Eastford, Connecticut | |
|---|---|
| Town of Eastford | |
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 Seal | |
 Location in Windham County and the state of Connecticut. | |
| Coordinates: 41°53′37″N 72°05′49″W / 41.89361°N 72.09694°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| U.S. state |  Connecticut |
| County | Windham |
| Region | Northeastern CT |
| Incorporated | 1847 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting |
| • First selectman | Jacqueline Dubois (R) |
| • State Senator | Dan Champaigne (R-35th District) |
| • State Rep. | Pat Boyd (D-50th District) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 29.2 sq mi (75.6 km2) |
| • Land | 28.9 sq mi (74.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2) |
| Elevation | 653 ft (199 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 1,649 |
| • Density | 56/sq mi (22/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 06242 |
| Area code | 860 |
| FIPS code | 09-21860 |
| GNIS feature ID | 213420 |
| Major highways |  |
| Website | www |
Eastford is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,649 at the 2020 census.[1]
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Sugarhouse
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Old Connecticut Path: Walker Road to Bigelow Brook Crossing -- Eastford, Connecticut
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Old Connecticut Path: Ancient Path Across Chism Farm -- Ashford/Eastford, Connecticut
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Old Connecticut Path: Crossing the Great Wall of Westford & Mt. Hope Valley - Ashford/Westford,
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Old Connecticut Path: Natchaug Forest Crossing -- Ashford, Connecticut
Transcription
My name's Steve Broderick and this is Town Line Sugarhouse in Eastford Connecticut. It is a mid-scale producer by Connecticut standards, a very small producer by national and international standards. I have 265 taps out right now. I would hope in an average year to make 60-70 gallons of syrup. You could resurrect a sugar maker from the 1600s and set him down in a building like this and it wouldn't take him more than a few minutes to figure exactly everything that's going on because the process hasn't changed very much. The nights need to get down well below freezing, the days up at least into the low 40s and preferably warmer. That creates that sort of alternating negative-positive pressure in the trees that forces the sap out. Sugar Maples are very sensitive to root compaction and sugaring season by definition is mud season when the frost is going out of the ground. If you're driving around very close to all of the trees with a tractor and trailer to get at the buckets, you are much more likely to do damage to the root system. So the tubing is an alternative that saves a ton of collecting time and it's also a healthy alternative for the trees. This is a gravity system. Some larger producers have vacuum pumps that they put on the tubing systems and the vacuum -- it's been proven -- will significantly increase your yield without doing any harm to the trees. We collect every day and we boil just as quickly as we can after the sap is collected. I try and have three cords of wood available because that's typically how it seems to work out -- is one cord will produce about 25 gallons of syrup. Right after you fire you often will get foaming of the sap and if you're not careful, it can literally come right up over the sides of the pan and become a problem. A little bit of vegetable oil kills that foaming. So you have to be vigilant about that, particularly right after every firing. My sap is running right now about two and half percent sugar content which gives you something in the neighborhood of 35 to 1 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. There's a tremendous potential for Connecticut to expand its sugaring business. We have many thousands of acres of forest in Connecticut that have enough Sugar Maple on them so that they could be managed for maple production. It's estimated that we only tap about one tenth of one percent of all the Sugar Maples in the State of Connecticut that are of tappable size as opposed to over 2 percent in the State of Vermont and 33 percent of all the Sugar Maples in the Province of Quebec are tapped. So we have a tremendous potential to expand maple production and we also are right in the middle of the world's best market where the prices are highest and the demand is strong. So there's a great potential for the sugaring industry to grow in our state in the years ahead.
History
Eastford was formed in 1847 when it was broken off from Ashford, Connecticut. The name "Eastford" is locational, for the town is east of Ashford.[2]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 29.2 square miles (76 km2), of which, 28.9 square miles (75 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (1.20%) is water.
