Wethersfield is a town located in

Hartford County, Connecticut Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...

. It is located immediately south of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the name "Weathersfield" and "Wythersfield," while Native Americans called it ''Pyquag''. "Watertown" is a variant name. The neighborhood known as

Old Wethersfield Old Wethersfield, also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District, and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag, is a section of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of Hartford and town of R ...

is the state's largest historic district, spanning and containing 1,100 buildings, dating to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The town is primarily served by Interstate 91.

History

Founded in 1634 by a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

settlement party of "10 Men," including John Oldham, Robert Seeley,

Thomas Topping The Hempstead Convention was a ten-day assembly where 34 delegates met starting on February 28, 1665, "to settle good and known laws" according to a letter by newly appointed Governor Richard Nicolls, the first English colonial governor of the Provi ...

, and Nathaniel Foote, Wethersfield is arguably the oldest town in Connecticut, depending on the interpretation of when a remote settlement qualifies as a "town". Along with

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and

, Wethersfield is represented by one of the three grapevines on the

Flag of Connecticut The flag of the state of Connecticut is a white baroque shield with three grapevines, each bearing three bunches of purple grapes on a field of royal blue. The banner below the shield reads " Qui Transtulit Sustinet", Latin for "He who transpl ...

, signifying the state's three oldest English settlements. The town was named by colonists for Wethersfield, a village in the English county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. The town was previously called "Watertown," named after

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

, until February 21, 1637, when it was incorporated as a town along with Windsor and Hartford. The town established the Old Wethersfield Village Cemetery as its first burying ground on Hungry Hill in 1638. During the Pequot War, on April 23, 1637,

Wangunk The Wangunk or Wongunk were an Indigenous people from central Connecticut. They had three major settlements in the areas of the present-day towns of Portland, Middletown, and Wethersfield. They also used lands in other parts of what were later or ...

Chief Sequin, who had lived with the colonists in Wethersfield but had been forced out after a few years, attacked Wethersfield with

Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or t ...

help. They killed six men and three women, a number of cattle and horses, and took two young girls captive. They were daughters of Abraham Swain or William Swaine (sources vary), and were later ransomed by Dutch traders. Four

witch trial A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

s and three executions for

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

occurred in the town in the 17th century. Mary Johnson was convicted of witchcraft and executed in 1648, Joan and John Carrington in 1651. In 1669, landowner Katherine Harrison was convicted, and although her conviction was reversed, she was banished and her property seized by her neighbors. From 1716 to 1718, the Collegiate School was briefly located in Wethersfield; it moved to New Haven and developed over the decades as

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Elm Tree in Wethersfield, Connecticut (1917)

Silas Deane Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the ...

, envoy to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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 ...

, lived in the town. His house is now preserved and operated as part of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum. In May 1781, at the Webb House on Main Street, General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and French Lt. Gen. Rochambeau planned the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

, which culminated in the surrender of Britain and independence of the colonies. The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department was chartered by the Connecticut Legislature on May 12, 1803, making it the first formally chartered fire department in the state. It is one of the oldest chartered volunteer fire department in continuous existence in the United States. Wethersfield was "for a century at least, the centre of the

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

trade in New England", during the late 1700s and early to middle 1800s. "Outsiders dubbed the Connecticut village 'Oniontown,' with a crosshatch of affection and derision, for this was home of the world-famous Wethersfield

red onion Red onions (also known as purple or blue onions in some mainland European countries, though not the UK) are cultivars of the onion ('' Allium cepa''), and have purplish-red skin and white flesh tinged with red. They are most commonly used in c ...

