Cornwall, Connecticut
Cornwall | ||
---|---|---|
Town of Cornwall | ||
FIPS code 09-17240 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0213412 | |
Website | www |
Cornwall is a
History
The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of
In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", in which the seductive beauties of the countryside were portrayed:[3]
- The mind, eager for caresses,
- Lies down at its own risk in Cornwall;
Cornwall also makes a glancing appearance in Wallace Stevens's late poem "Reality is an Activity of the Most August Imagination."
Cornwall played a role in the establishment of
Geography
Cornwall is in northwestern Litchfield County. It is bordered to the north by the town of Canaan, to the east by Goshen, to the south by Warren, to the southwest by Kent, and to the west, across the Housatonic River, by Sharon. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Cornwall has a total area of 46.3 square miles (120.0 km2), of which 46.1 square miles (119.3 km2) are land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km2), or 0.55%, are water.[5] The town contains a major portion of Mohawk State Forest.
Principal communities
- Cornwall (has its own ZIP Code for a specific P.O. box)
- Cornwall Bridge (has its own post office)
- Cornwall Hollow
- East Cornwall
- West Cornwall (has its own post office)
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1820 | 1,661 | — | |
1850 | 2,041 | — | |
1860 | 1,953 | −4.3% | |
1870 | 1,772 | −9.3% | |
1880 | 1,583 | −10.7% | |
1890 | 1,283 | −19.0% | |
1900 | 1,175 | −8.4% | |
1910 | 1,016 | −13.5% | |
1920 | 834 | −17.9% | |
1930 | 878 | 5.3% | |
1940 | 907 | 3.3% | |
1950 | 896 | −1.2% | |
1960 | 1,051 | 17.3% | |
1970 | 1,177 | 12.0% | |
1980 | 1,288 | 9.4% | |
1990 | 1,414 | 9.8% | |
2000 | 1,434 | 1.4% | |
2010 | 1,420 | −1.0% | |
2020 | 1,567 | 10.4% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[6] |
As of the
There were 615 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $54,886, and the median income for a family was $64,750. Males had a median income of $46,875 versus $30,536 for females. The
Some of the main features of Cornwall include the Cream Hill Lake, the Covered Bridge, Mohawk Ski Mountain and the town which contains a library and tennis courts.
Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 25, 2005[8] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Active voters | Inactive voters | Total voters | Percentage | |
Democratic | 330 | 6 | 336 | 31.97% | |
Republican | 246 | 4 | 250 | 23.79% | |
Unaffiliated | 447 | 8 | 455 | 43.29% | |
Minor Parties
|
10 | 0 | 10 | 0.95% | |
Total | 1,033 | 18 | 1,051 | 100% |
Presidential Election Results[9][10] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties
|
2020 | 73.6% 760 | 24.2% 250 | 2.2% 22 |
2016 | 67.4% 622 | 26.9% 248 | 5.7% 53 |
2012 | 71.2% 629 | 28.3% 250 | 0.5% 4 |
2008 | 76.0% 732 | 22.6% 218 | 1.4% 13 |
2004 | 66.2% 625 | 31.4% 296 | 2.4% 23 |
2000 | 54.2% 455 | 32.9% 277 | 12.9% 108 |
1996 | 49.2% 408 | 32.4% 269 | 18.4% 153 |
1992 | 53.2% 473 | 28.7% 255 | 18.1% 161 |
1988 | 53.2% 448 | 45.6% 384 | 1.2% 10 |
1984 | 44.5% 347 | 55.0% 429 | 0.5% 4 |
1980 | 34.6% 268 | 43.5% 337 | 21.9% 169 |
1976 | 37.8% 284 | 61.4% 461 | 0.8% 6 |
1972 | 36.6% 281 | 62.6% 481 | 0.8% 6 |
1968 | 38.2% 246 | 58.5% 377 | 3.3% 21 |
1964 | 63.8% 407 | 36.2% 231 | 0.00% 0 |
1960 | 31.1% 209 | 68.9% 463 | 0.00% 0 |
1956 | 21.2% 133 | 78.8% 493 | 0.00% 0 |
Education
Cornwall is a member of Regional School District 01, which also includes the towns of Canaan, Kent, North Canaan, Salisbury, and Sharon. Public school students attend the Cornwall Consolidated School for grades K–8 and Housatonic Valley Regional High School for grades 9–12.
