Trumbull, Connecticut

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Trumbull, Connecticut
settlement_type = Town


imagesize =
image_caption =


mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location in Connecticut
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 1797
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
government_type = First selectman-Town council


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = NECTA
subdivision_name = Bridgeport-Stamford
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Greater Bridgeport
leader_title = First selectman
leader_name = Raymond G. Baldwin, Jr.
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 60.9
area_land_km2 = 60.3
area_water_km2 = 0.6
area_total_sq_mi = 23.5
population_as_of = 2005
population_total = 35299
population_density_km2 = 585
population_density_sq_mi = 1515
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
area_land_sq_mi = 23.3
area_water_sq_mi = 0.2
elevation_m = 81
elevation_ft = 266
latd = 41 |latm = 13 |lats = 59 |latNS = N
longd = 73 |longm = 13 |longs = 6 |longEW = W
region =
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 06611
website = http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/
area_code = 203
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 09-77200
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0213518
footnotes =

Trumbull is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 34,243 at the 2000 census.

History

Trumbull was settled by the English as a part of the town of Stratford, Connecticut in 1639. By May 15, 1656, the Court of the Colony of Connecticut in Hartford, established Stratford's boundary to include all of the territory twelve miles inland from Long Island Sound, between the Housatonic River and the Fairfield town line. This included all of present-day Trumbull, Shelton and Monroe. By 1661 and 1662, Stratford selectmen Lt. Joseph Judson, Captain Joseph Hawley and John Minor, had completed deeds of transfer with the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation for most of the land that comprises present-day Trumbull. The Nichols area located in the southeastern part of Trumbull, was settled first. The farmers built houses and barns along the Farm Highway, establishing a new village separate from Stratford. These large farms extended east and west for a considerable distance, sometimes a mile. The Ephraim Hawley house, built in 1683, is built on land granted to Captain Joseph Hawley in 1673, this farm was commonly called Captain's Farm in 1696. Land records also show that in 1688, John Curtiss gifted his farm, called Mischa Hill, to his son Benjamin. Zachariah Curtiss built his house and one-story barn before 1696 on his own land grant and on land gifted to him by his father Captain William Curtiss at his farm commonly called Old Farm. In 1699, Ebenezer Curtiss received a land grant near Lt. Joseph Judson's farm, at that time, Judson's farm was owned by Abraham Nichols. Lt. Joseph Judson removed from Stratford in 1673 for religious reasons and founded the town of Woodbury.

Unity

In 1725, the families residing at Mischa Hill, desiring to have their own meeting house, were given permission to form their own Parish called Unity and in 1730 they established the Unity Congregational Church. Others began settling the areas of Trumbull now called Chestnut Hill, Stratfield, Trumbull Center, Long Hill, and Tashua. In 1744, the Parish of Unity and the Long Hill Parish of the Stratfield section of Stratford, asked permission to combine and become the Society of North Stratford. The General Assembly in Hartford referred to the eastern boundaries of Unity at that time as ancient when they approved the new town in 1744. The name of the town changed to Trumbull in 1797 when the town was incorporated and local government was established. The new town was named after Jonathan Trumbull who served as an advisor to General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War and became Connecticut's first governor.

Revolutionary War

Huldah Hawley was born February 23, 1755 and died June 27, 1856, at the age of 101. The widow of Tory Chauncey Beardsley, Huldah took pleasure in talking of the exciting times of the Revolution and related during her lifetime about the time that two companies of French soldiers, under the command of French General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, encamped a whole winter during the American Revolutionary War on what is now known as Mountain Hill, a high rocky bluff in the central part of the Village of Nichols Farm's. In December, 1780 two dozen Hussar horsemen deserted and discharged themselves from their winter quarters in Lebanon and fled into the woods. This high rocky bluff, at the time, commanded a view of Long Island Sound for seventy miles and was used to spy on British ships. Hawley said the soldiers would compel her to cook for them and she furnished provisions for them through fear that they would kill her. From June 28 to June 30, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, units of the French army, called Lauzun's Legion, encamped overnight in present day Abraham Nichols Park. The Legion was commanded by Colonel Armand Louis de Gontaut-Biron, duc de Lauzun and was sent ten to fifteen miles ahead to protect the flank of the main French army marching in the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route south to reinforce American troops under the command of General George Washington at the Siege of Yorktown. French coins have since been found near the site of their camp in Abraham Nichols Park.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.5 square miles (60.9 km²), of which, 23.3 square miles (60.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 34,243 people, 11,911 households, and 9,707 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,470.6 people per square mile (567.7/km²). There were 12,160 housing units at an average density of 522.2/sq mi (201.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.02% White, 1.88% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.70% of the population.

