TRUMBULL, CONNECTICUT

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

Contents

History

Old Farms

First permanent English inhabitants

Local church and government established

Lauzun's Legion

Geography

Demographics

On the National Register of Historic Places

Notable people, past and present

See also

High Schools

Major Roadways

Movies Filmed (or partially filmed) in Trumbull

External links

References

History

The English settled nearby Stratford, Connecticut in 1639 and that town extended its land claims inland to include the northern parts of Trumbull in 1662 when Wampegan, Sachem of the Pootatuck Indians, Akenotch, Sagamore of the Paugussett Indian Tribe and Ansantaway signed over their land to Lt. Joseph Judson (1619-1690).

Old Farms

By the 1670s all the upland around Mischa Hill fit for planting had been divided and most of the woods cleared. Early farmers usually worked beside their indentured servants and slaves in the fields by day before returning to the safety of their homes in Stratford center at night. They built small barns to protect their livestock and erected stone walls to set property lines and to keep the livestock out of the orchards and fields. The area began to be called 'Old Farms' in 1700.

First permanent English inhabitants

Beginning in the early 1680s, Stratford-born children of the original founding families of that town began to build homes on their ancestral farmland. In 1683, Ephraim Hawley (1659-1690) married and built his home on land given to him by his father, Captain Joseph Hawley (1603-1690). In 1688, John Curtiss (1611-1707) turned over his farm, which he referred to as 'Mischa Hill', to his son Benjamin (1652-?) who built a house there. Zachariah Curtiss (1659-1748) inherited land from his father Captain William Curtiss (1612-1702) and built his home around 1696. In 1699, Ebenezer Curtiss (1657-1751) received land that bordered on a farm that was previously owned by Captain Joseph Judson (1619-1690). Judson had removed to Woodbury, Connecticut in 1673 for religious reasons and his farm, perhaps the first one cleared on Mischa Hill, had been sold to Abraham Nichols (1662-?) sometime before Judson's death in 1690.

Local church and government established

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

Lauzun's Legion

It is believed by some that from June 28 to June 30, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, units of the French cavalry called 'Lauzun's Legion' encamped overnight on a hilltop in present day 'Abraham Nichols Park'. The Legion was commanded by Colonel Armand Louis de Gontaut-Biron, duc de Lauzun & was part of the French troops under the command of French General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau marching south to reinforce American troops under the command of General George Washington at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 60.9 km² (23.5 mi²). 60.3 km² (23.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.98%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 34,243 people, 11,911 households, and 9,707 families residing in the town. The population density was 567.7/km² (1,470.6/mi²). There were 12,160 housing units at an average density of 201.6/km² (522.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.02% White, 1.88% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.70% of the population.
There were 11,911 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living within them, 71.7% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $79,507, and the median income for a family was $88,290. Males had a median income of $62,201 versus $41,384 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,931. About 1.4% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

On the National Register of Historic Places

'Historical population of Trumbull'[1]
1800	1,291
1810	1,241
1820	1,232
1830	1,242
1840	1,204
1850	1,309
1860	1,474
1870	1,335
1880	1,323
1890	1,453
1900	1,587
1910	1,642
1920	2,597
1930	3,624
1940	5,294
1950	8,641
1960	20,379
1970	31,394
1980	32,989
1990	32,016
2000	34,243

★ Christ Episcopal Church and Tashua Burial Ground — 5170 Madison Ave. (added May 25, 2001)

★ David, Jr. Mallett House — 420 Tashua Road (added March 20, 1986)

★ Kaatz Icehouse — 255 Whitney Ave. (added October 19, 1977)

★ Nichols Farms Historic District — Center Road, 1681-1944 Huntington Turnpike, 5-34 Priscilla Place, and 30-172 Shelton Road (added September 20, 1987)

★ Old Mine Park Archeological Site (added 1990)

Notable people, past and present

★ Truman Bradley (1820-1900), American Indian from the Schaghticoke

★ Craig Breslow, Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

★ Chris Drury, New York Rangers Forward, Calder Memorial Trophy Winner, Hobey Baker Award Winner, Olympic medalist, and member of 1989 Little League World Series Champions from Trumbull, CT.

★ Nero Hawley, Negro Slave, served in the Continental Army under General George Washington at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War 1777-1782 earning his freedom.

★ Carolyn Hax (b. 1966), a writer and columnist for the Washington Post and the author of the advice column "Tell Me About It," was born in Bridgeport and grew up in Trumbull.

★ Lisa Lampanelli, comedian

★ Wayne Norman, morning radio voice at WILI-AM, Willimantic, CT since 1970, radio voice of University of Connecticut basketball and football, and author (Hoop Tales: UConn Huskies Men's Basketball). Born in Hollywood, but graduated Trumbull HS, 1966.

★ Chris Soule, Olympic skeleton (sport) athlete

★ Benjamin Silliman, born in Trumbull after his mother fled Fairfield from invading British troops in 1779 during the American Revolutionary War.

See also

★ Ephraim Hawley House

★ Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation
Trumbull is well-known for winning the Little League World Series in 1989.

High Schools

★ St. Joseph High School

★ Trumbull High School

Major Roadways

Route 8 runs through the southeast part of town. Route 8 is a freeway that leads to Waterbury and I-84. Route 25 goes from the northern part of town to the southern part where it merges with Route 8 at the Bridgeport line and continues overlapped with Route 8 (commonly known as the Route 8/25 connector) into Bridgeport ending at Interstate 95. Continuing north on Route 25, the freeway ends and continues as a surface road towards I-84 in Newtown leading to Danbury. Route 15, also known as the Merritt Parkway, goes north (east) to New Haven (eventually connecting to I-91) and south (west) towards New York City. Route 15 runs along the southern part of town. Route 127, also known as White Plains Road/Church Hill Road, runs through the town center south to north from the East Side of Bridgeport. Route 127 ends at Route 111 at the Town Hall. Route 111, also known as Main Street in Trumbull and Bridgeport, also goes north to south. Continuing north on Route 111, the road crosses Route 25 and eventually heads into Monroe. Main Street continues south past Route 15 (where it is exit 48 off of Route 15) and past Westfield Shopping Town Trumbull into the North End of Bridgeport. Connecticut Route 108, also known as Nichols Avenue and Huntington Turnpike, heads north into southeastern Trumbull from Stratford and is considered by some to be the third oldest documented highway in Connecticut [2].

Movies Filmed (or partially filmed) in Trumbull

★ Revolutionary Road (2007)

★ Oprah Winfrey presents For One More Day set to air on ABC in December 2007

External links

★ MyTrumbull.com Trumbull 's Online Newsletter

★ TRUMBULLnet Community Website

★ Community Discussion Forum

★ Community Business Directory

★ Trumbull Historical Society

★ Trumbull Public Library

★ Trumbull Public Schools

★ Trumbull Touchdown Club - Trumbull High School Football Team

★ Coastal Fairfield County Convention & Visitor Bureau

★ Government website

★ Trumbull Times

References

★ Reverend Orcutt, ''History of the Old Town of Stratford, Connecticut'', Fairfield Historical Society, 1886