Cheshire, Connecticut

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Coordinates: 41°30′44″N, 72°54′13″W
Cheshire, Connecticut
NECTA	New Haven
Region	Central Naugatuck Valley
Incorporated	1780
Government type	Council-manager
Town manager	Michael A. Milone
Council (at large)	Matt Hall, Mayor Matthew Alteri Michael G. Ecke David Orsini David C. Schrumm
Area
- City	86.5 km² (33.4 sq mi)
Population
- City (2005)	29,097
- Density	341/km² (884/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06410
Website: http://www.cheshirect.org/

Cheshire is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 28,543 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Connecticut is located in Cheshire [1].

1 History
2 On the National Register of Historic Places
3 Notable people, past and present
4 Culture and notable features
5 Geography
6 Demographics
7 External links

[edit] History

When Cheshire was originally settled by Europeans, it was part of the town of Wallingford and known locally as "Northfarms". In 1780, Cheshire separated from Wallingford to become its own town, and for the next 170 years, Cheshire remained a small but prosperous farming town.

In the post-war period, Cheshire began to suburbanize as residents of New Haven began moving outwards from the urban core. Several industrial plants also located themselves in one of the town's many planned industrial parks. Despite significant residential development, Cheshire has remained a highly agricultural town that has found an economic niche in producing bedding plants for local and national consumers. The town's slogan is "The Bedding Plant Capital of Connecticut".

For additional historical questions, please consult the Cheshire Public Library.

[edit] On the National Register of Historic Places

Cheshire Historic District — Roughly bounded by Main Street, Highland Avenue, Wallingford Road, South Main, Cornwall, and Spring streets (added September 29, 1986)
Farmington Canal Lock — 487 N. Brooksvale Road (added March 16, 1973)
First Congregational Church of Cheshire — 111 Church Drive (added March 16, 1973)

[edit] Notable people, past and present

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), father of Louisa May Alcott conducted a school in town from 1825-1827.
Brad Ausmus, of the Houston Astros, graduated from Cheshire High School.
Chris Berman, ESPN sportscaster, is a resident.
Jay Bontatibus, is a soap-opera actor, was born and raised in town.
Samuel A. Foot (1780-1846), Connecticut governor (1834-35), U.S. senator (1827-1833), and congressman (1825-1827); born and died in Cheshire.
Seabury Ford (1801-1855), the 20th Governor of Ohio, was born in town.
James J. Greco, the CEO of Bruegger's Corporation (Bruegger's Bagels), is a resident.
Peter Hitchcock (1781–1854) 21-year chief justice of Ohio and uncle of Seabury Ford, was born in town.
John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872), a successful nineteenth-century artist, was born in town.
Brian Leetch, of the NHL grew up in town.
Legs McNeil, founder of Punk Magazine was born in town (although he admits to hating everything about it).
Chris Murphy, Congressman for Connecticut's 5th district, lives in town.
Ron Palillo, ("Horshack" from Welcome Back Kotter) was born in town.
Edward Tufte, a Yale professor very influential in the field of graphic display of statistical information, lives in town.
Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a journalist with The Economist, graduated from Cheshire High School.
James Van Der Beek, a film actor ("Varsity Blues," "Dawson's Creek," "Rules of Attraction"), was born in town.

[edit] Culture and notable features

Every June, the town celebrates its annual Strawberry Festival on the First Congregational Church green. The town is also known for its highly competitive high school sports team, the Cheshire Rams, its award-winning marching band, and its rivalry with Amity High School. The Cheshire High School football team had a notable run of success in the early- and mid-1990's, winning 49 straight games and 6 consecutive state titles between 1992 and 1997[2]. Also, every September is the Fall Festival, which takes place at Bartlem Park across Route 10 from Cheshire High School. There is a silent auction, booths from organizations and small business throughout the town and food is available.

Cheshire Academy (originally The Episcopal Academy of Connecticut) was founded in Cheshire in 1794.

Cheshire is home to two large state prison facilities located in the northern section of town. The largest of these facilities is the Cheshire Correctional Institution, which opened in 1910. In 1982, the Manson Youth Institution opened adjacent to the CCI. These prisons explain the skewed male/female ratios listed below.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 86.5 km² (33.4 mi²). 85.2 km² (32.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.50%) is water.

Cheshire is situated in the midst of several major cities of Connecticut. It lies fourteen miles north of New Haven, twenty-five miles south of the capital Hartford, and is adjacent to Waterbury. Hamden, Connecticut borders the town to the south. Interstate 691 skirts the northern edge of the town. The main north-south artery is Route 10.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 28,543 people, 9,349 households, and 7,254 families residing in the town. The population density was 334.9/km² (867.4/mi²). There were 9,588 housing units at an average density of 112.5/km² (291.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.40% White, 4.67% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.91% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.84% of the population. The largest ethnic groups in the town are Italian Americans and Irish Americans.

There were 9,349 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.4% 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 2.71 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 113.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,466, and the median income for a family was $90,774. Males had a median income of $60,078 versus $38,471 for females. The per capita income for the town was $33,903. About 1.6% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005<ref>Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.</ref>
Party		Active Voters	Inactive Voters	Total Voters	Percentage
	Republican	4,402	133	4,535	25.09%
	Democratic	3,792	113	3,905	21.60%
	Unaffiliated	9,292	332	9,624	53.24%
	Minor Parties	11	1	12	0.07%
Total		17,497	579	18,076	100%

[edit] External links

Town of Cheshire official Web site
Cheshire Public Library - The Library has a Cheshire/Connecticut history section and will answer genealogical and historical questions about Cheshire and environs.

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