Easton, Connecticut

Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census.[1] Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck.

Easton, Connecticut

Town of Easton
Town
Seal
Location in Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut.
Coordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W
Country United States
U.S. state Connecticut
CountyFairfield
Metropolitan areaBridgeport-Stamford
Incorporated1845
VillagesEaston
Aspetuck
Plattsville
Government
 • TypeSelectman-town meeting
 • First selectmanAdam Dunsby
 • SelectmanKristi Sogofsky
 • SelectmanRobert Lessler
Area
 • Total28.6 sq mi (74.1 km2)
 • Land27.4 sq mi (71.0 km2)
 • Water1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2)
Elevation
301 ft (92 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total7,490
 • Density261.9/sq mi (101.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
06612
Area code(s)203/475
FIPS code09-23890
GNIS feature ID0213427
Websitewww.eastonct.gov
Town hall
Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service

The town is situated among Redding, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Weston, and Newtown.

History

Easton was first settled in 1757 by men and women from Fairfield. In 1762 a congregation called the North Fairfield Society was established, and it gradually evolved into Easton. In 1787 Weston, then including lands now defined as Easton, was incorporated out of Fairfield. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River, and so it was not until 1845 that what is now Easton separated from Weston. Today, half of the town's property is owned by the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, the major supplier of water in the area.

On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death. The local middle school bears her name.

The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was a 76-foot (23 m) Norway Spruce donated from a private residence in Easton.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.6 square miles (74 km2), of which, 27.4 square miles (71 km2) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) of it (23.83%) is water.

Emergency services

Emergency medical services

Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service (EVEMS) is located at 448 Sport Hill Road and offers the EMT-B certification course.[2] The agency was established in 1946 and currently has two ambulances, a Polaris UTV and 2006 GMC pickup and a staff of three Chief officers, two career techs and twenty nine volunteers.[3]

 Ambulance 852 GM/PL Custom 2016
 Ambulance 851 Ford/Lifeline 2009

Fire department

The town of Easton is protected constantly by the eight paid firefighters of the Easton Fire Department (EFD) and the volunteer firefighters of the Easton Volunteer Fire Company # 1. Founded in 1921, EFD operates out of one fire station, located at 1 Center Road in the center of town, and runs an apparatus fleet of three engines, one attack engine, one haz-mat unit, one brush unit, and one command vehicle. The Easton Fire Department responds to over 500 emergency calls annually. In 2015, the fire department responded to 539 incidents.[4]

Police department
The police dept. patrols Union Cemetery at night, which is famous for the ghost story of the White Lady.
Union Cemetery is located on Stepney Rd. in Easton, CT.

The Easton Police Department (EPD) is located at 700 Morehouse Road. The department includes a K9 unit, D.A.R.E and an animal control unit.[5] The Easton Police Explorer Post 2001 is an affiliated with the department.[6] Easton Police are also first responders for all EMS calls in town. They are all certified EMR's or EMT's and can provide oxygen, perform basic first aid, and defibrillation.[7]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18501,432—
18601,350−5.7%
18701,288−4.6%
18801,145−11.1%
18901,001−12.6%
1900960−4.1%
19101,0529.6%
19201,017−3.3%
19301,013−0.4%
19401,26224.6%
19502,16571.6%
19603,40757.4%
19704,88543.4%
19805,96222.0%
19906,3035.7%
20007,27215.4%
20107,4903.0%
Est. 20147,631[8]1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 7,490 people, 2,465 households, and 2,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.2 people per square mile (102.4/km2). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 91.6 per square mile (35.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.[10]

Of the 2,465 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.23 individuals.[11]

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 37% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. The sex ratio is 94.3 males per 100 females.[11]

The median income for a household in the town was $132,000, and the median income for a family was $155,227. Males had a median income of $101,636 versus $83,333 for females. The per capita income for the town was $59,546. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.[11]

Government and politics

Historically, Easton has been a reliably Republican stronghold. However, in 2016, town residents voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton with a plurality.[12]

