Wethersfield, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Wethersfield is a town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

 in Hartford County
Hartford County, Connecticut
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the US state of Connecticut. The 2010 Census records show that the county population is at 894,014 making it the second most populated county in Connecticut....

, 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...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag. The population was 26,271 at the 2000 census.

History

Founded in 1634 by a group of ten Puritans hailing from Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...

 led by John Oldham and Nathaniel Foote, Wethersfield is the second-oldest town in Connecticut after Windsor
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....

. Along with Windsor and Hartford, Wethersfield is thought by some to be represented by one of the three grapevines on the Connecticut state flag signifying the state's three oldest settlements.

Four witch trial
Witch trial
A witch trial is a legal proceeding that is part of a witch-hunt. * Witch trials in Early Modern Europe, 15th–18th centuries** Salzburg witch trials - 1675-1690, Salzburg, Austria** Spa witch trial - 1616, Belgium...

s and three executions for witchcraft occurred in the town in the 17th century. Mary Johnson was convicted of witchcraft and executed in 1648, Joan and John Carrington in 1651. Landowner Katherine Harrison was convicted, and although her conviction was reversed, she was banished and her property seized by her neighbors.

Silas Deane
Silas Deane
Silas Deane was an American merchant, politician and diplomat. Originally a supporter of American independence Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and then as the United States' first foreign diplomat when he travelled to France to lobby the French government for aid...

, commissioner to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The 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...

, lived in the town. His house is now part of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. In May 1781, at the Webb House on Main Street, General George Washington and French Lt. Gen. Rochambeau planned the battle of Yorktown, which culminated in the independence of the then rebellious colonies.

The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department was chartered by the Connecticut Legislature on May 12, 1803, making it the first formally chartered fire department in Connecticut,
and is the oldest chartered volunteer fire department in continuous existence in the United States.

A meteorite fell on Wethersfield on November 8, 1982. It was the second meteorite to fall in the town in the span of 11 years, and crashed through the roof of a house without injuring the occupants, as the first Wethersfield meteorite had also done. The Wethersfield Meteor is part of a collection at the Yale Peabody Museum.

Popular culture

Wethersfield was the setting for Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...

's novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's historical novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England...

, also the setting of the one-act play The Valiant by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass. Wethersfield native, author Thomas Tryon also set his action/romance novels The Wings of the Morning
The Wings of the Morning
The Wings of the Morning, is a book by Tom Tryon published by Fawcett Crest, New York, 1990 This is the first book of a trilogy planned by the author and precedes In the Fire of Spring...

and In the Fire of Spring
In the Fire of Spring
In the Fire of Spring is a book written by Tom Tryon published by Ivy Books, New York, 1992.This book is a sequel to The Wings of the Morning. Unfortunately Mr. Tryon died before completing the final book of his trilogy....

in Wethersfield, as also a mystery/horror novel The Other
The Other
The Other is a 1972 psychological horror film directed by Robert Mulligan, adapted for film by Tom Tryon, from his bestselling novel. It stars Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, and Chris & Martin Udvarnoky.-Plot:...

. The short film Disneyland Dream
Disneyland Dream
Disneyland Dream is a home movie made by Robbins and Meg Barstow that documents their family's free trip to the newly opened Disneyland. The one-week trip was a prize that they won in a contest sponsored by Scotch tape. The movie was shot with a 16 mm handheld camera. It lasts approximately 30...

features the Barstow family from Wethersfield, including footage of their neighborhood.

Geography

Wethersfield is located at 41° 42' 43" North, 72° 39' 48" West (41.7122° -72.6636°).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 town has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34.0 km²), of which, 12.4 square miles (32.1 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (5.49%) is water.

Wethersfield is bordered by Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

 on the north, Rocky Hill
Rocky Hill, Connecticut
Rocky Hill is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,966 at the 2000 census. Rocky Hill was part of Wethersfield, the neighboring town to the north, until it was independently incorporated in 1849....

 on the south and Newington
Newington, Connecticut
Newington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, it had a total population of 29,306. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has its headquarters in Newington....

 on the west, and across the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 by East Hartford on the northeast, and Glastonbury
Glastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, founded in 1693. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, 7 miles southeast of Hartford. The town...

 on the east.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 26,268 people, 11,214 households, and 7,412 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 2,119.9 people per square mile (818.7/km²). There were 11,454 housing units at an average density of 924.3 per square mile (356.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.19% White, 2.09% Black or African American
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...

, 0.08% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.82% 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 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.19% of the population.

There were 11,214 households out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $53,289, and the median income for a family was $68,154 (these figures had risen to $66,044 and $86,432 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $43,998 versus $37,443 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 $28,930. About 2.4% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Connecticut Department of Correction
Connecticut Department of Correction
The Connecticut Department of Correction is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The agency operates 18 correctional institutions. It has its headquarters in Wethersfield.-History:...

 and the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is a state agency of Connecticut that manages state drivers licenses and vehicle registration. The agency has its headquarters in Wethersfield.-External links:*...

 have their headquarters in Wethersfield.

