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Southington, Connecticut

Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion,  Milldale, and Plantsville.

History
Although Southington was formally established as a town in 1779, its roots go back to a much earlier time. Samuel Woodruff, Southington's first white settler, moved from Farmington to the area then known as "Panthorne" that was settled in 1698. The land was formerly occupied by the Tunxis or Sepores Indians. The settlement grew, prospered, and came to be known as "South Farmington" and then later, the shortened version, Southington.

The town's most important early visitor was General George Washington, who passed through the town in 1770 on his way to Wethersfield.

The Marion section of Southington is one of the most historic places in the town. It is the site of an encampment by the great French general, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, and his troops during the American Revolutionary War. In June 1781, the French troops under Rochambeau's command left Farmington and marched 13 mi to their eighth camp through Connecticut, near Asa Barnes Tavern in the Marion section of Southington, now the Marion Historic District.

They camped there for four days. Rochambeau and his officers took shelter in the tavern, and the troops set up camp on a hill on the other side of the road. The area of the encampment has since become known as French Hill, and a marker on the east side of Marion Avenue commemorates the French campsite. According to Rev. Timlow's Sketches of Southington (1875), "Landlord Barnes gave a ball at his tavern, at which a large number of the young women of the vicinity were present; and they esteemed it something of an honor to have had a 'cotillion' with the polite foreigner." The celebrations-infused with spirits provided by Landlord Barnes-spanned the four nights they were in Southington. Rochambeau revisited Barnes's Tavern on the return march on October 27, 1782. According to Timlow, coins, buttons and other things were picked up in the vicinity many years after the two encampments. The Asa Barnes Tavern is now a private residence very near the camp site at 1089 Marion Avenue.

Southington originally was a small, rural farming community. In the early 1900s, Southington developed as a manufacturing center, but still maintained a very small population of a few thousand residents. Some of the products invented there include the first cement that was able to harden under water, the first carriage bolt cutting machine, the break-neck rat trap, and a new tinware process.

With the overall decline of industry in New England, and the construction of Interstate 84 in the mid 1960s, Southington developed into a bedroom community in which the town saw explosive growth and a population that has surged to over 42,000 today. 28% of the workers in Southington are still employed in manufacturing, most of them in the production of fabricated metals and aircraft.

In May 1942, during World War II, the town was selected by the War Department to be highlighted in a defense booklet called Southington, CT—Microcosm of America. Photographers roamed the community taking photos of residents at work, at play and in their homes and churches. The final publication was intended to show friends and foes alike in Europe the typical American citizens and families, their traditions and values. Thousands of copies were dropped from military airplanes over Europe during the Nazi German Occupation. Also in 1942 the mural, Romance of Southington, was painted in the town post office by Ann Hunt Spence. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The WPA was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing individuals to carry out public works projects.

Each year, Southington is home to the Apple Harvest Festival, an effort to bring together local businesses and denizens from the area and surrounding cities. This has been a tradition of the town since 1969, generally spanning six weekdays and two weekends. Its highlights include a town parade, carnival rides and games, musical performances, and a wide selection of unique recipes and foods served by community cornerstones including the Boy Scouts of America, local churches, the Southington Fire Department and Police Department, the Southington Rotary Chapter, and the Southington Jaycees. Southington is home to several farms and apple orchards, including Rogers Orchards, the largest in the state.

On May 24, 1962, the town was heavily damaged by a high-end F3 tornado. The tornado, which was "near-F4" intensity at the time, damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, homes, businesses, and vehicles throughout the area before it dissipated northeast of town. Overall, the storm left one dead and 50 injured.

Two of Southington's main state roads are ceremonially named for notable residents. Southington's portion of Route 10 is named the Louis G. Tolles Memorial Highway for the late state Grange leader and legislator (1885–1956). The road was dedicated on August 6, 1960, and rededicated with new signs on October 6, 2007. A section of Route 364 (Oakland Road and Berlin Street) was dedicated as the Officer Timothy Foley Memorial Highway on September 11, 2009, in honor of the first (and to date the only) Southington police officer killed in the line of duty. He died six days after being struck by a vehicle on December 30, 1937.

In January 2011, John Weichsel retired as town manager after 44 years. He was hired by the first Town Council when the council/manager form of government was established in town in 1966. His tenure as a town manager in the same community is one of the longest in the United States. Weichsel died in 2013. The municipal center at 196–200 North Main St. is named in his honor.

Southington ranked second nationally on an August 2023 Realtor.com list of hottest zip codes in the country, based on views of listings, how fast houses are selling and at what price.

Geography
Southington is situated about 20 mi southwest of Hartford, about 80 mi northeast of New York City, 105 mi southwest of Boston and 77 mi west of Providence. It includes the areas of Plantsville, Marion and Milldale, each of which has its own post office and distinct architecture. The town rests in a valley, with two mountains on its east and west sides. The town is located along exits 28 through 32 of Interstate 84, exit 4 of Interstate 691, and bisected by Connecticut Route 10. Southington has the nickname of "The Apple Valley", due to the many orchards that still dot its landscape. The Quinnipiac River flows through the town. It is home to Mount Southington ski area, which has drawn visitors since the 1960s.

Southington is located at geographical coordinates 41° 35′ 48" North, 72° 52′ 40" West (41.596588, −72.87767). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 94.9 km2, of which 93.0 km2 are land and 1.9 km2, or 1.99%, is water.

The Metacomet Ridge, a rugged trap rock mountain ridge that extends from Long Island Sound to the Massachusetts/Vermont border, passes through Southington. Notable peaks along the ridge form the eastern edge of town: Bradley Mountain, Ragged Mountain, Short Mountain, and part of the Hanging Hills. The ridge is traversed by the 51 mi Metacomet Trail.

Southington's west ridge is rich with many geological formations. These include North Hamlin Brook, Roaring Brook, and Soltys Pond. Soltys Pond was named after Alexander Soltys, who settled in the area in 1713. The most well-known geological formation in the area is one of several in the world known as the Great Unconformity.

Located less than one mile northwest of the Great Unconformity on Southington Mountain is Hushak Rock, which has been known informally for decades as White Rock. The overlook has expansive views of the region and can be seen from much of Route 229 and area neighborhoods. The state of Connecticut officially named Hushak Rock in 2017 for longtime Southington civic leader and World War II pilot Walter J. Hushak (b. 1923).

Demographics
As of the 2020 census, there were 43,501 people and 17,149 households in the town. The population density was 1,212 PD/sqmi. There were 18,154 housing units at an average density of 506 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 89.6% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.1% of the population.

As of 2010, there were 16,814 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

As of 2015, the median income for a household in the town was $82,704, and the median income for a family was $102,775. Households in Southington were relatively affluent, with 41.9% of its households earning above $100,000. The per capita income for the town was $36,682 according to the 2010 census. Males had a median income of $68,378 versus $50,599 for females. About 2.2% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Top employers
Top employers in Southington according to the town's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

Revitalization
As industry in the area declined, many old factories and buildings were left vacant. The latest to close was Ideal Forging, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and vacated its building in the town center. In 2005, Meridian Development Partners of New York City purchased the land with plans to transform the former factory site into homes and retail space. Demolition of the factory began in October 2014, but the project was later abandoned because of the high cost necessary to decontaminate the soil. As of 2023, preparations have begun for a new attempt at developing the space. The soil decontamination for the most recent plan has been subsidised by the EPA, the state, and the town.

Southington has taken the initiative to spur its own revitalization. In 2002, the town completed the downtown renaissance project. This project replaced the sidewalks on Main Street and Center Street with granite curbing and brick paving stones. Lifelong resident and philanthropist Robert Petroske donated $50,000 to the revitalization effort which led to the installation of decorative iron lamp posts, benches, and garbage cans. Flowering trees were planted, and a former fountain and light fixture was restored and relocated from Recreation Park (where it had been moved in 1961) to the town center. A renaissance zone was created where private business owners in the zone could apply to the town to continue the project of granite, brick pavers, and lamp posts, of which the town would pay the difference of replacement concrete sidewalks versus the more expensive brick. The extension of brick pavers from Center Street to a section on the east side of Liberty Street was completed in July 2008 to connect with the pavers installed outside the new Liberty Square office building.

The town water department, which built a new facility on West Queen Street in 2002, demolished its former facility located between Mill and High streets in June 2008 and developed the land into a landscaped park, along with a continuation of the sidewalks, iron fences and decorative lamp posts. The old water facility abuts the linear walking trail.

