Norfolk () 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 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 population was 1,588 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Norfolk census-designated place, with a population of 553 at the 2010 census. Norfolk is perhaps best known as the site of the Yale Summer School of Music— Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, which hosts an annual chamber music concert series in "the Music Shed", a performance hall located on the Ellen Battell Stoeckel estate to the west of the

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

. Norfolk has important examples of regional architecture, notably the Village Hall (now Infinity Hall, a shingled 1880s Arts-and-Crafts confection, with an opera house upstairs and storefronts at street level); the Norfolk Library (a shingle-style structure, designed by George Keller, /1889); and over thirty buildings, in a wide variety of styles, designed by Alfredo S. G. Taylor (of the New York firm Taylor & Levi) in the four decades before the Second World War.

History

Norfolk incorporated as a town in 1758. The town was named after

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in England. The Norfolk Historic District includes the historic center of the village of Norfolk.

Geography

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 , of which are land and , or 2.38%, are water. The town is located in the Litchfield Hills portion of the Appalachian mountain range. Norfolk's elevation is above sea level, and the town is sometimes called "the Icebox of Connecticut" for its severe winters and particularly cool summers. The town is bordered on the west by

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 ...

and North Canaan, Connecticut; on the north by New Marlborough and Sandisfield, Massachusetts; on the east by Colebrook and

Winchester, Connecticut Winchester is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,224 at the 2020 census. The city of Winsted is located in Winchester. History Winchester was incorporated on May 21, 1771, and named after Winchester in ...

; and on the south by Goshen, Connecticut.

Principal communities

* Norfolk Center *North Norfolk *South Norfolk *West Norfolk

State parks

Norfolk is home to three state parks: Dennis Hill State Park, which includes the remnants of a lavish summer pavilion designed by Alfredo Taylor;

Haystack Mountain State Park Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

, with a stone tower at the mountain's summit; and Campbell Falls State Park Reserve, with an approximately natural waterfall.

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 1,660 people, 676 households, and 461 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 871 housing units at an average density of 19.2 per square mile (7.4/km). The racial makeup of the town was 97.11%

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 ...

, 0.48%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.60% 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 1.02% 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 0.96% of the population. There were 676 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $58,906, and the median income for a family was $67,500. Males had a median income of $41,654 versus $36,442 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 $34,020. About 1.8% of families and 4.1% 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 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Norfolk is a member of Regional School District 7, which also includes, Barkhamsted, Colebrook, and New Hartford. Public school students attend Botelle Elementary School for grades K–6, Northwestern Middle School for grades 7–8, and Northwestern Regional High School for grades 9–12.

Transportation

The main thoroughfares of the town are U.S. Route 44 (going east–west, also known as Greenwoods Road) and Connecticut Route 272 (going north–south, with 272N also known as North Street and 272S also known as Litchfield Road). US 44 leads west to

North Canaan North Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,211 at the 2020 census. The town center is still called "Canaan", being the main town center of the old town of Canaan prior to North Canaan splitting o ...

and southeast to Winsted, while CT 272 leads south to Torrington.

Notable locations

* Blackberry River Inn, built in 1763 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Gould House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places *

Haystack Mountain Tower The Haystack Mountain Tower is a stone observation tower at the summit of Haystack Mountain in Haystack Mountain State Park, Norfolk, Connecticut. Built in 1929, the tower and the land on which it stands were donated by Ellen Battell Stoeckel. ...

, built in 1929 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 * Hillside, listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Infinity Hall, an 1883 opera house and concert hall * Low House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Norfolk Library, built in 1888–89, a contributing property in Norfolk Historic District *

Rectory and Church of the Immaculate Conception The Rectory and Church of the Immaculate Conception is a historic Roman Catholic church complex at 4 North Street in Norfolk, Connecticut, Norfolk, Connecticut. The church and adjacent rectory are two 19th-century buildings that were extensivel ...

, built in 1924 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 * Rockwell House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Tom Thumb House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places * World War I Memorial, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Notable people, past and present

Notable residents have included: *

Hayden Carruth Hayden Carruth (August 3, 1921 – September 29, 2008) was an American poet, literary critic and anthologist. He taught at Syracuse University. Life Hayden Carruth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut. He gra ...

(1921–2008), published a book of "Norfolk Poems" in 1962 * Joseph Emerson (1821-1900), minister and theologian * Anne Garrels (1951-2022), NPR foreign correspondent *

Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...

(1914–1997), critic and writer for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine *

James Laughlin James Laughlin (October 30, 1914 – November 12, 1997) was an American poet and literary book publisher who founded New Directions Publishing. Early life He was born in Pittsburgh, the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin. Laughlin ...

(1914–1997), publisher * Marie Hartig Kendall (1854–1943), photographer *

Barbara Spofford Morgan Barbara Spofford Morgan (July 15, 1887April 1, 1971) was an American educator, essayist on religion and a specialist in mental testing. Early life and education Barbara Spofford was born on July 15, 1887, in New York City, the daughter of Charle ...

(1887–1971), educator, essayist on religion and a specialist in mental testing * Michael I. Pupin (1858–1935), inventor *

Laura M. Hawley Thurston Laura M. Thurston (, Hawley; pen name, Viola; December 20, 1812 – July 21, 1842) was an American poet and educator. A prolific writer, most of her works were originally published in the ''Louisville Journal'', and in William D. Gallagher's ''He ...

(1812–1842), poet, teacher * William Henry Welch (1850–1934), founding dean of the

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

William Windom William Windom (May 10, 1827January 29, 1891) was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 ...

(1827–1891), US senator and

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Nearby Attractions

, a public recreation area with hiking trails and a 1,716-foot-high mountain topped with an observation tower * Campbell Falls State Park, an undeveloped, public recreation area and nature preserve * Infinity Hall, an American performing arts venue * Husky Meadows Farm, an organic farm offering CSA (

Community-supported agriculture Community-supported agriculture (CSA model) or cropsharing is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system closer by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. It is an alterna ...

) subscriptions and culinary farm stays * Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, believed to be the oldest active summer music festival in North America and now managed by the

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 ...

School of Music

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. On February 16, 1943, the temperature fell to −37 °F (−38 °C), the lowest temperature ever recorded in

. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Norfolk has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Norfolk, Connecticut
weatherbase.com; accessed January 1, 2015.

References

*A. Havemeyer & R. Dance, ''Alfredo Taylor in Norfolk'' (Norfolk: Norfolk Hist. Soc., 2005) *A. Havemeyer & R. Dance, ''The Magnificent Battells'' (Norfolk: Norfolk Hist. Soc., 2006) *T.W. Crissey, ''History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut'' (Everett, MA: Massachusetts Pub. Co., 1900) *A.V. Waldecker d. ''Norfolk, Connecticut 1900–1975'' (Norfolk: Norfolk Bicen. Comm., 1976)

External links

Official town website

Norfolk Library

Norfolk Historical Society

{{authority control Towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut Populated places established in 1744 Towns in the New York metropolitan area Towns in Connecticut 1744 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies