Fairfield County, Connecticut

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Fairfield County
County
Map of Connecticut highlighting Fairfield County
Location within the U.S. state of Connecticut
Map of the United States highlighting Connecticut
Connecticut's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°14′N 73°22′W / 41.23°N 73.37°W / 41.23; -73.37
Country United States
State Connecticut
Population
 (2000)
 • Total882,567

Fairfield County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of 2000 the population was 882,567. The largest city in the county is Bridgeport. As is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources. However, Fairfield County is merely a group of towns on a map, and has no particular authority. While Fairfield County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country, it is also home to less affluent, working class areas such as Bridgeport. The city of Bridgeport is mostly home to minorities and is a perfect example of Connecticut's famed "weatlh gap," as all other towns in Fairfield County are considered affluent by national standards. The county is informally known in Connecticut as The Gold Coast. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. It is sometimes referred to as the "FC" or the "Orange County of the east" because of its excessive wealth.[citation needed]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,168 km² (837 mi²). 1,621 km² (626 mi²) of it is land and 547 km² (211 mi²) of it (25.23%) is water.

The terrain of the county trends from flat near the coast to hilly and higher near its northern extremity. The highest elevation is 1,290 feet (393 m) above sea level along the New York state line south of Branch Hill in the Town of Sherman; the lowest point is sea level itself.

Adjacent Counties

Politics

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2004 47.3% 189,605 51.4% 205,902
2000 43.1% 159,659 52.3% 193,769
1996 41.4% 144,632 48.9% 172,337
1992 42.8% 175,158 39.1% 160,202
1988 59.0% 221,316 39.9% 149,630
1984 65.8% 257,319 33.8% 132,253
1980 54.9 201,997 33.7% 124,074
1976 58.1% 209,458 41.2% 148,353
1972 64.0% 233,188 34.3% 125,128
1968 51.8% 173,108 41.7% 139,364
1964 39.2% 125,576 60.8% 194,782
1960 53.4% 167,778 46.6% 146,442

Cities, towns, sections of towns and villages*

* Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

History

Klu Klux Klan in Fairfield County

Reorganized in Georgia in 1915, the Klu Klux Klan had a following among some in Connecticut. It preached a doctrine of Protestant control of America and wanted to keep down blacks, Jews and Catholics. The Klan enjoyed only a brief period of popularity in the state, but it had a peak of 15,000 members in 1925. The group was most active in New Haven, New Britain and Stamford, which all had large Catholic populations.[1]

During the 1924 election, Stamford was the location of one of the largest Klan meetings in the state. Grand Dragon Harry Lutterman of Darien organized the meeting, which thousands of members of the organization attended.[1]

The state Republican Party had refused an anti-Klan plank in their platform that year (Democrats, who relied on the Catholic vote, condemned the Klan), and the Stamford Republican Party used its Lincoln Republican Club as a front for all Klan activities in the area. The Stamford Advocate (as The Advocate of Stamford was then known) published an advertisement signed by local Democrats. The Klan published an advertisement in response, pointing out the immigrant names in the first advertisement.[1]

By 1926, the Klan leadership was divided, and it lost strength, although it continued to maintain small, local branches for years afterward in Stamford, Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich and Norwalk.[2]

The Klan has since disappeared in the county, which now has a population half Roman Catholic (according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport) and with a significant population of Jews, Blacks and Hispanics.

Transportation

Major roads and highways

Traffic is widely seen as one of the most significant problems in Fairfield County.

Boston Post Road

  • U.S. Route 1 a/k/a The Boston Post Road is the oldest east-west route in the county, running through all of its shoreline cities and towns. Since the route runs along the East Coast, for uniformity's sake, east is officially called "North" and west is officially "South." The confusion that results is very likely the reason why the eastern end of the county, around Bridgeport, is sometimes referred to as "northern Fairfield County."

Also potentially confusing are the numerous names that Route 1 takes as it goes from town to town. In Greenwich, for instance, it is (West or East) Putnam Avenue. In Darien it's called Boston Post Road or more familiarly, "The Post Road," and in Stamford it's West or East Main Street.

Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike -- Interstate 95

A six-lane highway through Fairfield County and beyond since it was completed in 1958, the route is now occasionally eight lanes and more than occasionally clogged with traffic, even beyond morning and late-afternoon rush hours.

With the cost of land so high along the Gold Coast, state lawmakers say they don't consider widening the highway to be fiscally feasible, although occasional stretches between entrances and nearby exits are now sometimes connected with a fourth "operational improvement" lane (for instance, westbound between the Exit 10 interchange in Darien and Exit 8 in Stamford). Expect similar added lanes in Darien and elsewhere in the Fairfield County portion of the highway in the future, lawmakers and state Department of Transportation officials say.

State officials are instead looking toward mass transit to ease the traffic burden on Interstate 95 and on the Merritt Parkway (Route 15). In the 2005 and 2006 sessions of the Legislature, massive appropriations were made to buy more rail cars for the Metro-North New Haven Line and branch lines. Ferry lines for some commuters in and out of Stamford are also in development.