Principal communities
- Phoenixville—A 1930s book describes it as "a small crossroads hamlet on Still River, which grew up around a twine mill (1831), now abandoned."[3]
- East Phoenixville
- North Ashford
On the National Register of Historic Places
- Benjamin Bosworth House – John Perry Rd. (added 1978)
- Natchaug Forest Lumber Shed – Kingsbury Rd., Natchaug State Forest (added 1986)
- Sumner-Carpenter House – 333 Old Colony Rd. (added 1991)
- Union Society of Phoenixville House – 4 Hartford Turnpike. (added 2007)
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,127 | — | |
| 1860 | 1,005 | −10.8% | |
| 1870 | 984 | −2.1% | |
| 1880 | 855 | −13.1% | |
| 1890 | 561 | −34.4% | |
| 1900 | 523 | −6.8% | |
| 1910 | 513 | −1.9% | |
| 1920 | 496 | −3.3% | |
| 1930 | 529 | 6.7% | |
| 1940 | 496 | −6.2% | |
| 1950 | 598 | 20.6% | |
| 1960 | 746 | 24.7% | |
| 1970 | 922 | 23.6% | |
| 1980 | 1,028 | 11.5% | |
| 1990 | 1,314 | 27.8% | |
| 2000 | 1,618 | 23.1% | |
| 2010 | 1,749 | 8.1% | |
| 2020 | 1,649 | −5.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[4] | |||
At the 2000 census there were 1,618 people, 618 households, and 451 families living in the town. The population density was 56.0 inhabitants per square mile (21.6/km2). There were 705 housing units at an average density of 24.4 per square mile (9.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.78% White, 0.43% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36%.[5]
There were 618 households, out of which 100 have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 21.8% of households were one person, and 9.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
The age distribution was 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.
The median household income was $57,159 and the median family income was $62,031. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $31,964 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,364. About 4.4% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
Eastford is a strongly Republican town. The town has voted for the Republican candidate every time since the 1856 election and since its founding in 1847 has never voted for a Democrat for president, the only town in Connecticut with this distinction. Even during President Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide in 1964, Eastford voters still preferred Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate, by a comfortable 11.2% margin. Since 1992, however, the Democratic candidate has been more competitive. President Barack Obama only lost to Mitt Romney by 1 vote in 2012.[6]
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 27, 2009[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | |
| Republican | 391 | 25 | 416 | 34.84% | |
| Democratic | 290 | 9 | 299 | 25.04% | |
| Unaffiliated | 437 | 38 | 475 | 39.78% | |
| Minor Parties | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Total | 1,121 | 73 | 1,194 | 100% | |
| Presidential Election Results[6][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties |
| 2020 | 43.5% 464 | 53.6% 572 | 2.9% 31 |
| 2016 | 38.6% 367 | 54.0% 513 | 7.4% 69 |
| 2012 | 49.0% 464 | 49.1% 465 | 1.9% 18 |
| 2008 | 48.9% 485 | 49.2% 488 | 1.9% 18 |
| 2004 | 44.0% 416 | 54.3% 513 | 1.7% 16 |
| 2000 | 44.3% 375 | 49.7% 421 | 6.0% 50 |
| 1996 | 38.1% 301 | 41.7% 329 | 20.2% 159 |
| 1992 | 32.7% 285 | 39.5% 344 | 27.8% 242 |
| 1988 | 34.9% 253 | 63.8% 463 | 1.3% 9 |
| 1984 | 26.2% 172 | 73.1% 479 | 0.7% 4 |
| 1980 | 29.1% 183 | 55.7% 350 | 15.2% 95 |
| 1976 | 36.0% 204 | 63.4% 359 | 0.6% 3 |
| 1972 | 29.6% 152 | 69.9% 359 | 0.5% 2 |
| 1968 | 24.4% 103 | 72.4% 305 | 3.2% 13 |
| 1964 | 44.4% 188 | 55.6% 236 | 0.00% 0 |
| 1960 | 21.0% 82 | 79.0% 309 | 0.00% 0 |
| 1956 | 15.6% 62 | 84.4% 335 | 0.00% 0 |
Education
Residents are zoned to the Eastford School District for grades Preschool through 8. The only school in the district is Eastford Elementary School. Most high schoolers attend Woodstock Academy. The town is near five alternative high schools: Ellis Vocational Technical School, Windham Technical School, Killingly Vocational Agricultural High School, ACT High School, and Quinebaug Middle College.
Notable people
- Andrew T. Judson (1784–1853), United States federal judge and US Congressman
- Nathaniel Lyon (1818–1861), the first Union General to be killed in the Civil War is buried here in his family plot
Trivia
There was another Eastford in the state which was renamed East Windsor shortly after its separation from Windsor.
Eastford is the site of Frog Rock, a rest stop and roadside attraction on U.S. Route 44.[9]
References
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Eastford town, Windsor County, Connecticut". Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly. Connecticut Magazine Company. 1903. p. 332.
- ^ Federal Writer's Project for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut; a Guide to Its Roads, Lore, and People. p. 434. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "General Election Statements of Vote, 1922 – Current". CT Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 27, 2009" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ^ "Election Night Reporting". CT Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ Haar, Dan (2014-08-18). "The Best Of Americana At Frog Rock Rest Stop". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Windham County, Connecticut, United States | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| Borough | ||
| Former cities | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
Municipalities and communities of Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, United States | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
This page was last edited on 26 March 2023, at 01:36