Arts and culture

There are numerous houses and districts in Southington that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including:

 * Luman Andrews House
 * Atwater Manufacturing Company
 * Asa Barnes Tavern
 * Selah Barnes House
 * Barnes-Frost House
 * Blakeslee Forging Company
 * Icabod Bradley House
 * Clark Brothers Factory No. 1
 * Clark Brothers Factory No. 2
 * Avery Clark House
 * Capt. Josiah Cowles House
 * Ebenezer Evans House
 * Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal
 * Stephen Grannis House
 * Timothy Hart House
 * House at 1010 Shuttle Meadow Road
 * House at 590 West Street
 * Hurwood Company
 * Lake Compounce Carousel
 * Marion Historic District
 * Meriden Avenue-Oakland Road Historic District
 * Roswell Moore II House
 * Peck, Stow & Wilcox Factory
 * Plantsville Historic District
 * Dr. J. Porter House
 * Pultz & Walkley Company
 * Jonathan Root House
 * Dr. Henry Skelton House
 * H. D. Smith Company Building
 * Southington Center Historic District
 * Southington Public Library
 * Horace Webster Farmhouse
 * West Street School
 * Rev. John Wightman House
 * Valentine Wightman House
 * Woodruff House
 * Capt. Samuel Woodruff House
 * Ezekiel Woodruff House
 * Jotham Woodruff House
 * Urbana Woodruff House

Parks and recreation
Southington boasts a fair share of large parks and open land, each serving several outdoor activities, and as a whole, a vast array of them.

Linear walking trail
The linear trail opened to the public in the summer of 2003. This trail was built over the town's old rail line which had ceased operation several years earlier. Dubbed the Farmington Canal Greenway, when completed it will stretch from New Haven, Connecticut, to Northampton, Massachusetts, following the route of the historical Farmington Canal. The second phase of construction on the trail, which officially opened in 2011, redeveloped the old train line from Plantsville center to the Cheshire town line. The project has brought landscaping, iron benches, and intersections of brick pavers where the trail crosses roads. This is seen as a major link for the further revitalization of downtown Southington and Plantsville. Eventually the trail will connect with the Cheshire-to-New Haven route.

Lake Compounce
Lake Compounce is partly in Southington, and Bristol. Founded in 1846, it is the oldest amusement park in the US.

Public parks

 * Crescent Lake
 * Panthorn Park
 * Recreation Park
 * Southington Dog Park
 * Soltys Pond
 * Southington Little League Fields
 * Veterans Memorial Park

Recreation

 * Mount Southington Ski Resort
 * Southington Country Club
 * Hawks Landing Country Club
 * Metacomet Trail
 * Ragged Mountain
 * Southington Community YMCA
 * Lake Compounce

Government
In state government, Southington is divided into the following districts for the Connecticut House of Representatives: 30, 80, 81 and 103; it is part of district 16 for the Connecticut Senate.

Southington is in Connecticut's 1st Congressional District at the federal level.

Locally, the Town of Southington has a form of government known as Council-Manager Government. It consists of a nine-member Town Council, elected every odd year through an at-large popular vote. Due to state minority representation laws, a maximum of six nominees from each party can run. The nine candidates who receive the most votes become councillors. The council appoints a nonpartisan full-time administrator, known as the Town Manager.

Voters also elect a municipal Planning and Zoning Commission (four year terms), Board of Education (two year terms), Board of Finance (two year terms), Water Commission (two year terms), Town Clerk (six year term) and Registrar of Voters (four term term).

Education
Southington has eight public elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. It also has an alternative school for children in grades 8–12 called the Karen Smith Academy. Approximately 6,500 students are enrolled in Southington public schools, making it one of the larger districts in the state of Connecticut. Southington High School has a growing enrollment exceeding 2,200 students, of which 90% of graduates attend post-secondary education.

Due to Southington's popularity as a family suburb, the town has undertaken plans to expand all schools to accommodate the growing enrollment. Three elementary schools have been completed, and a new building and second cafeteria has been added to the high school campus. In 2012, voters approved expansion and renovations to two other elementary schools (with one to be demolished and rebuilt), as well as to the two middle schools.

Southington also has two parochial schools; Southington Catholic is pre-kindergarten through eighth and the other, Central Christian Academy is pre-kindergarten through twelfth.

Elementary schools

 * Walter A. Derynoski
 * Flanders
 * William H. Hatton
 * Urbin T. Kelley
 * Zaya A. Oshana (renamed June 2019; formerly Plantsville School)
 * South End
 * William M. Strong
 * Reuben E. Thalberg

Middle schools

 * Joseph A. DePaolo
 * John F. Kennedy

High schools

 * Southington High School
 * Karen Smith Academy (formerly Southington Alternative Education or ALTA)

Parochial schools

 * Southington Catholic (Pre-K–8) – formerly St. Thomas School (Pre-K–8) & Saint Dominic School (Pre-K–5)
 * Central Christian Academy (Pre-K–12)

Colleges

 * New England Baptist College

Buses
On March 28, 2015, CTfastrak, Connecticut's first bus rapid transit corridor, opened. It provides a separated right-of-way between Hartford and New Britain; Express bus services travel between downtown Hartford and Waterbury, with service to Southington, with its free park-and-ride located at the corner of South Main and Mulberry streets. Following its creation, public transportation can now connect Southington residents to Waterbury station and the Metro-North Railroad, providing service to Bridgeport and ultimately Stamford and New York City.

Highways
Southington is home to several highways, including Interstate 84, also known as The Yankee Expressway, and Interstate 691.

Notable people

 * John Anderson (born 1965), SportsCenter anchor
 * Jim Aparo (1932–2005), comic book artist for DC Comics
 * Tom Cichowski (1944–2015), football player
 * Vince Clements (born 1949), professional football player 1972–1973, NY Giants
 * Jonathan Coachman (born 1972), "Sportscenter" anchor and former WWE authority figure
 * Ann Dandrow (1936–2017), educator and politician
 * Chris Denorfia (born 1980), baseball player
 * Rob Dibble (born 1964), baseball player, talk show host
 * Marcus H. Holcomb (1844–1932), Governor of Connecticut
 * Lisa Robin Kelly (1970–2013), actress
 * Ellen Olney Kirk (1842–1928), novelist
 * Aaron Lipstadt born 1952, film director and producer
 * Mansfield Merriman (1848–1925), civil engineer, educator, and writer
 * Alwin Nikolais (1910–1993), choreographer
 * Jesse Olney (1798–1872), geographer
 * Carl Pavano (born 1976), baseball player
 * Tom Poitras (born 1968), head soccer coach at the University of Hartford
 * Delando Pratt (1823–1874), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
 * Sal Romano (born 1993), baseball player
 * Joel Root (1770–1847), author of a journal of a voyage around the world (1802–1806) while working as supercargo on the sealing ship Huron
 * John H. Swift (1840–1911), member of the New York State Assembly
 * Joseph Twichell (1838–1918), writer and minister
 * Logan West (born 1994), Miss Teen USA 2012
 * Charles Whittlesey (1808–1886), geologist
 * Dale Zarrella, sculptor
 * Marie Catharine Neal, botanist

title: Southington, Connecticut


text:
Suffield, Connecticut

Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, and located in the Connecticut River Valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,752. The town center is a census-designated place listed as Suffield Depot.

Bordering Massachusetts, Suffield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts NECTA. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts.

History
Originally known as Southfield—pronounced "Suffield," on May 20, 1674, the committee for the settling of the town petitioned:

"...that the name of the place may be Suffield, it being the southernmost town that either at present is, or like to be in that Countrey, and neere adjoining to the south border of our Patent in those parts. [sic]"

The petition was granted by the Massachusetts Bay court on June 8, 1674. Suffield was incorporated as a town in March 1682.

Also, on early 17th and 18th century maps, Suffield was alternatively spelled as Suthfield.

Suffield and the surrounding area were part of the Equivalent Lands compromise with Massachusetts in 1715–1716.