The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 operates the Wethersfield Post Office.

Transportation

Greater Hartford
Greater Hartford
Greater Hartford is a region located in the state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford.Hartford's role as a focal point for the American insurance industry is known nationally. The vibrant music and arts scene defines the region's culture...

's only major method of public transportation is Connecticut Transit (CTTransit), a Connecticut Department of Transportation-owned bus service operating routes throughout the New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

, Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

 and Hartford metro areas, including Wethersfield
Wethersfield
Wethersfield may refer to:* RAF Wethersfield, a British Ministry of Defence training facility in Essex, England* Wethersfield, Connecticut* Wethersfield, Essex, an English village near RAF Wethersfield* Wethersfield, New York* Wethersfield, Vermont...

.

Education

The Wethersfield public school system encompasses five elementary schools (Highcrest School, Charles Wright School, Emerson-Williams School, A.W. Hanmer School and Webb Elementary School), one middle school (Silas Deane Middle School
Silas Deane Middle School
Silas Deane Middle School, Wethersfield is the only middle school in Wethersfield, Connecticut. SDMS, as it is commonly known, serves students in grades 7-8 with an average school-wide population of 500-700 students. It is currently home to 70 teachers. The current principal of Silas Deane Middle...

) and one high school (Wethersfield High School).

Wethersfield is also the home of Corpus Christi School, a Catholic K-8 school of 440 students.

Streets and paths

Major streets include
  • Main Street in Old Wethersfield
    Old Wethersfield
    Old Wethersfield, also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District, and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag, is a section of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of Hartford and town of Rocky Hill, railroad tracks, and I-91...

  • Route 175 (Wells Road)
  • Route 99/Silas Deane Highway
  • Route 15
    Route 15 (Connecticut)
    Route 15 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut that runs from a connection with New York's Hutchinson River Parkway in Greenwich, Connecticut to its northern terminus intersecting with Interstate 84 in East Hartford, Connecticut...

     (Berlin Turnpike
    Berlin Turnpike
    The Berlin Turnpike is a 4-lane/6-lane divided arterial road carrying U.S. Route 5 and Route 15 through the towns of Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. The road begins at the Meriden-Berlin town line. The official length of the Berlin Turnpike is 11.02 miles but the...

     and Wilbur Cross Highway
    Wilbur Cross Highway
    The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for the portion of old Route 15 from Wethersfield in Connecticut, through Hartford and Manchester, to the Massachusetts Turnpike in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The highway was built in the 1940s before the Interstate Highway era...

    ).


Heritage Way, a "linear park" developed in the 1990s, is a multi-use path that connects Wethersfield's open areas and recreation facilities.

Points of interest

  • Wethersfield Cove
    Wethersfield Cove
    The Wethersfield Cove is a natural inlet in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and a former site of much local trade and travel.-Geography:Wethersfield Cove is ten feet above sea level and forty miles from Long Island Sound. It was originally an oxbow in the Connecticut River...

  • Keeney Memorial Culture Center
  • Wethersfield Historical Society
  • Hurlbut-Dunham House
  • Captain James Francis House
  • Broad Street Green
  • Great Meadows
  • Ancient Burying Ground
  • WinterGreen Woods - 100 acre (0.404686 km²) forest with vernal pools and walking trails
  • Wethersfield Skate Park
  • Willard Pool
  • Millwoods Park/Pond
  • 9/11 Memorial Sports Center
  • Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center

Landmarks and historic districts

Four buildings in Wethersfield are designated as historic landmarks by the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

:
  • Buttolph-Williams House
    Buttolph-Williams House
    Buttolph-Williams House, built in 1711, is one of the oldest surviving homes in Wethersfield, Connecticut. This early 18th century house is built in the traditional style of the Puritan settlers. The house has diamond-paned casement windows and weathered and blackened clapboards...

     — 249 Broad St. (added December 24, 1968)
  • Joseph Webb House
    Joseph Webb House
    The Joseph Webb House is a historic Georgian-style house in Wethersfield, Connecticut that was the site of a five day military conference during the American Revolutionary War. General George Washington came to Wethersfield in order to plan with Rochambeau, the French commander. These plans led...

     — 211 Main St. (added November 15, 1966)
  • Roger Butler House
    Roger Butler House
    The Roger Butler House on Jordan Lane in the Town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, was built in 1769. It is one of a number of historic houses in the area listed in the National Register of Historic Places, originally owned by the Butler family for more than 200 years.-Underground Railroad:The house...

     — 146 Jordan Ln. (added September 15, 1996)
  • Silas Deane House
    Silas Deane House
    Silas Deane House in Wethersfield, Connecticut was the home of Silas Deane, the first diplomat for the United States.Deane built the house in 1766. The two-story Georgian house is L-shaped with gable roof and two interior chimneys. In 1959, the house was donated to The National Society of the...

