Stratford, Connecticut
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Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 49,976.
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History
Stratford was founded in 1639 by Puritan leader Reverend Adam Blakeman (pronounced Blackman) and either 16 families (according to legend) or approximately 35 families (as suggested by later research) who had recently arrived in Connecticut from England seeking religious freedom. Stratford is one of many towns in the northeastern US founded as part of the Great Migration in the 1630s as Puritan families fled an increasingly polarized England in the decade before the civil war between Charles I and Parliament, the latter led by Oliver Cromwell. Some of the Stratford settlers were from families who had first moved from England to the Netherlands to seek religious freedom, like their predecessors on the Mayflower.
Like other Puritan or Pilgrim towns founded during this time, early Stratford was a town where church leadership and town leadership were both united under the pastor of the church, in this case Rev. Blakeman. The goal of such communities was to create perfect outposts of religious idealism, where the wilderness would separate them from the interference of kings, parliaments or any other secular authority.
By the late 1600s the Connecticut state government had assumed political control over Stratford. Within the town, later generations sought to change the religious dictums of their elders, and the utopian nature of Stratford and similar communities had been replaced by more standard colonial administration. Nevertheless, many of the original founding Puritan families remain in Stratford today after over 350 years, and for centuries they often intermarried within the original small group of 17th century Pilgrim families.
Settlers from Stratford went on to found other American cities and towns, including Newark, New Jersey, which was established in 1666 by members of the Stratford founding families who believed the town's religious purity had been compromised. Other towns such as Cambria, New York (now Lockport, New York) were founded or expanded around new churches by Stratford descendants taking part in the westward migration.
U.S. President Gerald Ford is a descendant of one of the Stratford founding families, that led by William Judson.
Stratford, which once included all of what is now Fairfield County, is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, Connecticut, on the north by Trumbull, Connecticut and Shelton, Connecticut, and on the east by Milford, Connecticut (across the Housatonic).
In 1939 one of the world's first successful commercial helicopters was developed in Stratford by Igor Sikorsky. His company, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is still the town's largest taxpayer.
Also in 1939, Lycoming produced Wright radial engines here. After WWII the plant was converted to produce turbines.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 51.5 km² (19.9 mi²). 45.6 km² (17.6 mi²) of it is land and 5.9 km² (2.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 11.52% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 49,976 people, 19,898 households, and 13,630 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 1,097.0/km² (2,841.9/mi²). There are 20,596 housing units at an average density of 452.1/km² (1,171.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 84.76% White, 9.79% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.14% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 6.80% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 19,898 households out of which 28.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% are non-families. 27.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.04.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $53,494, and the median income for a family is $64,364. Males have a median income of $45,552 versus $34,575 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $26,501. 5.0% of the population and 3.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.6% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Shakespeare Festival Theater
Stratford, Connecticut once had a thriving theater, the American Shakespeare Festival Theater. It opened in 1955. Some of the world's biggest stars performed on this stage including Katharine Hepburn, Jessica Tandy and Hal Holbrook. John Houseman served as its artistic director during the late 1950s.
External links
- Stratford's Town web site (http://www.townofstratford.com/)
- Stratford Public School's web site (http://www.stratford.k12.ct.us/)
- Stratford Public Library web site (http://www.stratford.lib.ct.us/)de:Stratford (Connecticut)