Suffield's native and adopted sons include The Rev. Ebenezer Gay, a renowned Congregational minister; U.S. Postmaster General Gideon Granger; real estate speculator Oliver Phelps, once the largest landowner in America; composer Timothy Swan; architect Henry A. Sykes; sculptor Olin Levi Warner; Seth Pease, surveyor of the Western Reserve lands in Ohio, most of which were controlled by Suffield financiers and speculators; and Thaddeus Leavitt, inventor of an early cotton gin, merchant and patentee of the Western Reserve lands. Thanks to the town's early prominence and wealth, it boasts an astonishing collection of early New England architecture. The Kent family, for whom the town's library is named, originated in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and boasted relations to many prominent early New England families, including the Dwight family of Northampton, Massachusetts, the Hooker family of Hartford, the Dudleys of Guilford, Connecticut, and the Leavitts of Suffield. Descendants of Robert Olds, who arrived from Sherborne, Dorset, in 1667, include automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds, Copperhead Ohio politician Edson Baldwin Olds, his great-grandson USAAF General Robert Olds, and his son, iconic USAF fighter pilot Robin Olds.

Slavery was common throughout the Connecticut River Valley during the 18th century, and the 1774 Census for the Colony of Connecticut listed 37 slaves in Suffield. Throughout the Connecticut valley, wealthy merchants, tavern owners and town ministers owned slaves. When Major John Pynchon originally purchased from the Pequonnocks and Agawam tribes a six-mile tract of land, which he called Stoney Brooke Plantation, he first ordered the construction of a sawmill, and used two of his slaves, Harry and Roco, for the construction. Suffield's third minister, Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, became minister in 1710, and "sixteen years later the town voted to give him £20 to purchase a slave. Reverend Ebenezer Gay, Devotion's successor, owned six slaves throughout his long term, 1742–1796. Reverend Ebenezer Gay Jr. manumitted his family's three remaining slaves in 1812. They were Titus, Ginny and Dinah. "Princess," a slave belonging to early Suffield settler, Lieut. Joshua Leavitt, died November 5, 1732. Some of Leavitt's descendants became ardent abolitionists, including Joshua Leavitt and his cousin Roger Hooker Leavitt, who operated an Underground Railroad station in Charlemont, Massachusetts.

One of the earliest graduates of the Yale Medical School was one of Suffield's earliest physicians. Dr. Asaph Leavitt Bissell, born in 1791 at Hanover, New Hampshire, to parents originally from Suffield, attended Dartmouth College, and later graduated in the second class of the Yale Medical School. Bissell moved to Suffield, where he rode horseback to make house calls on his patients. Bissell's saddlebags are today in the collection of the Yale Medical School's Historical Society.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 111.2 km2, of which 109.5 km2 is land and 1.8 sqkm, or 1.58%, is water. The town center (Suffield Depot CDP) has a total area of 5.1 km2, all of it land.

Suffield is on the west bank of the Connecticut River, 8 mi south of the river's largest city, Springfield, Massachusetts, and 16 mi north of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. Two bridges span the river to the town of Enfield: the Amtrak/Springfield Terminal Railroad Bridge and the Enfield–Suffield Veterans Bridge.

The Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border, runs through the center of Suffield from south to north as West Suffield Mountain. The 51 mi Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,552 people, 4,660 households, and 3,350 families residing in the town. The population density was 321.0 PD/sqmi. There were 4,853 housing units at an average density of 115.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 88.67% White, 6.95% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.03% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.25% of the population.

There were 4,660 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,698, and the median income for a family was $79,189. Males had a median income of $52,096 versus $35,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,171. About 1.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Historic homes and sites

Main Street, a designated historic district with the Green, three churches, Suffield Academy and vintage colonial and Victorian homes, typifies a New England town. Named for the Kent family of Suffield, the Kent Memorial Library is an important research center for source materials, records, and documents from north-central Connecticut. A walk along Main Street reveals many examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The Dr. Alexander King House, on the corner of Kent Avenue, and the Phelps-Hatheway House, a little farther north on Main Street, are museums open to the public from May to October.

Historic sites
Sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places include:
 * Alexander King House
 * Babb's Beach
 * Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal – roughly from Suffield to New Haven
 * Gothic Cottage
 * Hastings Hill Historic District
 * Hatheway House (also known as "Phelps-Hatheway House and Garden") – reflects two architectural styles: the original 1761 building is a typical colonial house, the 1794 north wing is one of the first examples of the Neoclassical style in the Connecticut River Valley
 * Hilltop Farm
 * John Fuller House
 * King's Field House
 * Lewis-Zukowski House
 * Suffield Historic District

Education
The town's public school system, Suffield Public Schools, includes Spaulding Elementary School, McAlister Intermediate School, Suffield Middle School, and Suffield High School.

Suffield is also the home of Suffield Academy, a private coeducational preparatory school.

Notable people

 * Willis Seaver Adams (1842–1921), landscape painter and part of the Tonalism movement which took place in the late 19th century; born in Suffield
 * Ran Blake, pianist
 * Selden M. Bronson, former Wisconsin State Assemblyman
 * Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), American dietary reformer; born in Suffield
 * Amos P. Granger, former US Congressman
 * Francis Granger, former US Congressman and Postmaster General
 * Gideon Granger, former US Postmaster General
 * Judson Worthington Hastings (1853–1923), physician and public official
 * George M. Hendee. Founder of Indian Motorcycle; moved to Suffield after retiring
 * Chris Kellogg, current morning host of The Kellogg Krew morning show on WMAS-FM
 * Titus Kent (fl. 1775–1783), an enslaved man who enlisted as a Connecticut militiaman for eight years in the American Revolutionary War.
 * W. Bruce Lincoln, scholar of Russian history
 * Thaddeus J. Martin. Major General in the United States Air Force and Connecticut Adjutant General
 * Eliphalet Remington, Engineer and founder of Remington Arms, born in Suffield
 * David Newton Sheldon, 5th President of Colby College
 * Israel Smith (1759–1810), served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, a member of the United States Senate and Governor of Vermont; born in Suffield
 * Noah Smith (1756–1812), brother of Israel Smith, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
 * Timothy Swan (1758–1842), composer and hatmaker; resident of Suffield
 * Emily Sweeney, member of 2018 US Olympic luger team
 * John Tod (1779–1830), United States Congressman for Pennsylvania

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Suffield, Connecticut


text:
Tariffville, Connecticut

Tariffville is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Simsbury in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,324 at the 2010 census. It is a popular location for whitewater paddlers who use the Farmington River.

Part of the original mill village area is included in the Tariffville Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district excludes newer development around West Point Terrace and Hayes Road, as well as properties along White Water Turn, Wooster Road, and Main Street Extension. The historic district is architecturally significant for preserving some evidence of early nineteenth-century mill village characteristics (in retaining some old mill housing and street layout) and for also preserving later 19th-century Greek Revival and Gothic Revival structures.

Geography
Tariffville is in the northeastern corner of the town of Simsbury, on the inside of a sharp bend in the Farmington River. The northeastern and northwestern borders of the CDP follow the river, with the northeastern part also forming the town line with East Granby. The southeastern border of the CDP follows the crest of Talcott Mountain and is the town line with Bloomfield. The southern border of the CDP follows a line just south of West Point Terrace, from Talcott Mountain back down to the river.

Connecticut Route 189 (Hartford Avenue) runs through the eastern end of Tariffville, leading north 3.5 mi to Granby and south 12 mi to Hartford. Connecticut Route 315 passes through the center of Tariffville as Elm Street and Tariffville Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.7 sqkm, of which 1.6 sqkm is land and 0.1 sqkm, or 7.98%, is water.

History
In 1825 (or 1827), the Tariff Manufacturing Company built a carpet mill along the Farmington River, giving its name to the area. The company name came from the Tariff Act of 1824 which included protective tariffs for a number of products, including wool and cotton textiles. The area did not have sufficient housing for the workers, so the company built housing, some of which survives today. The carpet business survived for a few decades, but by 1867, the primary industry in the area was sorting and packing of tobacco. The tobacco business would continue as the chief industry through the 1930s. The town was the site of a major rail accident, the Tariffville train crash, in 1878.

The first steel manufacturing plant in the country was established in Tariffville at a site on the Farmington River in 1727.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,371 people, 618 households, and 376 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,260.3 PD/sqmi. There were 638 housing units at an average density of 1,051.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.41% White, 2.70% African American, 0.29% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population.