     — 203 Main St. (added November 6, 1970)


In 1970, Old Wethersfield
Old Wethersfield
Old Wethersfield, also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District, and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag, is a section of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of Hartford and town of Rocky Hill, railroad tracks, and I-91...

, the district bounded by Hartford, the railroad tracks, I-91 and Rocky Hill, was added as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Notable people, past and present

  • Tony DiCicco
    Tony DiCicco
    Tony DiCicco is an American soccer player, coach, and commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994 to 1999, during which time the team won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.In 1970, DiCicco graduated from...

    , coach, United States women's national soccer team
    United States women's national soccer team
    The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...

    , 1994–1999.
  • Thomas Ian Griffith
    Thomas Ian Griffith
    Thomas Ian Griffith is an American actor and martial artist who has starred in films and on television.-Early life:Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann , who worked at a dance studio, and Thomas Joseph Griffith...

    , actor
  • Betsey Johnson
    Betsey Johnson
    Betsey Johnson is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished...

    , fashion designer.
  • Mark Linn-Baker
    Mark Linn-Baker
    Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...

    , actor and director.
  • Chris Murphy
    Chris Murphy (politician)
    Christopher Scott "Chris" Murphy is the U. S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.Murphy previously served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut Senate....

    , former State Senator
    Connecticut Senate
    The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 94,600 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits...

     and current United States Representative
    United States House of Representatives
    The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

     from Connecticut’s 5th District
    Connecticut's 5th congressional district
    Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the northwestern part of the state, the district runs from...

    .
  • John Pinone
    John Pinone
    John Gabriel Pinone Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player. Pinone played competitively at South Catholic High School in Hartford, leading the team to the Class L state championship in 1977 and 1979...

    , basketball player for Villanova University and the Atlanta Hawks
    Atlanta Hawks
    The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

    .
  • Annabella Sciorra
    Annabella Sciorra
    Annabella Sciorra is an American film, television, and stage actress. Sciorra received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the 1989 film True Love, and came to widespread attention in her co-lead role in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever...

    , actress.
  • Tom Tryon
    Tom Tryon
    Tom Tryon was an American film and television actor, best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal and the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter...

    , actor and novelist.
  • Richard Treat
    Richard Treat
    Richard Treat was an early New England settler and a Patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut, 1662-Early life and ancestors:...

     (or Trott) (1584–1669) was an original settler of Wethersfield and a Patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut, 1662.
  • John Deming
    John Deming
    John Deming was an early Puritan settler and original patentee of the Connecticut Colony-Life:Deming was born in Shalford, Essex County, England. He arrived in New England during the Great Migration with his older sister Elizabeth and her husband Nathaniel Foote...

     (abt 1615–1705) was an early Puritan settler and original patentee of the Connecticut Colony and a founder the town of Wethersfield.
  • Levi Warner
    Levi Warner
    Levi Warner was a United States Representative from Connecticut. His brother was Samuel Larkin Warner who was also a United States Representative from Connecticut. He was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut where he completed preparatory studies. Later, he attended the law department of Yale College...

    , United States Representative from Connecticut.
  • Benjamin Wright
    Benjamin Wright
    Benjamin Wright was an American civil engineer who served as Chief Engineer of both the Erie Canal and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. In 1969 he was declared the "Father of American Civil Engineering" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.Wright was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut to Ebenezer...

    , chief engineer of the Erie Canal
    Erie Canal
    The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

  • Sophie Tucker
    Sophie Tucker
    Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...

    , 20th Century Comedienne and Singer, interred in Emanuel Cemetery, Wethersfield.
  • Karen Smyers
    Karen Smyers
    Karen Smyers is a triathlete from the United States. She was inducted into the Triathlon Hall of Fame in January 2009.-External links:*...

    , World Champion Triathlete.
  • Bruce Edwards (caddy)
    Bruce Edwards (caddy)
    Bruce Edwards was a long-time caddie for Hall of Fame golfer Tom Watson.Edwards began caddying for Watson in 1973 and worked with him until 1989. Edwards left to assist Greg Norman but returned to Watson's side in 1992 and stayed until 2003...

    , Tom Watson's caddy of almost 30 years.
  • Charles Wright (botanist)
    Charles Wright (botanist)
    Charles Wright was an American botanist.Wright was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the son of James Wright and Mary née Goodrich. He studied classics and mathematics at Yale, and in October 1835 moved to Natchez, Mississippi to tutor a plantation owner's family...

    , (1811–1885) botanical explorer and collector.

See also

  • John Oldham
  • Robert Seeley
    Robert Seeley
    Robert Seeley, also Seely, Seelye, or Ciely, was an early Puritan settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who helped establish Watertown, Wethersfield, and New Haven. He also served as second-in-command to John Mason in the Pequot War.-Early life:Robert Seeley was born in Bluntisham-cum-Earith,...

  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond
    The Witch of Blackbird Pond
    The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's historical novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England...


External links

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