There were 11,911 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living within them, 71.7% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $79,507, and the median income for a family was $88,290. Males had a median income of $62,201 versus $41,384 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,931. About 1.4% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those over age 65.

On the National Register of Historic Places

*Christ Episcopal Church and Tashua Burial Ground — 5170 Madison Ave. (added May 25, 2001)
*David, Jr. Mallett House — 420 Tashua Road (added March 20, 1986)
*Kaatz Icehouse — 255 Whitney Ave. (added October 19, 1977)
*Nichols Farms Historic District — Center Road, 1681-1944 Huntington Turnpike, 5-34 Priscilla Place, and 30-172 Shelton Road (added September 20, 1987)
*Old Mine Park Archeological Site (added 1990)

Notable people, past and present

*Dick Allen (b. 1939), noted American poet.
*Truman Bradley (1820-1900), American Indian from the Schaghticoke
*Craig Breslow, Pitcher, Minnesota Twins
*Chris Drury, New York Rangers Forward, Calder Memorial Trophy Winner, Hobey Baker Award Winner, Olympic medalist, and member of 1989 Little League World Series Champions from Trumbull, CT.
*Will Geer, (1902-1978), Actor and Political activist.
*Nero Hawley, (1742-1817), Negro slave, served in the Continental Army under General George Washington at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War earning his freedom.
*Robert Hawley, (1729-1799), Captain of North Stratford Train Band, supplied Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
*Carolyn Hax (b. 1966), a writer and columnist for the Washington Post and the author of the advice column "Tell Me About It," was born in Bridgeport and grew up in Trumbull.
*Lisa Lampanelli, comedian
*Shane Mack, former outfielder for the Minnesota Twins.
* [ [http://www.wili-am.com/wn.htm Wayne Norman] ] , morning radio host at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILI_(AM) WILI-AM] , Willimantic, CT since 1970, radio announcer of University of Connecticut basketball and football, and author ( [http://www.amazon.com/Hoop-Tales-UConn-Huskies-Basketball/dp/0762737859/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223695410&sr=1-8 Hoop Tales: UConn Huskies Men's Basketball)] . Born in Hollywood, but graduated Trumbull HS, 1966.
*Chris Soule, Olympic skeleton (sport) athlete
*Benjamin Silliman, (1779-1864), born in Trumbull after his mother fled Fairfield from invading British troops during the American Revolutionary War, first Yale professor of Science and first to distill petroleum.

High schools

* St. Joseph High School
* Trumbull High School
* Christian Heritage School

Fire Departments

Fire Service in the Town of Trumbull is served by three independent all-volunteer fire departments. Each fire department handles its own tax structure and fundraising and receives no funding from the Town. The three departments: Trumbull Center Fire Department, Nichols Fire Department and Long Hill Fire Department.
* [http://www.nicholsfire.com/ Nichols Fire Department]
* [http://www.tcfd.com/ Trumbull Center Fire Department]
* [http://www.longhillfd.com/ Long Hill Fire Department]

Major roadways

Route 8 runs through the southeast part of town. Route 8 is a freeway that leads to Waterbury and I-84, and continues into Massachusetts as New England Interstate Route 8 and finally terminates in Searsburg, Vermont.

Route 25 runs north to south, merging with Route 8 at the Bridgeport line and continues overlapped with Route 8 (commonly known as the Route 8/25 connector) into Bridgeport ending at Interstate 95. Continuing north on Route 25, the freeway ends as it crosses Route 111 and continues as a surface road towards I-84 in Newtown leading to Danbury.

Route 15, also known as the Merritt Parkway, goes north (east) to New Haven (eventually connecting to I-91) and south (west) towards New York City. Route 15 runs along the southern part of town.

Route 127, also known as White Plains Road and Church Hill Road, runs through the town center from south to north from the East Side of Bridgeport. The section in Trumbull was completed to Pulpit Rock in 1705. Route 127 ends at the intersection of (Main Street) Route 111 at the Town Hall.

Route 111, also known as Main Street in Trumbull and Bridgeport, also runs north to south. Continuing north on Route 111, the road crosses Route 25 and eventually heads into Monroe, terminating at Route 34. Main Street continues south past Route 15 (where it is exit 48 from Route 15) and past Westfield Shopping Town Trumbull into the North End of Bridgeport.