There were 618 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,000, and the median income for a family was $65,096. Males had a median income of $42,750 versus $32,132 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $27,585. About 5.3% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

title: Tariffville, Connecticut


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Terramuggus, Connecticut

Terramuggus is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Marlborough, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the town center village and surrounding areas. The population was 1,025 at the 2010 census.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.3 km2, of which 3.0 km2 is land and 0.3 km2, or 9.94%, is water. It is centered on Lake Terramuggus and includes part of the town center of Marlborough along its southeastern edge. Connecticut Route 2 forms the northeastern edge of the CDP, with access at Exit 13 to Connecticut Route 66, which forms the southeastern edge of the CDP.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,048 people, 389 households, and 299 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 890.5 PD/sqmi. There were 407 housing units at an average density of 345.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.00% White, 0.19% African American, 0.95% Asian, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.48% of the population.

There were 389 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $64,844, and the median income for a family was $73,125. Males had a median income of $50,903 versus $39,297 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,127. None of the families and 0.8% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

title: Terramuggus, Connecticut


text:
Thompsonville, Connecticut

Thompsonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Enfield in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population of the CDP was 8,577 at the 2010 census.

History
Thompsonville was established in the 19th century as a carpet-manufacturing community. Orrin Thompson, from whom the community takes its name, built a dam across Freshwater Brook in 1828 and opened the first carpet mill in 1829. Thompson's first mill, named "White Mill", employed skilled weavers brought from Scotland. Initially its product was largely flat-woven ingrain carpeting, an inexpensive type of carpeting, but over time it added more expensive weaves, such as three-ply ingrain and loop brussels. The mill had 230 looms in operation as of 1846.

Carpeting continued to be manufactured in Thompsonville until 1971, by which time most production had shifted to the southern United States.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.1 km2, of which 5.3 km2 is land and 0.8 km2, or 12.99%, is water. Thompsonville is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River and is bounded by Interstate 91 to the east. U.S. Route 5 (Enfield Street) is the main road through the village, leading north to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and into Springfield, and south through East and South Windsor to East Hartford. Connecticut Route 190 crosses Route 5, leading west across the Connecticut River into Suffield and east to Hazardville.

Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 8,125 people, 3,442 households, and 1,896 families living in the CDP. The population density was 3,797.9 PD/sqmi. There were 3,728 housing units at an average density of 1,742.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.01% White, 3.96% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.70%.

Of the 3,442 households 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% were non-families. 36.5% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02.

The age distribution was 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median household income was $39,154 and the median family income was $42,692. Males had a median income of $38,000 versus $29,550 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,851. About 7.3% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

title: Thompsonville, Connecticut


text:
Bonaire

Bonaire (, ; Papiamento: ) is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Venezuela. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round, and they lie outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites, shipwrecks and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.

As of 1 January 2023, the island's population totaled 24,090 permanent residents, an increase of over 7,500 (or 45.6%) since 2012. The island's total land area is 288 km2; it is 38.6 km long from north to south, and ranges from 5 – 8 km wide from east to west. A short 800 m west of Bonaire across the sea is the uninhabited islet Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 km2. Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus (Papiamentu: kadushi), with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef. The reefs, beaches and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of the Bonaire National Marine Park, and managed by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA).

Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010, when the island became a special municipality (officially, a "Caribbean public body") within the country of the Netherlands. It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean; the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba. 80% of Bonaire's population are Dutch nationals, and nearly 60% of its residents were born in the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Etymology
The name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word Bonay, meaning 'low country'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire. French influence, while present at various times, was never strong enough to make the assumption that the name means 'good air'. According to another theory, the name might be derived from the Spanish phrase "buen aire", which does mean 'good air', as the Spanish were the first Europeans to colonise the island.

Original inhabitants
The most accurate human remains on the islands, dating from 4500 BP, were found in Curaçao. On different islands the most accurate are 4000 BP in Aruba and 3300 BP in Bonaire. These individuals are currently called by the term Archaic Indians. The Caquetío (Arawak) Indians, a clan of the Arawak language family, arrived at the islands from South America around 500 AD. Archeological remains of the Caquetio culture have been found at certain sites northeast of Kralendijk and near Lac Bay. Caquetio rock paintings and petroglyphs have been preserved in caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi and Ceru Crita-Cabai. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish name for the ABC islands was las Islas de los Gigantes or 'the islands of the giants'.

Spanish period
In 1499, Alonso de Ojeda arrived in Curaçao and a neighbouring island that was almost certainly Bonaire. Ojeda was accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci and Juan de la Cosa. De La Cosa's Mappa Mundi of 1500 shows Bonaire and calls it Isla do Palo Brasil or "Island of Brazilwood". The Spanish decided that the three ABC Islands were useless because they did not have known metal deposits, and in 1515 the Caquetío were deported to work in the copper mines of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola; the total number may have been between 500 and 2,000.

Spain colonized Bonaire since 1499 for a period of approximately one century. Likewise, one of the oldest references to the name of the island is found in the archive of the Main Public Registry of the city of Caracas (Venezuela). A document dated December 9, 1595, specifies that Don Francisco Montesinos, Curate and Vicar of "las Yslas de Curasao, Aruba y Bonaire" conferred a power of attorney to Pedro Gutiérrez de Lugo, resident in Caracas, to collect from the Royal Treasury of His Catholic Majesty Don Felipe II, the salary that corresponded to him for his office as priest and vicar of the islands.

Remnants of Bonaire's indigenous population can be seen in some of the island's current inhabitants. In fact, the majority of the population is of mixed black and white descent, with minorities of Europeans (descendants of the Dutch) and Africans (descendants of slaves)

In 1526, Juan Martínez de Ampiés was appointed Spanish commander of the ABC Islands. He brought back some of the original Caquetio Indian inhabitants to Bonaire and Curaçao. Ampies also imported domesticated animals from Spain, including cows, donkeys, goats, horses, pigs and sheep. The Spaniards thought that Bonaire could be used as a cattle plantation worked by natives. The cattle were raised for hides rather than meat. The Spanish inhabitants lived mostly in the inland town of Rincon which was safe from pirate attack.

Dutch period
The Dutch West India Company was founded in 1602. Starting in 1623, ships of the West India Company called at Bonaire to obtain meat, water and wood. The Dutch also abandoned some Spanish and Portuguese prisoners there, and these people founded the town of Antriol, which is a contraction of Spanish al interior (English: inside). The Dutch and the Spanish fought from 1568 to 1648 in what is now known as the Eighty Years War. In 1633, the Dutch – having lost the island of St. Maarten to the Spanish –  retaliated by attacking Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba. Bonaire was conquered in March 1636. The Dutch built Fort Oranje in 1639.

While Curaçao emerged as a centre of the slave trade, Bonaire became a plantation of the Dutch West India Company. Salt became a major export product of the island; a small number of African slaves were put to work alongside Indians and convicts, cultivating dyewood and maize and harvesting solar salt around Blue Pan. Slave quarters, built entirely of stone and too short for a man to stand upright in, still stand in the area around Rincon and along the salt pans. The slave population grew in the 1710s when a famine and social unrest on Curaçao caused the Dutch to relocate a large number of slaves to Bonaire. Historically, Dutch was not widely spoken on the island outside of colonial administration; its use increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Students on Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire were taught predominantly in Spanish until the late 18th century when the British took Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire; the teaching of Spanish was restored when Dutch rule resumed in 1815.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Netherlands lost control of Bonaire twice, once from 1800 to 1803, and again from 1807 to 1816. During these intervals, the British had control of the neighbouring island of Curaçao and of Bonaire. The ABC islands were returned to the Netherlands under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. During the period of British rule, a large number of white traders settled on Bonaire, and they built the settlement of Playa (Kralendijk) in 1810.

Emancipation
From 1816 until 1868, Bonaire remained a government plantation. In 1825, there were about 300 government-owned slaves on the island. Gradually many of the slaves were freed and became freemen with an obligation to render some services to the government. The remaining slaves were freed on 30 September 1862 under the Emancipation Regulation. A total of 607 government slaves and 151 private slaves were freed at that time.

World War II
During the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Bonaire was a protectorate of Britain and the United States. The American army built the Flamingo Airport as an air force base. After Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, authorities declared Martial law, and many German and Austrian citizens, as well as Dutch thought to be German sympathizers, were interned in a camp on Bonaire. Some of these remained in this camp for the war's duration, and others were transferred to new camps that were built on the mainland in the first year of the war. In 1944, Princess Juliana and Eleanor Roosevelt visited the troops on Bonaire.

