Salisbury, Connecticut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salisbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The MA-NY-CT (Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut) Tri-State Marker is located just on the border of Salisbury.
Although the peak of Mount Frissell lies in Massachusetts at an elevation of 2,453 ft, the South Slope of the mountain (2,380 ft) in Mount Riga State Park in Salisbury, is the highest point in Connecticut.
Within the town lies the village of Lakeville, where the Hotchkiss School, a private preparatory school is located.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 155.6 km² (60.1 mi²). 148.5 km² (57.3 mi²) of it is land and 7.1 km² (2.8 mi²) of it (4.59%) is water.
The town of Salisbury contains the villages of Salisbury, Lakeville, and the hamlets of Lime Rock, Amesville, and Taconic.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,977 people, 1,737 households, and 1,042 families residing in the town. The population density was 26.8/km² (69.4/mi²). There were 2,410 housing units at an average density of 16.2/km² (42.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.75% White, 1.66% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population.
There were 1,737 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $53,051, and the median income for a family was $69,152. Males had a median income of $43,807 versus $29,861 for females. The per capita income for the town was $38,752. About 4.9% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over. It's home to Camp Isola Bella.
[edit] Notable people, past and present
- Ethan Allen made munitions in Lakeville during the American Revolution.
- Martin Chittenden (1763–1840), Governor of Vermont (1813-1815), was born in town.
- Margaret Hamilton (1902-1985), actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, spent her last years in town.
- Edward Herrmann (b. 1943), film and television actor, lives in town.
- Benjamin B. Hotchkiss (1826-1885), inventor of the Hotchkiss gun was born in Lakeville.
- Maria Bissell Hotchkiss, widow of Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, founded the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville.
- Peter Buell Porter (1773-1844), U.S. Secretary of War (1828-1829), was born in town.
- Georges Simenon (1903-1989), prolific Belgian author, most notably of the Maigret novels, lived for a time in a large house called "Shadow Rock Farm" in the Lakeville section of town.
[edit] External links
- Salisbury town government Web site
- Northwest Connecticut Arts Council
- Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau
