701 housing units at an average density of 115.8/km² (300.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the community was 81.10% White, 5.67% African American, 0.09% Native American, 9.13% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.70% 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...
, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.40% of the population.
There were 1,630 households out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.6% 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, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.70.
The age distribution, heavily influenced by UConn, is: 4.0% under the age of 18, 76.1% from 18 to 24, 10.1% from 25 to 44, 3.9% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the community was $76,000 and the median income for a family was $64,833. Males had a median income of $34,766 versus $23,229 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 CDP was $9,947. About 10.0% of families and 33.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities dominated by students, such as Storrs.
Notable residents
- Wally LambWally LambWally Lamb is an American author known as the writer of the novels She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club.Lamb was born in Norwich, Connecticut...
(b.1954), best-selling author of She's Come Undone and Something I've Been Meaning To Tell You. Both were selected for Oprah's Book ClubOprah's Book ClubOprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. The Club ended its 15-year run, along with...
. - Tim Page (music critic)Tim Page (music critic)Tim Page is a writer, editor, music critic, producer and professor. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for the Washington Post and also played an essential role in the revival of American author Dawn Powell.-Career:Page grew up in Storrs, Connecticut, where his father, Ellis B...
(b.1954), Pulitzer Prize winning music critic and biographer of Dawn PowellDawn PowellDawn Powell was an American writer of novels and stories.-Biography:Powell was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio, a village 45 miles north of Columbus and the county seat of Morrow County. Powell regularly gave her birth year as 1897 but primary documents support the earlier date...
. - Rivers CuomoRivers CuomoRivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
(b.1970), lead singer/guitarist of the alternative rockAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band WeezerWeezerWeezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, grew up in Storrs and attended the local secondary school, E.O. Smith High School. - Peter TorkPeter TorkPeter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
(Peter Halsten Thorkelson, b.1942) of The MonkeesThe MonkeesThe Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
attended E.O. Smith High School; he was class of '59 and made the class of 2005 Commencement speech. - Wendy O. WilliamsWendy O. WilliamsWendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
(1949–1998), lead singer for the 1970s and 80s punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band the PlasmaticsPlasmaticsThe Plasmatics were an American heavy metal and punk band formed by Yale University art school graduate Rod Swenson with Wendy O. Williams. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows that broke countless taboos...
lived in town from 1991 until her death in 1998 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. - Samuel Pickering (b. 1949) Professor at the University of Connecticut, inspiration for the character Mr. Keating in the Academy Award–winning film The Dead Poets Society
See also
- MansfieldMansfield, ConnecticutMansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,720 at the 2000 census.Mansfield was incorporated in October 1702 from the Town of Windham, in Hartford County. When Windham County was formed on 12 May 1726, Mansfield then became part of that county...
, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately... - University of ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
- Edwin Oscar Smith High School
- WHUSWHUSWHUS is the commercial-free college radio station of the University of Connecticut. It is one of the oldest radio stations in Connecticut, with roots going back to just after World War I...