Bonairean sailors made an above-average contribution during World War II. German U-boats tried to eliminate shipping around the Aruba and Curaçao refineries and thus eliminate the island's considerable fuel production for the Allies. Bonairean crewed ships also took part in these battles. Among the many, missing after the war, were the 34 Bonaireans who died on these ships (more than on the other islands of the then Dutch West Indies). During hostilities, the site where the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino now stands served as an internment camp for Germans and Austrians living in the Antilles, mainly because they were distrusted. There were fears they could have sabotaged the giant oil refineries on Aruba and Curaçao that were supplying paraffin to the Allied air fleet.

The camp was in operation from 1940 to 1947. In total, 461 people were interned during this period without trial, most of them completely innocent. Among them were Medardo de Marchena and also the photographer Fred Fischer, then still an Austrian citizen. Many German internees had just fled Nazi violence. But there were also German prisoners of war, some of whom remained after the war. In September 1943, the father of George Maduro, after whom Madurodam is named, asked Queen Wilhelmina to exchange his son for the German internees on Bonaire. The government did not grant the request. After the war, the empty barracks became Bonaire's first hotel: Zeebad.

Post-war
After the war, the economy of Bonaire continued to develop. The airport was converted to civilian use and the former internment camp was converted to become the first hotel on Bonaire. The Dutchman Pierre Schunck started a clothing factory known as Schunck's Kledingindustrie Bonaire, a partial solution for the large female surplus on the island. In 1964, Trans World Radio began broadcasting from Bonaire. Radio Netherlands Worldwide built two shortwave transmitters on Bonaire in 1969. The second major hotel (Bonaire Beach Hotel) was completed in 1962. Salt production resumed in 1966 when the salt pans were expanded and modernized by the Antilles International Salt Company, a subsidiary of the International Salt Company. Part of the facilities extend into the Caribbean Sea and form the popular dive site known as Salt Pier. The Bonaire Petroleum Corporation (BOPEC) oil terminal was opened in 1975 for trans-shipping oil. Politically Bonaire formed part of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 2010; it is now a special municipality within the Netherlands. In 2011 the island officially adopted the US dollar as its currency.

Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles
On 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. As a result, the government of the Netherlands assumed the task of public administration of the Caribbean Netherlands or BES Islands comprising Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. The three islands acquired new status as "special municipalities" (bijzondere gemeenten), making them part of the Netherlands itself, a form of "public body" (openbaar lichaam) as outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution. Special municipalities do not constitute part of a province.

As a special municipality, Bonaire is very much like ordinary Dutch municipalities in that it has a mayor, aldermen and a municipal council, and is governed according to most Dutch laws. Antillean legislation remained in force after 10 October 2010, with the exception of those cases where Antillean law was replaced by Bonaire's municipal law. It was believed best for the island to not introduce the entire body of Dutch legislation at one time as it would cause confusion. Therefore, Dutch legislation is being introduced in stages. Bonaire retained its own unique culture while residents enjoy the same rights as Dutch citizens, including the right to vote in Dutch parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. Residents also have access to new or improved facilities and government benefits including, but not limited to, universal health care; improved health care facilities; better educational facilities with additional training for teachers, new teaching methods and new school buildings; social housing for low-income individuals and families; a centrally dispatched single police force, fire department and ambulance service. While the three islands are considered to be land of the Netherlands, they are not a part of the European Union, therefore not subject to European Union Law. They are considered to be an overseas country and territory.

Bonaire's non-governmental organization, Nos Ke Boneiru Bèk ("We Want Bonaire Back"), is against the current constitutional relationship with the Netherlands. With reference to Bonaire's 2004 referendum, the organization is of the opinion that such an arrangement was never the choice of the people. The Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk, replied to the organization confirming that only the "Island Councils in the Caribbean Netherlands have the authority to decide on holding a constitutional referendum, not the Dutch government." In response, the organization gathered more than 3,500 signatures in 2013 favouring a new referendum. In a letter to minister Plasterk, James Finies, chairman of Nos Ke Boneiru Bèk, requested a "new referendum under the right of self-determination". Plasterk responded by advising Finies that preparations for the evaluation of the public entity structure had begun for 2015, but a "possible change of the constitutional relations is not part of that evaluation". The new referendum took place on 18 December 2015. 65% of the turnout voted that they were not happy with the current relationship between Bonaire and the Netherlands.

Geography
Bonaire lies about 80 km off the coast of Venezuela on the continental shelf of South America, and is thus geologically considered a part of the continent.

Geologists believe that Bonaire was formed relatively recently. As the nearby continental shelf (now located near Montserrat, and the cause of the volcanic activity on that island) moved through the area, it forced a large mass of rock to the ocean surface and created the islands of the Lesser and Greater Antilles, including Bonaire. As the seabed rose a vast coral reef grew on what is now dry land. These corals were eventually exposed to air and perished, becoming surface limestone deposits over the millennia.

Vast amounts of coral skeletons may be seen along the shoreline and across the interior of Bonaire. The island is essentially a coral reef that has been geologically pushed up and out of the sea. This also resulted in the natural fringing reef system seen today, in which the coral formations start at the shoreline. Tidal variations are only about 1.8 - 2.0 ft, so the corals start at the low tide line and continue on, following the underwater topology of the island's base. Bonaire's tides are more affected by a combination of wind and low/ high-pressure systems than by the moon.

The northern end of the island is relatively mountainous, although its highest peak (Brandaris) is only 240 m. The southern part of the island is nearly flat and barely rises above sea level. A significant portion of this southern region is covered with sea water in process of evaporation for salt production. This area also contains Lac Bay with its large mangrove forest. The shoreline of Bonaire is dotted with lagoons and inlets, the largest of which is Goto Lake in the north. These lagoons and wetlands provide an excellent habitat for a wide variety of shorebirds.

Klein Bonaire, the small island in the sheltered lee of Bonaire, has the same geological history. While Bonaire has some hills and variations in altitude, Klein Bonaire's surface is quite level and just a few feet above high tide. Because the island is as yet undeveloped, the fringing reef system surrounding Klein Bonaire is truly pristine. The smaller island is entirely ringed with dive sites.

Bonaire has a land area of 288 km2, while Klein Bonaire is an additional 6 km2.

Washington Slagbaai National Park is an ecological preserve on the north side of the island. The highest point of Bonaire, Mount Brandaris, is 240 m tall and is located within this preserve. It has a complete view of the island.

Climate
Bonaire has a warm, dry (though humid) and windy climate. The average temperature is 81.5 F with a 2.5 F-change seasonal variation and 10 F-change daily variation. The highest recorded temperature is 96.4 F and the lowest, 67.6 F. The ocean temperature around the island fluctuates between 78 and 86 F. Nearly constant winds blow from the east with an average speed of 12 kn. The humidity is very constant, averaging 76% and fluctuating between 85% and 66% on a daily basis. This semi-arid climate is conducive to a variety of cacti and other desert plants.

Average annual rainfall is 20.5 in, most of which occurs in October through January. Bonaire lies outside the Main Development Region for Atlantic tropical cyclone activity, though the island is occasionally affected by hurricanes and tropical storms.

Ecology
Bonaire is fringed by a coral reef which is accessible to divers from the shore along the lee side of the island (facing west-southwest). The entire coastline of the island was designated a marine sanctuary in 1979, an effort to preserve and protect the delicate coral reef and the marine life that depends on it. There are more than 350 species of fish and sixty species of coral living in Bonaire's reef. Boulder Star Coral (Montastraea annularis) is the most common coral, according to a 2011 survey. In 2011, biologists discovered a new species of jellyfish in Bonaire, the highly venomous Bonaire banded box jellyfish (Tamoya ohboya).

Bonaire is also famed for its flamingo populations and its donkey sanctuary. Flamingos are drawn to the brackish water of the island's lagoons, which harbor the shrimp upon which they feed. Bonaire is home to one of only four nesting grounds for the Caribbean flamingo. Located in the Pekelmeer in the southern part of the island, no human entry is permitted in this sanctuary. In the 16th century, Europeans introduced sheep, goats, pigs, horses and donkeys on Bonaire, and the descendants of the donkeys, goats, and pigs roam the island today.

Bonaire is also home to the ecologically vulnerable yellow-shouldered amazon parrot, Amazona barbadensis.

