Litchfield is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in and former

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Litchfield County,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

s of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporated villages: East Litchfield, Milton, and Northfield. Northfield, located in the southeastern corner of Litchfield, is home to a high percentage of the Litchfield population.

History

Originally called Bantam township, Litchfield incorporated in 1719. The town derives its name from

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

, in England. In 1751 it became the county-seat of Litchfield county, and at the same time the borough of Litchfield (incorporated in 1879) was laid out. From 1776 to 1780 two depots for military stores and a workshop for the Continental army were maintained, and the leaden statue of George III., erected in

Bowling Green (New York City) Bowling Green is a small public park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the southern end of Broadway. Located next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam, it served as a public place before being de ...

, in 1770, and torn down by citizens on the 9th of July 1776, was cut up and taken to Litchfield, where, in the house of Oliver Wolcott it was melted into bullets for the American army by Wolcott's daughter and sister. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

several prominent Loyalists were held prisoner in the town, including William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, and David Mathews, Mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1784, the first law school in the United States, the so-named Litchfield Law School, was established by judge and legal scholar Tapping Reeve. Prior to its establishment Reeve had accepted several legal apprentices since he had settled there in 1773, but saw such demand for his expertise that he formally opened the one-room school within a decade. During the school's fifty year history it would accept more than 1,100 students, including Aaron Burr, Jr., Horace Mann, and Levi Woodbury, the first justice of the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

to attend law school. Litchfield was also home to a pioneering institution of young women's education, the Litchfield Female Academy, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce. Litchfield has a very rich history. The Litchfield Historical Society, located in the center of town, contains a wide variety of items with historical importance to the town.

Geography

Located southwest of Torrington, Litchfield also includes part of Bantam Lake. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of 56.8 square miles (147.1 km²), of which, 56.1 square miles (145.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (1.3%) is water. Litchfield is about from

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

in New York, about from the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Valley, and about from the nearest sea coast, on Long Island Sound.

Principal communities

* Bantam (borough) * East Litchfield (unincorporated village) * Litchfield (borough / town center) * Milton (unincorporated village) * Northfield (unincorporated village)

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 8,316 people, 3,310 households, and 2,303 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,629 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the town was 96.99% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population. There were 3,310 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $58,418, and the median income for a family was $70,594. Males had a median income of $50,284 versus $31,787 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $30,096. About 2.8% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

PostcardLitchfieldCTLitchfieldCountyJail1907

The 1812 Litchfield County Jail, the town's oldest public building, is in Litchfield. While controlled by the Connecticut state government, the facility historically held inmates convicted of minor offenses. Governor of Connecticut Lowell P. Weicker Jr. ordered the facility closed for financial reasons in 1993. It was converted into the McAuliffe Manor, a substance abuse treatment center for women operated by Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc., but in 2009 the contract between Naugatuck Valley HELP Inc. and the state expired, leading to the closure of McAuliffe Manor.

Transportation

U.S. Route 202 is the main east-west road connecting Bantam and Litchfield center to the city of Torrington and New Milford, Connecticut. Route 63 runs north-south through the town center. The Route 8 expressway runs along the town line with Harwinton. It can be accessed from the town center via Route 118. The town is also served by buses from the Northwestern Connecticut Transit District connecting to the city of Torrington. The Shepaug Valley Railroad opened a Litchfield terminal in 1872, but passenger service ended in 1930 and freight service in 1948.

Education

Litchfield Public Schools operates public schools. Litchfield High School is the area high school. Students may also attend Wamogo Regional Six to study agriculture, located in Litchfield, or Oliver Wolcott Technical School, located in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...

. Litchfield Center School hosts children in grades K–3 with a Pre-K program available. Students then move on to Litchfield Intermediate School where they will remain through sixth grade. Students then finish their Litchfield Public School career at Litchfield High School. Litchfield is also home to Forman School, a private boarding school for students in grades 9–12/PG with learning differences such as ADD/ ADHD and dyslexia.