New office buildings are being concentrated near railroad stations in Stamford, Bridgeport and other municipalities in the county to allow for more rail commuting. Location near a train station was a key reason cited by the Royal Bank of Scotland for locating a massive office building in downtown Stamford (construction was scheduled to start in the summer of 2006).

Merritt Parkway

"The Merritt" as it's popularly known, or Route 15, is a truck-free scenic parkway that runs through the county parallel and generally several miles north of Interstate 95. Like I-95, the route typically slows down during rush hours.

The interchange between the Merritt Parkway and Route 7 in Norwalk is still incomplete. State funds have been appropriated for the project, but it was held up in a lawsuit won by preservationists concerned about the historic Merritt Parkway bridges. The state Department of Transportation has gone back to the drawing board (literally) for a revised plan.

Interstate 84

Interstate 84, which runs through Danbury, is scheduled to be widened to a six-lane highway at all points between Danbury and Waterbury. State officials say they hope the widening will not only benefit drivers regularly on the route but also entice some cars from the more crowded Interstate 95, which is roughly parallel to it. Heavier trucks are unlikely to use Interstate 84 more often, however, because the route is much hillier than I-95 according to a state Department of Transportation official.

U.S. Route 7

With its southern terminus at Interstate 95 in central Norwalk, U.S. Route 7 heads north through Wilton, Ridgefield, and Danbury to points north. In Danbury and almost all of Norwalk, the route is a highway (called "Super 7"), but it becomes a four-lane road just south of the Wilton-Norwalk border and up to Danbury. There is significant opposition to making the route a highway in Wilton and Ridgefield.

Route 8

Route 8 terminates (or starts) in central Bridgeport and goes north through Trumbull and Shelton, then beyond the county through some of "The Valley" towns of the Naugatuck River Valley to Waterbury and beyond. Construction of the route provided some impetus for the creation of office parks in Shelton and home construction there and in other parts of The Valley.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 882,567 people, 324,232 households, and 228,259 families residing in the county. The population density was 545/km² (1,410/mi²). There were 339,466 housing units at an average density of 209/km² (542/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.31% White, 10.01% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.70% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. 11.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 324,232 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $65,249, and the median income for a family was $77,690. Males had a median income of $51,996 versus $37,108 for females. The per capita income for the county was $38,350. About 5.00% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.

References

  1. ^ a b c DiGiovanni, the Rev. (now Monsignior) Stephen M., The Catholic Church in Fairfield County: 1666-1961, 1987, William Mulvey Inc., New Canaan, Chapter II: The New Catholic Immigrants, 1880-1930; subchapter: "The True American: White, Protestant, Non-Alcoholic," pp. 81-82; DiGiovanni, in turn, cites (Footnote 209, page 258) Jackson, Kenneth T., The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915-1930 (New York, 1981), p. 239
  2. ^ DiGiovanni, the Rev. (now Monsignior) Stephen M., The Catholic Church in Fairfield County: 1666-1961, 1987, William Mulvey Inc., New Canaan, Chapter II: The New Catholic Immigrants, 1880-1930; subchapter: "The True American: White, Protestant, Non-Alcoholic," p. 82; DiGiovanni, in turn, cites (Footnote 210, page 258) Chalmers, David A., Hooded Americanism, The History of the Ku Klux Klan (New York, 1981), p. 268

External links

Major media in the county

Countywide

Daily newspapers covering the county

Spanish language newspapers

Broadcast media and cable television

Colleges

Hospitals

Culture and the arts

Music: Orchestras in the county

  • Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Founded in 1945, its concerts are held at Klien Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport. The orchestra offers a free outdoors pops concert in the summer at Fairfield University. Gustav Meier has been with the GBSO for 35 years.
  • Connecticut Grand Opera, a not-for-profit, professional opera company founded in 1993 and based in Stamford, where it performs at the Palace Theatre. On its web site, the CGO claims to offer "the most ambitious opera season of any company between New York and Boston."
  • Danbury Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra does not have its own Web site and only part of a web page at the Danbury Music Center web site is devoted to it.
  • Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. Begun in 1958 as the Greenwich Philharmonia, the orchestra has grown to 90 members who perform at the Dickerman Hollister Auditorium at Greenwich High School. It also performs a pops concert in the summer. David Gilbert has been music director and conductor since 1975.
  • Norwalk Symphony Orchestra. Its concerts take place in a graceful, large "Norwalk Concert Hall" auditorium of Norwalk City Hall. Founded in 1939, the NSO remained primarily a community orchestra of volunteers. In 1956, the Norwalk Youth Symphony was created, and younger musicians often were invited to be part of the orchestra. Diane Wittry has been music director and conductor since 2002. For the past eight years she has held the same title at the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Symphony.
  • Ridgefield Symphony OrchestraAnnually, the RSO presents four subscription concerts at the Anne S. Richardson Auditorium at Ridgefield High School, and two chamber music concerts at the Ridgefield Playhouse for the Performing Arts (only one is scheduled in the 2006-07 season), along with an annual "family concert" and performances in Ridgefield schools.
  • Stamford Symphony Orchestra The SSO typically gives five pairs of classical concerts and three pops concerts a season at the 1,586-seat Palace Theatre. It also performs a concet for elementary school students and a family concert series.

History and culture links

Historic sites

Tourism links

County business associations and institutions

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