.""Wethersfield, CT, and Onions"
'' Yankee Magazine,'' August 1993 In addition, the town was home to William G. Comstock, a well-known 19th-century gardening expert and author of the era's most prominent gardening book, '' Order of Spring Work''. In 1820, Comstock founded what would become Comstock, Ferre & Company, America's oldest continuously operating seed company. It pioneered the commercial sale of sealed packets of seeds, as he had learned from the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

. Other nationally prominent seed companies in and around the town developed from this agricultural past. A meteorite fell on Wethersfield on November 8, 1982. It was the second meteorite to fall in the town in the span of 11 years. It crashed through the roof of a house without injuring the occupants, as had been the case with the first meteorite as well. The 1971 meteorite was sold to the Smithsonian, and the 1982 meteorite was taken up as part of a collection at the Yale Peabody Museum.

Demographics

As of the 2000

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 ...

, there were 26,268 people, 11,214 households, and 7,412 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,119.9 people per square mile (818.7/km). There were 11,454 housing units at an average density of 924.3 per square mile (356.9/km). The racial makeup of the town was 93.19%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 2.09%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.08% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.82% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.22% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 4.19% of the population. There were 11,214 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89. The town population was distributed with 20.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,289, and the median income for a family was $68,154. (These figures had risen to $66,044 and $86,432 respectively as of a 2007 estimate.) Males had a median income of $43,998 versus $37,443 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 $28,930. About 2.4% of families and 4.4% 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 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

Top employers in Wethersfield according to the town's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report The Connecticut Department of Correction and the

Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is a state agency of Connecticut (in the 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 locate ...

have their headquarters in Wethersfield. Due to its proximity to the state capital at Hartford, Wethersfield is the site of several State of Connecticut agencies: *The Department of Motor Vehicles office and testing location at 60 State Street. *The Department of Labor is headquartered at 200 Folly Brook Boulevard. *The Department of Correction is headquartered at 24 Wolcott Hill Road. *The Superior Court Operations Unit is located at 225 Spring Street. *The Court Support Services Division is located at 936 Silas Deane Highway. The Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce has over 150 member institutions and hosts community events throughout the year.

Arts and culture

Landmarks and historic district

Three buildings in Wethersfield are designated as historic landmarks by the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

: * Buttolph-Williams House – 249 Broad St. (added December 24, 1968) * Joseph Webb House – 211 Main St. (added November 15, 1966) * Silas Deane House – 203 Main St. (added November 6, 1970) In 1970,

, the district bounded by Hartford, the railroad tracks, I-91 and Rocky Hill, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is the largest historic district in Connecticut, with two square miles containing 1,100 buildings, many dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

Other points of interest

* Old Wethersfield Village Cemetery * Broad Street Green * Roger Butler House * Captain James Francis House * Great Meadows * Heritage Way – a "linear park" and multi-use path that connects Wethersfield's open areas and recreation facilities * Hurlbut-Dunham House * Keeney Memorial Culture Center – home of the Wethersfield Museum and Visitor Center * Millwoods Park/Pond * Wethersfield Cove * Wethersfield Historical Society * Wethersfield Skate Park * John Chester Willard Pool * Wintergreen Woods – forest with vernal pools and walking trails *

Wethersfield High School (Connecticut) Wethersfield High School is a high school in Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. Awards *Wethersfield High School was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 1996. *The Wethersfield High School Design Engineering Team placed first n ...

* Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center * 9/11 Memorial Sports Center

Music

The historic First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, is the home of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival USA,. The Wethersfield Historical Society sponsors free outdoor concerts throughout the summer.

Community events

Sports

Running

The Old Wethersfield 5K & 10K is an annual road race that takes place in the Old Wethersfield section of town. Both races begin and end at Cove Park on Hartford Avenue. The event is put on by the Hartford Marathon Foundation and typically takes place at the end of August. The 2017 edition of the 10K is the state championship race for the USATF Connecticut Grand Prix Series as well as the final event of the HMF 10K Challenge Series.

Education

The Wethersfield public school system encompasses Wethersfield High School, Silas Deane Middle School, and five elementary schools: Highcrest School, Charles Wright School, Emerson-Williams School, Alfred W. Hanmer School, and Samuel B. Webb School. In addition to traditional public schools, Wethersfield also offers parochial and magnet school choices. The CREC Discovery Academy is a Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade magnet school designed with a focus on STEM education. The Corpus Christi School is a Catholic school of approximately 400 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. It was one of only fifty private schools named as a 2012

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

by the U.S. Secretary of Education, in the category of "Exemplary High Performing."