Notable people

* Andrew Adams, political leader during and after the Revolutionary War * Josephine Cables Aldrich (1843–1917), spiritualist, Theosophist, editor, and publisher * Ethan Allen, one of the founders of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

* Catharine Beecher, educator *

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

, Congregationalist clergyman *

Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella B ...

, Presbyterian minister * Mary Charlotte Ward Granniss Webster Billings, writer, evangelist, and missionary * * Solyman Brown, creator of the first dental school * Adelaide Deming, painter * Dick Ebersol, television executive * Caroline Fitzgerald (1865–1911), poet * Eugene Fodor, travel writer * Jerome Fuller, chief justice of Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court, 1851–1852 *

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir, '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also ma ...

, author of ''Eat, Pray, Love'' *

Jane Grant Jane Grant (May 29, 1892 – March 16, 1972) was a New York City journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' with her first husband, Harold Ross. Life and career Jane Grant was born Jeanette Cole Grant in Joplin, Missouri, and grew up and w ...

, writer * F. Norton Goddard, Republican politician * Benjamin Hanks (1755–1824), goldsmith, instrument maker, and first maker of bronze cannons and church bells in America * Uriel Holmes, US congressman * Isabella Beecher Hooker, women's suffrage activist *

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and ...

, actress * Daniel Albion "Jumping Jack" Jones (1860–1936), professional baseball pitcher * Madeleine L'Engle, author * Thomas McKnight, painter * Charles B. McVay III, US naval officer * Phineas Miner, US congressman * Joseph Robert Morris, entrepreneur, investor, mayor of Houston, Texas; born and raised in Milton * Samuel S. Phelps, US senator from Vermont * Sarah Pierce, teacher, educator and founder of the Litchfield Female Academy * John Pierpoint, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court * Robert Pierpoint,

Lieutenant Governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

* Austin M. Purves Jr., 20th century artist and educator * Tapping Reeve, lawyer, judge, and law educator * Mary Livingston Ripley, horticulturist, entomologist, and photographer * Richard Skinner,

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

* Roger Skinner, judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (in case citations, N.D.N.Y.) serves one of the 94 judicial districts in the United States and one of four in the state of New York. Appeals from the Northern District of Ne ...

* Charles Smith (cowboy), Arizona lawman and friend of Wyatt Earp * Elihu Hubbard Smith, physician and man of letters, one of the Hartford Wits * Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and author *

Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leade ...

, American military officer during the Revolutionary War * Frederick A. Tallmadge, lawyer and New York politician * Frank Livingston Underwood (1844–1918), banker, copper magnate, railroad founder * Emily Noyes Vanderpoel (1842–1939), painter, writer, philanthropist * Louis Fenn Wadsworth (1825–1908), early baseball pioneer * Paul Winter, saxophonist * Oliver Wolcott Sr., signer of the

U.S. Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House (l ...

* Oliver Wolcott Jr., US Secretary of the Treasury, 24th governor of Connecticut

On the National Register of Historic Places

* Capt. William Bull Tavern – CT 202 (added July 30, 1983) * Henry B. Bissell House – 202 Maple St. (added October 7, 1990) * J. Howard Catlin House – 14 Knife Shop Rd. (added September 6, 1993) (Since demolished) * Litchfield Historic District – Roughly both sides of North and South Sts. between Gallows Lane and Prospect St. (added December 24, 1968) * Milton Center Historic District (added March 14, 1978) * Humaston Brook State Park (added May 8, 1997) * Oliver Wolcott House – South St. (added December 11, 1971) * Rye House – 122–132 Old Mount Tom Rd. (added September 10, 2000) * Tapping Reeve House and Law School – South St. (added November 15, 1966) * Topsmead – 25 and 46 Chase Rd. (added December 19, 1993)

References

External links

Official town websiteLitchfield Historical Society
at City-Data.com
ePodunk Profile for Litchfield, Connecticut

{{authority control Towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area Towns in Connecticut