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Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 43,026 at the 2000 census.
History
Wallingford was established on October 10, 1667, when the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the "making of a village on the east river" to 38 planters and freemen. On May 12, 1670, Wallingford was incorporated and about 126 people settled in the town. Six acre lots were set out and by the year 1675, 40 houses stretched along today's Main Street. In 1775 and again in 1789, George Washington passed through Wallingford.
In the 1800s, Wallingford was known for its pewterware and silver industries, which were later merged into the International Silver Company with its headquarters in Meriden, Connecticut.
In October, 1871, Wallingford's train station was completed for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Noted for its mansard roof, ornamental brackets and stone quoins — the interlocking exterior corners — the station is among the few remaining of its kind that were built during President Grant's administration at the height of railway expansion. The town undertook an overhaul to the roof and exterior with the help of state and federal grants in the early 1990s.
Wallingford was the birthplace of Moses Yale Beach (1800–1868), singer Morton Downey, conservative talk show host Morton Downey, Jr., and Georgia governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence Lyman Hall. It was also the childhood home of World War I flying ace Raoul Lufbery. The town produces its own electricity and maintains an electric company with rates well below the state's average.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 103.3 km² (39.9 mi²). 101.1 km² (39.0 mi²) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (2.16%) is water.
The Town of Wallingford includes the villages of East Wallingford, Quinnipiac, Tracy, Wallingford Center, and Yalesville.
Education
Wallingford is home to the Choate Rosemary Hall school (which graduated John F. Kennedy, John Dos Passos, Glenn Close, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Douglas, Bill Simmons, and Adlai Stevenson)
Public High Schools
Lyman Hall
Mark T. Sheehan
Public Middle Schools
Dag Hammarskjold (also named New England Spotlight School)
James H. Moran
Public Elementary Schools
Rock Hill
Pond Hill
Moses Y Beach
Cook Hill
Parker Farms
Yalesville
Evart C. Stevens
Highland
Pariochial Schools
Holy Trinity
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 43,026 people, 16,697 households, and 11,587 families residing in the town. The population density was 425.7/km² (1,102.7/mi²). There were 17,306 housing units at an average density of 171.2/km² (443.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.77% White, 1.02% African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.52% of the population.
There were 16,697 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,308, and the median income for a family was $68,327. Males had a median income of $47,017 versus $34,074 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,947. About 2.4% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest
- Center Street Cemetery
- Choate Rosemary Hall
- John Barker House
- Nehemiah Royce House
- Oakdale Theater
- Octagon House
- Old Gungywamp
- Paul Mellon Arts Center
- Reverend Samuel Street Home
- Samuel Parsons House
- Wharton Arms Apartment Complex
- Yalesville Underpass
External links
"Wallingford, Connecticut"