Griswold 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 ...

New London County, Connecticut New London County is in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut Combined Statistical Area. There i ...

, United States. The population was 11,402 at the 2020 census. Griswold contains the borough of

Jewett City Jewett City is a borough in New London County, Connecticut, in the town of Griswold. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census. The borough was named for Eliezer Jewett, who founded a settlement there in 1771. Geography According to the U ...

and the villages of Doaneville, Kaalmanville, Rixtown, Glasgo, Hopeville, Nathanieltown, and Pachaug.

History

Long a fishing ground for the

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the east ...

people, the waterways attracted settlers who established ironworks, saw and corn mills, and other businesses. The town of Griswold was originally the northern part of the town of

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

. The North Society was established in 1716 at the request of residents who had been travelling to Preston to attend church. In the late 1700s, Eliezer Jewett opened several mills and an irrigation plant. His success led the area to be called Jewett City.Connecticut History: Griswold
accessed 5 Nov 2017. The town of Griswold incorporated in 1815, naming itself after Governor Roger Griswold. In 1895, Jewett City incorporated as a borough of the town. Griswold contains

Hopeville Pond State Park Hopeville Pond State Park is a public recreation area located on Hopeville Pond, an impoundment of the Pachaug River, in the town of Griswold, Connecticut. A portion of the state park occupies the site of the lost village of Hopeville. Th ...

, former site of a woolen mill.

Geography

The Pachaug and Quinebaug rivers flow through the town of Griswold, which is located at the northeastern edge of New London County. 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 has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.37%, is water.

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 2010, there were 11,951 people, 4,646 households, and 3,225 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 5,118 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.6%

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 ...

, 1.8%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.6% some other race, and 2.8% 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 people of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 4,646 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were headed by

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, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the town was $40,156, and the median income for a family was $48,852. Males had a median income of $57,869 versus $17,441 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 $21,196. About 6.1% of families and 9.2% 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 6.1% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable locations

* Ashland Mill Bridge, a bridge over the

Pachaug River The Pachaug River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river arising from the Pachaug State Forest at the Connecticut - Rhode Island border and draining int ...

built in 1886 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999 *

Avery House Avery House may refer to: *Avery House, a dormitory within the House System at the California Institute of Technology * Avery House (Fort Collins, Colorado), a National Register of Historic Places listing in Larimer County, Colorado *Avery House (G ...

, built in 1770, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 * Edward Cogswell House, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 * Kinne Cemetery, on Jarvis Road, in use since 1713 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 * Timothy Lester Farmstead, built in 1741 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 * Slater Library and Fanning Annex, 26 Main Street in Jewett City, built in 1884 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002

Notable people

Clifford Chapin Clifford Samuel Chapin IV (born January 29, 1988) is an American voice actor and director at Funimation and Bang Zoom! Entertainment. Career Chapin is known for his roles in anime and video games, such as Ichijo Takayanagi from '' Red Data G ...

(born 1988), voice actor affiliated with

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

; born in Griswold *

John Cantius Garand Jean Cantius Garand (; January 1, 1888 – February 16, 1974), also known as John C. Garand, was a Québec-born American designer of firearms who created the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle that was widely used by the U.S. Army and U.S. M ...

(1888–1974), Canadian-American designer of firearms best known for creating the first successful

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt ...

to be widely used in active military service, the M1 Garand; namesake of the Interstate 395 bridge that crosses the

Quinebaug River The Quinebaug River is a river in south-central Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut, with watershed extending into western Rhode Island. The name "Quinebaug" comes from the southern New England Native American term, spelled variously , , etc ...

on the Griswold/Lisbon town line *

Moses Coit Tyler Moses Coit Tyler (August 2, 1835 – December 28, 1900) was an American author and professor of American history. Biography He was born Moses Tyler in Griswold, Connecticut. At an early age he removed with his parents to Detroit, Michigan. He ...

(1835–1900), author; born in Griswold

References

External links

Town of Griswold official website
{{authority control Towns in New London County, Connecticut Towns in Connecticut 1815 establishments in the United States