Environmental initiatives
The island of Bonaire has long been a leader in nature conservation and ecological responsibility. The national park foundation, Stichting Nationale Parken (STINAPA), was founded in 1962 for the purpose of actively protecting nature on the island. In 1969 STINAPA succeeded in establishing both the flamingo nesting sanctuary and Washington National Park, the first such nature preserves in the Caribbean. In 1979, the Slagbaai plantation was added to the park, now known as Washington Slagbaai National Park (WSNP). The Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) was also established in 1979. The Marine Park consists of the whole coastline of Bonaire from the high-water mark down to a depth of 200 ft and includes a large mangrove forest in Lac Bay. Lac Bay, Klein Bonaire, Pelkermeer, Slagbaai and Gotomeer are recognized as wetlands of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

Due to a public-private sector partnership, programs are being developed to advance the local awareness and attitudes toward conservation and habitat preservation in order to proactively protect Bonaire's ecosystem. A new sewage treatment plant will contribute to protecting the reefs and the seawater quality. In March 2013 Selibon NV, the national garbage-processing plant, opened an environmental court where the general public can bring glass, cans, paper, scrap metal, cardboard, batteries, motor oil, cooking oil, electronics, mobile phones and textiles.

The island is environmentally aware and protective of its coral reefs, the diversity of its aquatic ecosystems, and the conservation of its many species and natural environments above and below the water. The island's government, businesses and residents are committed to recycling waste products, and making others aware of the importance and benefits. Divers and dive shops take part in collecting debris washed ashore and preparing it for recycling.

Bonaire gets a significant amount of its electricity from an array of twelve wind generators along its northeastern coastline which began operating in 2010. This renewable source now fills 40-45% of the island's electricity needs. Work continues in developing additional renewable sources of energy, including bio-diesel and solar, with the goal of becoming 100% reliant on renewables.

Washington Slagbaai National Park
The entire northern tip of Bonaire is a protected nature reserve, the Washington Slagbaai National Park. The 6,000-hectare park was established in 1969 as the first nature park in the Netherlands Antilles. It is home to a wide variety of habitats, such as the bocas (inlets), dunes on the north coast, salt pans, pos (springs) and mountain areas. The park is rich in birds and other animals, especially lizards, including iguanas. Within the park there are two areas recognised internationally as important wetlands under the Ramsar Convention: the Slagbaai salt marsh and Lake Gotom. The park is also of great cultural-historical importance, not least because of the plantations and the history of Slagbaai. At the entrance to the park is the Bonaire Museum. From the entrance there are several signposted walks. The park is easily accessible by car and mountain bikers are also welcome.

Bonaire National Marine Park
The Bonaire National Marine Park is a legally protected underwater park surrounding the entire island and Klein Bonaire.

The park was established in 1979 with the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature and others, and is managed by the Foundation of National Parks Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire). Off the coast is the island of Klein Bonaire. There are about sixty dive sites.

Klein Bonaire
Off the coast of Kralendijk lies the island of Klein Bonaire. The island is 700 hectares (3 sq miles) in size, completely flat and only covered with small bushes and cacti. There are at least 76 species of plants and about 55 species of animals on the island. It is surrounded by a coral reef. The beaches on the north and west side are the most important nesting sites for sea turtles. There are also several salt pans or salt lakes on the island. Red flamingos feed there; Bonaire has one of the largest flamingo populations in the world. For this reason and for the pristine coral reefs and sea turtle nesting beaches, the island is protected as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention. With the growth of diving tourism on Bonaire, project developers wanted to build hotels on Klein Bonaire. Just before the turn of the century, the island was bought and safeguarded by the Island Territory of Bonaire with the help of the Netherlands, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other conservationists. Since 2001, Klein Bonaire has been a legally protected nature reserve. The island is accessible by boat for divers, snorkellers and day-trippers.

Lac Bay
Lac Bay is a shallow lagoon in the southeast of Bonaire. The 700 hectare area is surrounded by mangroves. The bay is part of the protected underwater park and has been designated an aquatic area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The bay is unique for the presence of seagrasses and mangroves. Part of the mangroves is virtually undisturbed due to limited accessibility, making it important as a resting area for bird species. Lac Bay is an important resting and nesting area for many marine birds and invertebrates, including the queen conch or Karkó. This mollusk used to be found in large numbers here, but overfishing has largely eradicated the population. The area serves as a nursery for reef fish and is the feeding ground for the green sea turtle.

Pekelmeer
Pekel Lake and the flamingo reserve (800 hectares) are part of the large aquatic area in the south-west of the island. Salt is still extracted from this area. It is also the most important feeding and living area for the flamingo. Depending on the season, between 2,000 and 7,000 flamingos can be found in this area. The flamingo reserve is the most important breeding site in the Southern Caribbean. The total population migrating between Bonaire and South America is estimated at 20,000 individuals. The flamingo places special demands on its environment (water quality, tranquillity) and is very sensitive to disturbance. The Pekelmeer and the flamingo reserve have been designated as a water area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Bonaire will continue to actively protect the flamingo, the symbol of the island.

Salt pans and caves
Salt pans are salt lakes or inlets that are closed to the sea by a dead coral dyke. They have an important function because they ensure the collection and filtration of rainwater. This prevents nutrients and soil particles from reaching the reef and causing damage to the corals. This function is especially crucial during heavy rainfall. The salt pans are also an important feeding ground for many waterbirds. Slagbaai, Gotomeer, Pekelmeer and the Klein Bonaire salt pans are aquatic areas of international importance in the context of the Ramsar Convention.

Bonaire has many dozens of caves. As a geological manifestation they give a picture of the oldest history of the island. In several there are cave drawings made by the original inhabitants of Bonaire. Some caves are home to bats or the blind shrimp Typhlatya. Bats play a useful role in the ecosystem: they trap a large number of insects (including mosquitoes) or provide pollination of flowers, including cactus flowers. The greatest threat to bats is the destruction or disturbance of their roosts.

Geology
Bonaire lies on the Caribbean Plate, a tectonic plate bounded by four other tectonic plates: the North American Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. Bonaire as an island was formed in the Tertiary when the Caribbean plate boundary (the volcanic arc that formed the Caribbean islands to the east) shifted eastward.

The geology of Bonaire is dominated by gently dipping carbonate rocks ranging in age from Cretaceous (≈90-100 million years ago (Ma)) to Miocene (≈5 Ma), which lie unconformably on a pre-Cretaceous igneous basement. Where the unconformity corresponds with sea-level erosion, caves are common.

Island Council
The island council is the local, democratically elected parliament. It is the highest governing body in the public body and is responsible for local legislation. Executive power is held by the Crown-appointed governor and the island deputies appointed by the island council. The Three main political parties are the Bonaire People's Movement led by Elvis Tjin Asjoe, the Bonaire Patriotic Union led by Esther Bernabela and the Bonaire Democratic Party led by Clark Abraham. Smaller parties include Movement 21 and Bonaire Social Party

2010 referendum
Prior to the 2010 referendum, the Netherlands Antilles (comprising the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba) were governed as a parliamentary democracy based on the Dutch system of government with free elections held every four years. Dissension about their political future resulted in four of the five islands advocating for separation from the Netherlands Antilles. Some of the island residents wanted autonomy while others wanted more integration.

In 2005 a conference was held by the governments of the Netherlands, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles to discuss future constitutional reform and the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. In 2006, Sint Maarten and Curaçao chose autonomy, and Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba opted for a closer relationship with the Netherlands. Constitutional referendums and dismantlement of the Netherlands Antilles was scheduled to take place in 2010.

Bonaire's announced referendum scheduled for 26 March 2010 was canceled in February 2010. The governor of the Dutch Antilles, Frits Goedgedrag, decided to cancel it because it probably contravened international law since part of the population was barred from voting. European Dutch nationals were only allowed to vote if they arrived on the island before 1 January 2007. The referendum was postponed to September and then October 2010. Eventually the referendum was held on 17 December 2010, with 84% voting in favor of becoming part of the Netherlands. However, as the 35% voter turnout rate was below the required 51%, the results of the referendum were declared invalid.

Judicial Institution and Prison
The Judicial Institution (JI) of the Dutch Caribbean (Justitiële Inrichting Caribisch Nederland), based on Bonaire, is located in Kralendijk. Since 10 October 2010, the centre has been under the responsibility of the Department of Judicial Institutions (DJI), the agency of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security for the execution of sentences and custodial measures. The Bonaire site is both a House of Detention and a Judicial Institution. Since 6 December 2010 there is capacity for 76 men, women and juveniles. The name in Papiamentu is Institushon Hudisial Karibe Hulandes, Boneiru site.