Government

Federal

State

Municipal

Infrastructure and services

Transportation

Bus

Greater Hartford Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater B ...

's major system of public transportation is currently

Connecticut Transit CTtransit (styled as CT ''transit'') is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CTtransit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different ...

(CT Transit), a Connecticut Department of Transportation-owned bus service operating routes throughout the

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, Stamford, Hartford and other metro areas. Wethersfield is served by route numbers 43, 47, 53, 55, 61, and 91.

Roads

Major roads include: *Main Street in

* Connecticut Route 287 (Prospect st.) *

Connecticut Route 175 Route 175 is a state highway in central Connecticut, running from New Britain to Wethersfield. Route description Route 175 begins at an intersection with Route 71 in New Britain. It heads east and north along the perimeter of Central Connecti ...

(Wells Road) * Connecticut Route 99 (Silas Deane Highway) * Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 ( Berlin Turnpike and

Wilbur Cross Highway The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for a highway beginning at Wethersfield, running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 to East Hartford, Connecticut, and then continuing northeast as a section of Interstate ...

) * Connecticut Route 3 (Maple Street and Putnam Bridge) *

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...

(Exits 25–26)

Rail

Hartford station is the nearest rail station. Wethersfield was once connected to Hartford by streetcar and by passenger service on the Valley Railroad. Its tracks still provide a route for sporadic freight trains between Hartford and

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...

Police

The Wethersfield Police Department is headquartered at 250 Silas Deane highway. In addition to normal police service, the department maintains a Marine Patrol Unit, a Special Response Dive Team, a Special Response Tactics Team, a DARE youth drug awareness program, and a Police Explorer program.

Fire services

The town has three volunteer fire stations. The year 2003 marked the formal 200th Anniversary of the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department. Wethersfield has the oldest volunteer fire company in Connecticut, and in New England.

Postal services

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Wethersfield Post Office at 67 Beaver Rd. The Town zip code is 06109. The Wethersfield Post Office is a fully trained

United States Passport United States passports are passports issued to citizens and nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides passports (in booklet form), limited-use passport cards are issue ...

acceptance facility.

Notable people

* Charles McLean Andrews (1863–1943), historian * William Watson Andrews (1810–1897), clergyman * Steven Anzovin (1954–2005), American non-fiction author *

Dick Bertel Richard Bertelmann, professionally known as Dick Bertel, is a retired American radio and television personality and broadcasting executive who is best known for his work locally in Hartford, Connecticut, nationally on the NBC and Mutual Broadcast ...

(born 1931), American media personality and broadcast executive *

Elizabeth Canning Elizabeth Canning (married name Treat; 17 September 1734 – June 1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month. She ultimately became central to one of the most fa ...

(1734–1773), English maid notoriously exiled for perjury * Kenneth F. Cramer (1894–1954), U.S. Army Major General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau *

James Curtiss James Curtiss (also Curtis; March 29, 1806 – November 2, 1859) was an American politician who twice served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1847–1848 and 1850–1851) for the Democratic Party. Early life Born on April 7, 1806 in Wethers ...

(1803–1859), Mayor of Chicago *

(1737–1789), first American diplomat *

John Deming John Deming (21 November 1705) was an early Puritan settler and original patentee of the Connecticut ColonyDeming, pp. 3–8 Biography Life Deming was born in Shalford, Essex, England. He arrived in New England during the Great Migration with ...

(–1705), a founder of Wethersfield and an original patentee of Connecticut Colony *

Tony DiCicco Anthony D. DiCicco Jr. (August 5, 1948 – June 19, 2017) was an American soccer player and coach and TV commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994 to 1999, during which time the team wo ...