Easton town vote
by party in presidential elections[13]
Year Democratic Republican Third Parties
2016 48.67% 2,203 47.08% 2,131 4.24% 192
2012 43.16% 1,841 55.79% 2,380 1.05% 45
2008 49.47% 2,238 49.93% 2,259 0.60% 27
2004 44.34% 2,002 54.53% 2,462 1.13% 51
2000 42.76% 1,783 52.18% 2,176 5.06% 211
1996 38.86% 1,475 50.16% 1,904 10.99% 417
1992 30.85% 1,232 47.80% 1,909 21.36% 853
1988 29.94% 1,106 68.65% 2,536 1.41% 52
1984 24.83% 895 74.79% 2,696 0.39% 14
1980 23.91% 821 64.11% 2,201 11.97% 411
1976 29.38% 921 69.92% 2,192 0.70% 22
1972 23.77% 681 74.24% 2,127 1.99% 57
1968 27.05% 655 68.07% 1,648 4.87% 118
1964 38.09% 801 61.91% 1,302 0.00% 0
1960 24.39% 466 75.61% 1,445 0.00% 0
1956 14.79% 251 85.21% 1,446 0.00% 0
1952[14] 17.87% 262[15] 76.74% 1,125[16] 5.39%[17] 79[18]
Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018[19]
Party Active voters Inactive voters Total voters Percentage
Republican 1,793 68 1,861 31.67%
Democratic 1,487 60 1,547 26.33%
Unaffiliated 2,320 68 2,388 40.64%
Minor parties 75 5 80 1.36%
Total 5,675 201 5,876 100%
Easton Town Hall exterior, winter 2016.

Bridge issues

The Route 59 bridge in Easton, which carries more than 10,000 cars and trucks every day over the Mill River, has a substructure rated in critical condition by state safety inspectors. As of early August 2007, the bridge was one of 12 in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are considered to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.[20]

Notable people

School systems

Easton has three schools: Samuel Staples Elementary school, for children in grades from kindergarten to 5th grade, Helen Keller Middle School, for children in grades 6 through 8, and the private school Easton Country Day for children K-12 (formerly Phoenix Academy). High school students attend Joel Barlow High School in Redding.

Additionally, Easton has a privately owned, non-profit community center named Easton Community Center. This community center has a preschool named Playtots Preschool and is for ages under 2 to 5 years old.

Notes
  1. "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Easton town, Connecticut". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  2. http://www.eastonems.com
  3. Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Waugh, Steven. "Town of Easton Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Town of Easton, CT. p. 21. Retrieved November 2, 2018. Currently there are more than 20 active firefighters serving in the Fire Company. [...] There are currently eight career firefighters who are on staff with the Easton Fire Department. The firehouse is staffed by a rotating crew of two firefighters working a 24 hour shift. This provides staffing in the Fire House 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Many times during the workweek, due to Easton being a bedroom community, the "on-duty" firefighters are at times, the only ones responding to calls. In addition to their other duties, the career firefighters perform the crucial task of maintaining the Town’s firefighting equipment.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2010-08-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Index of / Archived 2010-05-10 at the Wayback Machine. Explorers.eastonctpolice.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  7. Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  11. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/connecticut
  13. https://authoring.ct.gov//SOTS/Election-Services/Statement-Of-Vote-PDFs/General-Elections-Statement-of-Vote-1922
  14. https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
  15. https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
  16. https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
  17. https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
  18. https://authoring.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/StatementOfVote_PDFs/1952SOVpdf.pdf?la=en
  19. "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of November 5, 2018" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  20. Kaplan, Thomas, Martineau, Kim, and Kauffman, Matthew, "12 state bridges are judged to be in critical condition" article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, article reprinted from The Hartford Courant, August 5, 2007, pp. 1, A6
  21. Kaufman, Joanne. "Weekender: Easton, Conn." article in The New York Times, October 12, 2002, accessed September 25, 2006
  22. Ikenson page 24
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