Southington, Connecticut

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Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated about 10 miles east of Waterbury,about 20 miles southwest of Hartford, and about 80 miles North of New York City. Southington includes the areas of Plantsville, Marion and Milldale, all of which have their own post offices and distinct architecture. The town rests in a valley of 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 New England Interstate Route 10. Southington has the nick name 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 America's oldest running theme park, Lake Compounce, Mount Southington Ski Area, the last twin Drive-In in the United States, and ESPN which strattles the Bristol/Southington town lines. Southington is also known for their high school sports teams the Southington Blue Knights, the Briarwood College, and a branch of the Branford Hall Career Institute.

[edit] 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 (now recognized by Southington's "Panthorn Park"). The settlement grew, prospered, and came to be known as South Farmington and then later, the shortened version, Southington.

Southington originally developed as a manufacturing center. Some of the products invented there include cement that was able to harden under water, the carriage bolt machine and a new tinware process. Despite the overall decline of industry in New England, 28% of the workers in Southington are still employed in manufacturing, most of them in the production of fabricated metal and aircraft.

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 1968, 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 Fire and Police Departments, the Southington Rotary Chapter, and the Southington Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce), who provide leadership development through community service. The Southington Jaycees run projects around town including the town Easter Egg Hunt and the Haunted Trails project. Membership is open to anyone aged 21-40. More information can be found at http://www.southingtonjaycees.org].

[edit] Geography

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 94.8 km² (36.6 mi²). 93.2 km² (36.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (1.72%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 39,728 people, 15,083 households, and 11,282 families residing in the town. The population density was 426.2/km² (1,103.8/mi²). There were 15,557 housing units at an average density of 166.9/km² (432.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.45% White, 0.86% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.02% of the population.

There were 15,083 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.02.

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 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,538, and the median income for a family was $70,789 as compared to $59,492 for the County and $64,462 for the state. Males had a median income of $48,828 versus $35,298 for females.Households in Southington are relatively affluent with 30.1% of its households earning above $100,000 as compared to 24.6% for the County and 28.1% for the state.. The per capita income for the town was $26,370. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% 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.

[edit] Schools

Southington has 8 public elementary schools, 2 middle schools and one high school. It also has an alternative school for children in grades 8-12 called ALTA.

Elementary schools: Walter A.Derynoski, Flanders, William H. Hatton, Urban T. Kelley, Plantsville, South End, William Strong, and Rueben E. Thalberg

Middle Schools: Joseph A. DePaolo and John F. Kennedy

High Schools: Southington High School

[edit] Notable Residents

• Marco DeMarco (comedian)
• Rob Dibble (baseball player)
• Lisa Robin Kelly (actress)
• Alwin Nikolais (actor, composer, other crew member)^{[verification needed]}
• Carl Pavano (baseball player)
• Thomas Edward Seymour (producer, actor, director, writer, editor, composer, cinematographer)
• Mansfield Merriman (born 1848) Civil engineer, educator, and writer

[edit] Interesting Facts

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

Settlers from Southington, CT formed a township in the mid 1800’s in Ohio near the city of Warren and named it Southington. Today, it has fewer than 2,000 residents.

In May of 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 Nazi German Occupation.

[edit] Southington Inventions

• The first cement to harden under water
• The first carriage bolt cutting machine
• The break neck rat trap
• Advances in tinware processing

[edit] External links

• Town of Southington (official site)
• Southington.com
• Southington Library and Museum
• Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce
• [1] Southington Jaycees
• Southington Public Schools
• WXCT 990 AM Southington Based Radio Station
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 41.596588° -72.87767°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

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