Route 108, also known as Nichols Avenue and Huntington Turnpike, heads north into southeastern Trumbull from Stratford at Hawley Lane. The section in Trumbull was completed in 1696 and is considered by some to be the third oldest documented highway in Connecticut [http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ct-chrono.html] . It terminates in Shelton at the intersection with Route 110 (Howe Avenue). Route 108 can be reached via exit 52 from Route 15 or exit 8 from Route 8.

Leisure activities

Trumbull features nearly two dozen recreational facilities and parks including Abraham Nichols, Beach Memorial, Indian Ledge, Islandbrook, Old Mine, Twin Brooks, and Unity Park.

The Tashua section of town features the Tashua Recreation Facility, which is by far the largest at 268 acres in size and includes basketball and tennis courts, an adult and a children's swimming pool, playground, picnic area and multi-purpose field. Additionally it is also the site of Tashua Knolls, an 18 hole golf course built in 1976 and designed by noted golf architect Al Zikorus. The course features a driving range, two putting greens, pro shop, locker rooms, The Eagle's Nest Grille and a banquet facility. There is also Tashua Glen, a 9 hole "Executive style" course opened in 2004. Both courses feature cart paths. There is a Men's Club, Senior Men's Club, Ladies 9-holer, and Ladies 18-holer organizations active at the course.

The Trumbull Community Women is a group dedicated to promoting civic service. It is open to all women over 18, and runs a Young Women's Club as well. They meet at the Trumbull Library Community Room, generally on the first Tuesday of the month September through June.

The Trumbull Library can be found adjacent to Town Hall at 33 Quality Street and also operates the Fairchild-Nichols Memorial Library at 1718 Huntington Turnpike.

The Town Hall Gazebo is host to concerts most summer Tuesday nights.

The Trumbull Historical Society was founded in 1964, and maintain a museum of Trumbull's past at 1856 Huntington Turnpike on the site of the first settlement by Abraham Nichols.

The Trumbull Nature & Arts Center is located at 7115 Main Street and coordinate trips for fishing, butterfly searches, gardening, outdoor photography and other nature related activities.

The Trumbull Teen Center is located at the barn at Indian Ledge Park and features activities such as air hockey, foosball, local band concerts, ping pong and basketball.

The Trumbull Senior's Center is located at 23 Priscilla Place. The senior transportation department continues to provide effective door-to-door services to seniors age 60 and over with out transportation or unable to drive. Services include doctor’ s appointments, shopping, nutrition program, dentist appointments and legal appointments. It provides a variety of resources such as Continuing Education and Social Services as well as activities.

Plasko's Farm is very popular in the Fall for their corn maze and fresh produce.

Movies filmed (or partially filmed) in Trumbull

* Revolutionary Road (2008)
* Oprah Winfrey presents For One More Day which aired on ABC in December 2007
* College Road Trip (2008)

External links

* [http://www.trumbulltdclub.com/ Trumbull Touchdown Club - Trumbull High School Football Team]
* [http://trumbull-ct.gov/ Official Town of Trumbull Web site]
* [http://www.trumbullct.com/ TRUMBULLnet Community Website]
* [http://www.trumbulltimes.com/ Trumbull Times]
* [http://www.trumbullct-library.org/ Trumbull Public Library]
* [http://www.trumbullhistory.org/ Trumbull Historical Society]
* [http://www.trumbullchat.com/ Community Discussion Forum]
* [http://www.trumbullps.org/ Trumbull Public Schools]

References

* Reverend Orcutt, "History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut", Fairfield Historical Society, 1886
* "History of Trumbull Dodrasquicentennial 1797-1972 Commemorative Book", Trumbull Historical Society, 1972
* Isaac William Stuart, "Life of Jonathan Trumbull Sen., Governor of Connecticut", Crocker and Brewster, 1859
* Henry Phelps Johnston, "The Yorktown Campaign and the Surrender of Cornwallis, 1781", Ayer Publishing, 1971
* Charles S. Hall, "Life and Letters of Samuel Holden Parsons", Ostenigo Publishing Co., Binghampton, NY, 1905

ee also

* Ephraim Hawley House
* Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation
* Little League World Series Trumbull 1989 World Champions
* [http://www.plaskosfarm.com/ Plasko's Farm]