Arts and culture
The Cornwall Library, organized in 1869, constructed a new building in 2002 that houses a collection of over 28,000 items. It sponsors art shows, lectures, a Books & Bloom sale and tour, along with many other events.
The Cornwall Chronicle is a non-profit monthly newspaper that publishes news and feature stories about Cornwall, a calendar of events, and drawings by local artists. It was started in 1991 and has not missed an issue since.
The Rose Algrant Show is an exhibit of works in all media by artists from Cornwall, Connecticut over the age of 18. It has been held annually since 1959 (2020 was online).
Museums and other points of interest
- Cathedral Pines – a 42-acre (17 ha) nature conservatory and old-growth forest
- Cornwall Bridge – concrete arch bridge built in 1930 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004
- Cornwall Bridge Railroad Station– added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972
- Cornwall Historical Society – located in a converted carriage barn, features annual exhibits on Cornwall's history
- Deconstructivistarchitecture
- Mohawk Mountain Ski Area – a ski resort
- West Cornwall Covered Bridge – listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975
The town was home to the Foreign Mission School between 1817 and 1826.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The town is served by Connecticut Route 4, U.S. Route 7, and Connecticut Routes 43, 125 and 128. Route 4 leads east 13 miles (21 km) to Torrington and west 11 miles (18 km) to Sharon, while Route 7 leads north 14 miles (23 km) to North Canaan and south 25 miles (40 km) to New Milford. Routes 43, 125 and 128 are entirely within the town of Cornwall, Route 43 running from North Corners near Cornwall village to Cornwall Hollow, Route 128 running from North Corners to West Cornwall, and Route 125 running from Cornwall Village north to Route 128.
The covered bridge in West Cornwall, crossing the Housatonic River, is one of only three covered bridges in Litchfield County. It has a span of 242 feet (74 m) and has been in continuous service since 1864.
Notable people
- Ethan Allen (1738–1789), Revolutionary War hero (Green Mountain Boys) and co-founder of the state of Vermont
- Ira Allen (1751–1814), one of the founders of Vermont[11]
- Major Andre Andrews (1792–1834), mayor of Buffalo, New York
- Norman Dorsen (1930–2017), Law Professor, former president American Civil Liberties Union
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- Theodore Sedgwick Gold (1818–1906), Connecticut state secretary of the board of agriculture
- Ralph C. Harrison (1833–1918), attorney and Supreme Court of California justice
- Tom Jones(born 1928), composer, The Fantasticks
- Alexandra Paul (born 1963), actress; raised in Cornwall
- Oliver Platt (born 1960), actor
- Tim Prentice (born 1930), sculptor
- Abraham A. Ribicoff(1910–1998), governor of Connecticut and U.S. senator
- Roxana Robinson (born 1946), novelist and biographer
- John Sedgwick (1813–1864), Union Army general killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House[12]
- Oscar Serlin (1901–1971), Broadway producer, Life with Father
- Marc Simont (1915–2013), artist, political cartoonist and illustrator of children's books
- Richard Schlesinger, veteran CBS News correspondent
- James Thurber (1894–1961), author ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"), cartoonist and celebrated wit
- Charles Van Doren (1926–2019), historian, notable quiz show contestant, resident
- Mark Van Doren (1894–1972), poet and teacher
- Sam Waterston (born 1940), actor; lives in West Cornwall
- Josepha Newcomb Whitney (1871–1957), suffragist, pacifist, elected to Connecticut legislature
References
- ^ "Cornwall, Connecticut". City-Data.com. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Cornwall town, Litchfield County, Connecticut". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ Academy of American Poets, "The Hills of Little Cornwall", accessed October 7, 2019
- ^ "Front Page".
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001), Cornwall town, Litchfield County, Connecticut". American FactFinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2006. Retrieved October 2, 2006.
- ^ "General Election Statements of Vote, 1922 – Current". CT Secretary of State. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Election Night Reporting". CT Secretary of State. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
- ^ "John Sedgwick". Who’s Who In The Civil war. Retrieved September 19, 2012.