Tourism
Bonaire's economy is mainly based on tourism, taking advantage of its warm, dry climate and natural environment. The island caters to scuba divers and snorkelers, as the surrounding coral reefs are well preserved and easily accessible from the shore. Bonaire has been widely recognized for many years in the diving community as one of the world's best shore diving destinations.

Bonaire's Marine Park offers a total of 86 named dive sites and is home to over 57 species of soft and stony coral and more than 350 recorded fish species. Most resorts and hotels have an on-site dive shop, and other accommodations are affiliated with a dive operation. The license plates carry the logo Diver's Paradise (in English).

Lac Bay, in the southeastern part of the island, attracts wind surfers from around the world to Bonaire. The shallow Bay is on the windward side of the island, so trade winds are strong and constant. A barrier reef across the mouth of the bay allows windsurfers of all skill levels to select wave conditions they like. Lac Bay is one of the stops in the PWA Windsurfing Freestyle World Cup and has hosted the Prokids IFCA Championship. Five of the PWA's ten highest ranked freestyle windsurfers are from Bonaire: Kiri Thode, Amado Vrieswijk, Bjorn Saragoza, Tonky Frans and Taty Frans. In the northern end of Lac Bay is one of the best preserved mangrove forests in the Caribbean, which is popular for kayaking and snorkelling. Bonaire is also a port of call for more than fifteen cruise lines who make more than eighty calls per season at the island. The total passenger capacity for cruise ships in Bonaire is about 185,000.

Tourism infrastructure in Bonaire is contemporary and offers a variety of types of accommodations including hotels, full-service resorts, a few small bed and breakfasts and self-catering vacation rentals of all kinds. Other tourist activities include kite-boarding, windsurfing, mountain-biking, hiking, sailing, charter fishing, boating and bird-watching. All-in-all tourist expenditures in Bonaire are estimated at $125 million per year.

Currency
In 2011 the BES Islands replaced their currency, the Netherlands Antillean guilder (: ANG, symbol: ƒ), with the US dollar rather than replacing it with the euro which is used in the European Netherlands. The decision was based primarily on the needs for tourism and trade. Most countries and territories in the Caribbean use the dollar as their currency or have a currency linked to the dollar as legal tender. The guilder was pegged to the US dollar for decades with an exchange rate of ƒ1.79 = US$1.00. Adopting the dollar put an end to the dual-currency payment system and foreign exchange charges. The guilder remained in use in Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Taxes
The separate tax regimes for Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba present a greater risk of double taxation or double exemption from taxes. In an effort to remove the risk, two plans were introduced. One plan prevents double taxation between the Netherlands (Europe) and the BES Islands while the other prevents double taxation between the BES Islands and third countries. The new regime will generate a total annual tax revenue estimated at $52 million which is equal to the current tax revenues on the three islands. The combined population of the three islands is about 20,000; about half of these pay income tax.

Salt production
Utilizing the naturally low-lying geography and traditional Dutch dike design, much of Bonaire's southern half has been made into a giant system of ponds and pools which evaporate seawater to produce salt. Presently operated by Cargill, Bonaire's solar salt works produces 400,000 tonnes of industrial grade salt per year. After collection, the salt is then washed and stored in pyramid-shaped piles roughly 15 metres in height, each containing approximately 10,000 tonnes of 99.6 percent pure salt. The salt facility operates its own pier where ships are loaded with salt destined for North American, European and Western Pacific markets. Bonaire's salt is used primarily in industry. The large condensing ponds which ring the crystallizer basins, called the Pekelmeer, are a natural habitat for numerous species of brine shrimp which in turn feed flocks of hundreds of pink flamingoes and other migratory birds. This is the location of Bonaire's flamingo sanctuary.

Oil storage and shipment
The Bonaire Petroleum Corporation (BOPEC) is a fuel oil storage and transshipment terminal on Bonaire. BOPEC is wholly owned by Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, and functions primarily as a storage facility for multiple grades of refined and non-refined oils from Venezuela and refineries on Curaçao and Aruba. BOPEC also has mixing and blending capabilities for its stored fuels. BOPEC's #1 pier can receive tankers up to 500,000DWT, which means there are only seven ships in the world that are too big for the BOPEC terminal. A fire at the BOPEC terminal in 2010 is believed to have had a significant impact on Goto Lake and at least one other nearby lagoon.

Plantations and plantation houses
In 1868 and 1870, a large part of the government land was auctioned and sold. These included five lots for forestry and livestock farming and nine lots for salt exploitation. The buyers of these large lots were mainly wealthy people from Curaçao, successful merchants, who had no intention of living on their plantations. There are no real plantations on Bonaire. The climate and soil conditions on Bonaire are not very favourable for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables of any size. Only salt extraction is economically attractive. In addition, on some "plantations" aloe cultivation (last exported in 1973), maize cultivation (due to drought there was not enough harvest every year), charcoal burning and cattle breeding (mainly goats, last exported in 1970) were carried out.

In the early 20th century, Bonaire's middle class was also able to buy plantation land. On Curaçao, the land house served as the main house of a plantation, where the owner lived. In the immediate vicinity were outbuildings, barns, stables and corrals. Surrounding it were the slave dwellings. On Bonaire, the plantation houses became the owners' cottages, where they stayed during the weekends. Often during the week there was an overseer (vito) who supervised the work on the plantation.

Transportation
Bonaire's first airport was located near Tra'i Montaña Subi Blanku and crossed the current path from Kralendijk to Rincon. It was built in 1936. The airport proved to be too small when American soldiers arrived on Bonaire in the second half of 1943. The commander stated that a new airport had to be built. Construction began in December 1943, with the new "Flamingo Airport" opening in 1945. A small terminal was built that was suitable for the number of passengers at the time. This building was used until mid-1976. The airport had received many extensions of both the runway and the terminal itself.

Today the airport is known as Flamingo International Airport and is served by a variety of both domestic and international airlines. Services from the US include Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines. Airlines providing European service include TUI Netherlands and KLM. Consistent air service from Curaçao is provided by Divi Divi Air and EZ Air.

The airport is equipped with a fire station, control tower and hangar. Plans are under way for modifications to the current airport facilities, the runway and the fire station.

Settlements
The two towns on the island are Kralendijk (the capital) and Rincon. Kralendijk has many suburbs/neighbourhoods, although on an island with such a small population, the distinction is not always clearcut.

The town of Kralendijk is a result of a merger of five villages: Antriol (Entrejol), Nikiboko, Noord Saliña, Playa, and Tera Kora. The town of Rincon is the only other town.

Labra, Ishiri, Kokorobi, Jan Doran, Vlijt, Rigot, Porto Spano and Kunchi were several smaller towns that had existed in the national park but were later abandoned.

Demography
The population was estimated to be 20,104 in 2019, but was estimated to have risen to 24,090 by the start of 2023. Most of its inhabitants are of African descent, or mixed race, the product of European and African intermarriage, for whom the term "mulatto" is often used. However, a significant part of the population has a variety of origins, including the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Suriname and the United States, among others.

Main population centres
The star on Bonaire's flag has six points, representing the six original settlements. Due to population growth and building expansion, five of them have grown together with the capital Kralendijk (with over 22,000 inhabitants at the start of 2023, including the new districts). Only Rincon, the oldest settlement on the island, located in the northern half with some 1,900 inhabitants, remains an independent village. In addition to these nuclei, a number of new districts have been added over the years. Behind Kralendijk, against the hill, are the Republiek and Santa Barbara districts. Behind Santa Barbara, on the coast, is the luxurious new district of Sabadeco (Santa Barbara Development Corporation). Beyond the airport, in the direction of the salt flats, is the neighbourhood of Belnem, named after Harry Belafonte. The population as of 2017 is distributed in the old towns and districts as follows:

Religion
As in the rest of the former Netherlands Antilles, Christianity is the predominant religion of Bonaire. Roman Catholicism is the faith of the majority (68%) of the population, and there are also Protestant minorities. Catholicism was introduced during the period of Spanish rule. Although the island would pass under the control of the Protestant Netherlands, Catholicism remained the principal island religion. Ecclesiastically, the churches on Bonaire depend on the Catholic diocese of Willemstad on the neighboring island of Curaçao.