(1948–2017), coach, United States women's national soccer team * Bruce Edwards (1954–2004), Tom Watson's caddy of almost 30 years * Nathaniel FooteNathaniel Foote
New England Families. Retrieved December 22, 2013. (1592–1644), an original settler *

Thomas Ian Griffith Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film ''The Karate Kid Part III'', a role he reprised in the fourth and fifth seasons of the television ...

(born 1962), actor *

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending in a split at the ...

(born 1942), fashion designer *

Mark Linn-Baker Mark Linn-Baker (born June 17, 1954) is an American actor and director who played Benjy Stone in the film ''My Favorite Year'' and Larry Appleton in the television sitcom '' Perfect Strangers''. Early life and education Mark Linn-Baker was bo ...

(born 1954), actor and director * Colin McDonald (ice hockey), Colin McDonald (born 1984), professional hockey player * John Mehegan (1916–1984), jazz pianist * William J. Miller (1899–1950), Congressman from Connecticut * Stephen Mix Mitchell (1743–1835), United States Senator and Connecticut Chief Justice * Chris Murphy (Connecticut politician), Chris Murphy (born 1973), United States Senator * Tyler Murphy (American football), Tyler Murphy, Former quarterback for the University of Florida Gators; starting quarterback for the Boston College Eagles * John Oldham (1592–1636), an original settler * John Pinone (born 1961), basketball player and coach * Annabella Sciorra (born 1960), actress * Elizabeth Scott (hymnwriter), Elizabeth Scott (1708–1776), poet, hymnwriter * Robert Seeley (1602–1668), an original settler * Christopher Shinn (born 1975), playwright * Karen Smyers (born 1961), world champion triathlete * David Spicer (organist), David Spicer (1946–2017), organist and choirmaster * Charles Stillman (1810–1875), founder of Brownsville, Texas * Richard Treat (or Trott) (1584–1669), an original settler of Wethersfield and a Patentee of the Royal Charter of Connecticut * Tom Tryon (1926–1991), actor and novelist * Sophie Tucker (1887–1966), comedian and singer, interred in Emanuel Cemetery * Levi Warner (1831–1911), Congressman from Connecticut * Elmer Watson (1831–1911), Connecticut State Senate majority leader * Thomas Welles (1590–1660), Governor of Connecticut Colony * Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1941), linguist * Elisha Williams (1694–1755), minister, legislator and judge * Benjamin Wright (1770–1842), chief engineer of the Erie Canal * Charles Wright (botanist), Charles Wright (1811–1885), botanical explorer and collector * Emily Wright (born 1980), songwriter, producer and engineer * Dana Terrace (born 1991) cartoonist, animator, writer, director, producer, and voice actress

In popular culture

Wethersfield was the setting for the children's novel ''The Witch of Blackbird Pond'' by Elizabeth George Speare, as well as the setting of the one-act play ''The Valiant (play), The Valiant'' by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemas. https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/the-witch-of-blackbird-pond/ Actor-turned-author Tom Tryon, Thomas Tryon used his native Wethersfield as the setting for his action/romance novels ''The Wings of the Morning'' and ''In the Fire of Spring'', as well as a mystery/horror novel ''The Other (Tryon novel), The Other'' and a The Other (1972 film), film of the same name. The short film ''Disneyland Dream'' features the Barstow family from Wethersfield, including footage of their neighborhood. In the biography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley Malcolm X recounts a car accident in which he is rear ended at a stop light while traveling through Wethersfield. The novel ''Parrot and Olivier in America'' by two-time Booker Prize-winning Australian author Peter Carey (novelist), Peter Carey was largely set in the town of Wethersfield. The novel touches on some hallmarks of its history including the predominance of onion farming and the old state prison.

References

External links

*
Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Wethersfield, Connecticut, Towns in Hartford County, Connecticut American witchcraft New England Puritanism Populated places established in 1634 Connecticut populated places on the Connecticut River 1634 establishments in Connecticut Towns in Connecticut Greater Hartford Yale University