Cornwall 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 o ...

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is th ...

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 (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census.

History

The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The town was incorporated in 1740, nearly four decades before the United States declared its independence. The town encompasses three distinct townships: Cornwall Bridge and West Cornwall, each bordered by the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

to the west, and Cornwall Village, located three miles east of the river. One significant natural feature is the vast amount of forested land, including hundreds of acres of

Mohawk State Forest Mohawk State Forest, also known as Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park, encompasses over in the towns of Cornwall, Goshen, and Litchfield in the southern Berkshires of Litchfield County, Connecticut. As overseen by the Connecticu ...

, resulting in Cornwall often being called “the “Greenest Town in Connecticut”. The proximity of its settlements to the Housatonic River offered an efficient means of transporting materials and goods, which helped stimulate Cornwall's early farming economy as well as assisting in the evolution of business and industry. During the 19th century and the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, the town maintained two furnaces, including a blast furnace, to support charcoal-making industries. Cornwall was home to the

Foreign Mission School The Foreign Mission School was an educational institution which operated between 1817 and 1826 in Cornwall, Connecticut. It was established by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The ABCFM was focused on sending missionaries ...

, dating to 1817, as well as the Cream Hill Agricultural School in 1845, whose property, still an active farmstead, was listed on 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 ...

in 1976. Cornwall has long been known as the “Home of the Covered Bridge,” which has spanned the Housatonic River since 1864. One of only three surviving covered bridges in Connecticut, the bridge is a popular tourist destination and among the most-photographed locations in the state. Modern-day Cornwall continues to reflect its rural farming character while being home to arts, culture, artisans and entrepreneurs. Its convenience to major metropolitan areas makes it attractive for year-round and second-home residents. In 1939 poet

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thi ...

wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", in which the seductive beauties of the countryside were portrayed: :''The mind, eager for caresses,'' :''Lies down at its own risk in Cornwall;'' Cornwall also makes a glancing appearance in

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

's late poem "Reality is an Activity of the Most August Imagination." Cornwall played a role in the establishment of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

in the

Hawaiian islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

after a native Hawaiian tragically died here of Typhus in 1818. This tragedy was instrumental in the

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

church's 1820 outreach to the ‘

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

’ at Kona, Hawaii.

Geography

Cornwall is in northwestern Litchfield County. It is bordered to the north by the town of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

, to the east by Goshen, to the south by Warren, to the southwest by

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and to the west, across the

, by Sharon. 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 th ...

, the town of Cornwall has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.55%, are water. The town contains a major portion of

Principal communities

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

(has its own ZIP Code for a specific P.O. box) *

Cornwall Bridge The Cornwall Bridge (also known as Bridge No. 560) is a two-lane, concrete arch bridge carrying U.S. Route 7/ Connecticut Route 4 over the Housatonic River and the Housatonic Railroad in northwestern Connecticut. It was built in 1930 b ...

(has its own post office) *Cornwall Hollow *East Cornwall * West Cornwall (has its own post office)

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,434 people, 615 households, and 389 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 873 housing units at an average density of 19.0 per square mile (7.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.49%

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 ...

, 0.21%

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 ...

, 0.70% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 1.39% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population. There were 615 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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

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 $42,484. About 1.0% of families and 3.0% 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 ...

, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over. 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.

Education

Cornwall is a member of Regional School District 01, which also includes the towns of Canaan, Kent, North Canaan,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, and Sharon. Public school students attend the Cornwall Consolidated School for grades K–8 and

Housatonic Valley Regional High School Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) is a public high school in Falls Village, Connecticut, United States. It was established in 1939 as a result of a special act of the Connecticut General Assembly in 1937. It is the first regional hig ...

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 nature conservatory and

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

– 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 * House VI ("the Frank residence") – an example of Deconstructivist architecture *

Mohawk Mountain Ski Area Mohawk Mountain is a ski area located in Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut. The ski area was built on the northwest slope of Mohawk Mountain by Walt Schoenknecht in 1947. It is a popular destination for both day and night skiers and sn ...

– a ski resort *

West Cornwall Covered Bridge The West Cornwall Covered Bridge (an earlier incarnation was known as the Hart Bridge) is a wooden covered lattice truss bridge carrying the Sharon-Goshen Turnpike over the Housatonic River in the town of Cornwall, Connecticut. Records indicate ...

– listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 The town was home to the

between 1817 and 1826.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The town is served by Connecticut Route 4, U.S. Route 7, and Connecticut Routes 43, 125 and

128 128 may refer to * 128 (number), a natural number * AD 128, a year in the 2nd century AD * 128 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 128 (New Jersey bus) See also * List of highways numbered * * 12/8 (disambiguation) {{numberdis ...

. Route 4 leads east to Torrington and west to Sharon, while Route 7 leads north to North Canaan and south 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 A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in West Cornwall, crossing the Housatonic River, is one of only three covered bridges in Litchfield County. It has a span of and has been in continuous service since 1864.

Notable people

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and fo ...

(1738–1789), Revolutionary War hero ( Green Mountain Boys) and co-founder of the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, 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 (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

Ira Allen Ira Allen (April 21, 1751 – January 7, 1814) was one of the founders of the U.S. state of Vermont and a leader of the Green Mountain Boys during the American colonial period. He was the younger brother of Ethan Allen. Biography Ira Allen w ...

(1751–1814), one of the founders of Vermont * Major Andre Andrews (1792–1834), mayor of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

* Norman Dorsen (1930–2017), Law Professor, former president American Civil Liberties Union *

Edward L. Ferman Edward Lewis Ferman (born March 6, 1937) is an American science fiction and fantasy editor and magazine publisher, known best as the editor of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (F&SF). Ferman is the son of Joseph W. Ferman, the publ ...

(born 1937), editor and publisher, most notably of ''

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'' * Theodore Sedgwick Gold (1818–1906), Connecticut state secretary of the board of agriculture * Ralph C. Harrison (1833–1918), attorney and

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly h ...

justice *

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

(born 1928), composer, ''The Fantasticks'' * Alexandra Paul (born 1963), actress; raised in Cornwall *

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

(born 1960), actor * Tim Prentice (born 1930), sculptor * Abraham A. Ribicoff (1910–1998), governor of Connecticut and U.S. senator * Roxana Barry Robinson (born 1946), novelist and biographer *

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a military officer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsuccessful assault against Co ...

(1813–1864), Union Army general killed by a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

at the

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 186 ...

Oscar Serlin Oscar Serlin (January 30, 1901 – February 27, 1971) was a Broadway producer, best known for producing ''Life with Father'', which opened in 1939 and became the longest running Broadway show of all time, at the time; it still holds the record ...

(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 James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...

(1894–1961), author ('' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty''), cartoonist and celebrated wit * Adam Van Doren, watercolorist and author *

Charles Van Doren Charles Lincoln Van Doren (February 12, 1926 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the corr ...

(1926–2019), historian, notable quiz show contestant, resident *

(1894–1972), poet and teacher *

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...

(born 1940), actor; lives in West Cornwall *

Josepha Newcomb Whitney Josepha Newcomb Whitney (September 27, 1871 – January 29, 1957) was an American clubwoman, pacifist, suffragist, and politician. Early life Anna Josepha Newcomb was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Nova Scotia-born astronomer Simon Ne ...

(1871–1957), suffragist, pacifist, elected to Connecticut legislature

References

External links

Official websiteCornwall Consolidated SchoolCornwall LibraryCornwall Historical Society''The Cornwall Chronicle''

Housatonic Valley Regional High School
in Falls Village

at City-Data.com {{authority control Towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area Towns in Connecticut