After the discovery of Bonaire by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, the spiritual life of the Christians was in the hands of the monks who came from Venezuela for baptisms. These missionaries belonged to the Jesuits of the Franciscan order. The first resident priest was Jacob Bernardus Eisenbel (Dutch), who came from Aruba to settle for several years in Bonaire and after whom the Parish of St. Bernard, the main Catholic church of the capital of Bonaire, Kralendijk, is named.

Rincon, Bonaire's second largest city, offers numerous regular festivals, including the annual Simadan (harvest) festivals and Dia di San Juan (St. John's Day).

Bonaire also has an Islamic centre and a Jewish community.

Education
Bonaire's educational system is patterned after the Dutch system. Early grades are taught solely in Papiamentu, with more and more Dutch being introduced as the grade level progresses.

Scholengemeenschap Bonaire serves as Bonaire's secondary school, for ages 12–18.

Languages
As Bonaire is part of the Netherlands, Dutch is the official language, and the sole language for all administration and legal matters. However, as at 2017 it is the main language of only 15% of the population — around two thirds use the creole language of Papiamentu as their main language.

In January 2024 the insular council of Bonaire passed a motion to declare Papiamento a regional language of Bonaire under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands said that this decision would be implemented.

In the 2001 census, Dutch was the main language of only 8.8% of the population, in 2024 this tripled and is now around 25%. The most widely spoken language was Papiamentu, the primary language of 60% of the populace and is recognized by the government. Spanish was the main language of 11.8% of the people, English the primary language of 2.8%, and other languages accounted for 1.8%. Bonaire is a polyglot society, with most of Bonaire's population able to converse in at least two of the languages of Papiamentu, Dutch, English and Spanish.

Sports
Bonaire residents participate in numerous sporting events, including all the popular sports that attract tourists to the island such as scuba diving, sailing, fishing, boating, windsurfing, kite surfing, biking, baseball, association football, volleyball and tennis. There are multiple dive shops on Bonaire, most of which offer scuba instruction and PADI, NAUI, SSI and CMAS certification. The island's dive shops typically offer scuba tank and dive gear rental, boat diving excursions, snorkeling, kayaking, and naturalist classes. Some dive shops have gas blending stations, and offer tec diving instruction and excursions.

Bonaire hosted the PWA Bonaire World Cup 2014 and the 10th Prokids IFCA Championship 2014 at Lac Bay in Sorobon on the east side of the island. It is home to several professional windsurfing champions. The island is also home to the annual Bonaire Sailing Regatta, a national sailing competition and celebration that has been held every October in Playa. The event first began in 1967 when Captain Don Stewart challenged Hubert Domacasse to a race, wagering 27 cases of beer that his fishing boat "Sislin" was faster than Domacasse's fishing boat "Velia". The races are run between the leeward side of the island and Klein Bonaire.

The Bonaire Football Federation is a member of CONCACAF and the Bonaire Volleyball Federation is an associate member of CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) and NORCECA. The Baseball teams play in the Caribbean region of Little league and Pony league. Bonaire was also confirmed as the 218th Table Tennis National association.

Radio
Trans World Radio (TWR) first established its AM broadcasting site on the island of Bonaire in 1964 to broadcast Christian programs into Latin America and the Caribbean. The programs were broadcast in Spanish, Dutch and English. TWR-Bonaire began their operation with three transmitters, including a Brown-Boveri medium wave transmitter (500 kW over 800 kHz) and two shortwave transmitters (200 kW and 50 kW); however, their license to operate the 500 kW transmitter was revoked in 1999 thereby restricting broadcast to 100 kW. The Brown-Boveri medium wave transmitter was sold and removed from the island. It was replaced with another medium wave transmitter (PJB3-AM). In 2012, TWR-Bonaire was permitted to increase its power from 100 kW to 450 kW but in order to do so, they had to raise 38 million euros (US$43,456,610.00). In 2016 they commissioned Kintronic Labs to build a four-mast, 231 m parallel-array directional antenna system. On January 31, 2018, they acquired a 450 kW Nautel Broadcast medium wave transmitter for US$3.8 million, and the name changed from Trans World Radio to Shine 800 AM.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide operated a shortwave relay station at 12.21333°N, -68.32306°W. Because of widespread availability of internet links providing higher audio quality and more flexibility, shortwave broadcasts by RNW-Bonaire were discontinued and at the end of October 2012, the radio station was closed and installations dismantled.

Bonaire has two island radio stations that broadcast general information: Bon FM and Radiodifucion Boneriano. The language spoken for both is Papiamentu.

Internet and newspapers
There are several internet news sources including BES Reporter in English, Bonaire in Papiamentu and Dutch, Bonaire Nieuws in Dutch, and Info Bonaire in English. The local newspapers, some of which are also available online, include The Bonaire Reporter in English, Extra and Boneriano in Papiamentu, Bonaire Times in English, Spanish and Dutch, and two Dutch newspapers: Amigoe and Antilliaans Dagblad.

Television
Flamingo Television Bonaire B.V. offers cable programming and internet access via cable connection or fiber optics. Local and regional programming is offered in different languages including Papiamentu, Spanish, Dutch and Chinese. English channels are made available through the efforts of a unified group of cable companies comprising the Caribbean Cable Cooperative Ltd.

Digital television programs and internet access are offered by Telbo N.V., a communication and media provider with an IP based infrastructure. They are the primary telephone service provider, and also offer various packages of high quality digital television programs with 130+ digital channels.

Residents of Bonaire receive some of Venezuela's main national television channels, all primarily in Spanish.

Flag
The flag, with the six-pointed star, symbolises a compass. The people of Bonaire were and are excellent fishermen and sailors. It is also said that the four points of the ring indicating East, West, South and North are intended to indicate that all people in the world are equal, regardless of where they come from. The red colour refers to the blood and the survivability of the people of Bonaire. Yellow represents the sun, the beach and the flowers of the Kibrahachi and the cactus. White represents peace and internationalisation. Blue represents the sea. The flag has not existed for a long time. It was only on 11 December 1981 that the design was approved, to which the whole population was able to contribute and give its opinion.

title: Bonaire


text:
Weatogue, Connecticut

Weatogue is a village and census-designated place in Simsbury, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,776 at the 2010 census.

Geography
Weatogue is in the southern part of the town of Simsbury and is bordered to the northwest by West Simsbury and to the northeast by Simsbury Center. The northern border of the CDP follows Town Forest Road, Stratton Brook Road, a small portion of U.S. Route 202, and Second Brook to its mouth in the Farmington River. The eastern border of the CDP follows the river south (upstream) to Minister Brook. The southern border follows Minister Brook, US 202, and Old Meadow Plain Road, and the western border follows Pine Glen Road, Park Road, Orchard Lane, and Overlook Terrace to Connecticut Route 167, from which point the border strikes northwest to Town Forest Road at Nimrod Road. The original settlement of Weatogue is in the eastern part of the CDP, at the junction of US 202 (Hopmeadow Street) with Canal Street and Stratton Brook Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.81 sqkm, of which 7.76 sqkm is land and 0.05 sqkm, or 0.66%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,805 people, 1,007 households, and 815 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 935.0 PD/sqmi. There were 1,031 housing units at an average density of 343.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.65% White, 0.75% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.

There were 1,007 households, out of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $88,654, and the median income for a family was $93,761. Males had a median income of $66,071 versus $46,635 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $39,652. About 1.0% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

title: Weatogue, Connecticut


text:
West Simsbury, Connecticut

West Simsbury is a census-designated place (CDP) and section of the town of Simsbury in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population of the CDP was 2,447 at the 2010 census.

Geography
West Simsbury occupies the west-central part of the town of Simsbury and is bordered to the east by Simsbury Center and to the south by Weatogue. Connecticut Route 309 is the main road through the community, leading east to Simsbury Center and northwest to North Canton.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the West Simsbury CDP has a total area of 11.3 km2, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,395 people, 745 households, and 659 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 548.6 PD/sqmi. There were 763 housing units at an average density of 174.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.58% White, 0.67% African American, 0.04% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 745 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.6% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.5% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $154,765.The per capita income for the CDP in 2012 was $69,036. None of the families and 1.3% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 5.6% of those over 64.

Landmark
Tulmeadow Farm - Founded in 1768, Tulmeadow Farm is now best known for its home-made ice cream. With the help of the Simsbury Land Trust, much of Tulmeadow Farm's farmland is protected from future development.

Notable person

 * Owen Brown, father of abolitionist John Brown, lived in West Simsbury.

title: West Simsbury, Connecticut