Cheshire

Cheshire, Connecticut was first settled in 1694 as part of Wallingford, Connecticut. It was then known as New Cheshire Parish. Cheshire was incorporated as a town in May 1780 as Cheshire. The name is a transfer from Cheshire, in England. The town has a Cold War-era fallout shelter constructed in 1966, located underneath the local AT&T tower. A mother and her two daughters were murdered, leaving the father of the family as the sole survivor. The murder and the aftermath was featured in a segment that aired on the NBC-TV news magazine show Dateline NBC on October 5, 2010. In 2004, President Bush won a narrow plurality over Cheshire voters in his statewide election bid. In 2006, Cheshire gave John Kerry a narrow victory in his bid for the U.S. presidency. In 2019, the median household income was $120,546 and the per capita incomes was $52,013. As of the census of 2020, there were 28,733 people, 10,169 households, and 7,562 families residing in the town. The central area of the town is a census-designated place called Cheshire Village, which had a population of 6,499 as of the 2020 census. The largest ethnic groups in Cheshire are Italian Americans and Irish Americans. In the town, the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 20 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older.

History

Cheshire, Connecticut was first settled in 1694 as part of Wallingford, Connecticut. The name is a transfer from Cheshire, in England. Cheshire has a Cold War-era fallout shelter constructed in 1966, located underneath the local AT&T tower. A mother and her two daughters were murdered, leaving the father of the family as the sole survivor. The murder and the aftermath was featured in a segment that aired on the NBC-TV news magazine show Dateline NBC on October 5, 2010. Prospect, Connecticut, was formerly part of Cheshire before 1829, and was then known as Columbia Parish. The town was incorporated as a town in May 1780 as Cheshire. It is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, near the town of New Haven. The city's name is derived from the English word for "beautiful" or "coveted" (cheshire). The town's motto is "The Town of the Cheshire River", which means "The River of the River" in English, and means "the River of Life" in French. The community's name was first used in 1780, when it was known as New Cheshire Parish. It was later renamed Cheshire in 1829 after becoming a town. It has a population of about 2,000, mostly residents of the town's eastern suburbs. It also has a small percentage of residents who live outside of the city limits, such as in the towns of Danbury, Hartford and Milford.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 28,733 people, 10,169 households, and 7,562 families residing in the town. The largest ethnic groups are Italian Americans and Irish Americans. The central area of the town is a census-designated place identified as Cheshire Village. The median household income in 2019 was $120,546 and the per capita income was $52,013. About 1.6% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.3% ofThose age 65 or over. The town is located on the New York-Massachusetts Turnpike. It is located near New York City and the New Jersey Turnpikes. It was named after the town of Cheshire, where the town's name is derived from. It has a population of 6,499 as of the 2020 census, and a population density of 860 inhabitants per square mile (330/km²) The town's population was 81.07% White, 4.40% African American, 6.24% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.70% from other races, and 5.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.33%. The median age was 46.2 years, with 19.4% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 20 to 24, 20.1 percent from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.6 percent who were 65 years of age or older.

Geography

Cheshire is situated in the midst of several major cities of Connecticut. It lies 14 miles (23 km) north of New Haven, 25 miles (40 km) south of the capital Hartford, 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Bridgeport, and Waterbury is adjacent to Cheshire. Cheshire shares borders with Southington on the north and northeast, Meriden on the northeast, Wallingford on the east, Hamden on the south, Bethany for a short distance on the southwest, Prospect on the west, Waterbury on the northwest, and Wolcott on the southeast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (86.4 km²), of which 33.1 sq miles (85.6 km²) is land and 0.31sq miles (0.8km²), or 0.89%, is water. The town is located in the eastern part of the state and is located on the Connecticut Turnpike, which runs from New Haven to Bridgeport. It has a population of 2,816. It is located at the junction of the Connecticut River and the Connecticut and New Haven Rivers. It also shares a border with the town of Wolcott, which is located to the west. The population of Cheshire is 2,715. It was the site of the first recorded European settlement in 17th century. The first recorded human settlement in the area was in 18th century, and the first European settlement was in the 18th Century.

Politics

Cheshire voted for Republican majorities to its Board of Selectmen every election from 1915 to 1971. From 1973 to 2001, voters elected a Democratic majority (63) for the first time. In 2003, a Republican majority (54) was elected. In the 2009 local elections, Cheshire voters ousted the Democratic majority on the Town Council and elected 8 Republicans and 1 Democrat, though due to local minority representation rules, only 7 Republicans were seated. In the 2008 presidential election, the town's voters supported Democrat Barack Obama with 8,177 votes over Republican John McCain with 6,839 votes. Voting tallies for the 2016 presidential election are as follows: Hillary Clinton (D), Donald Trump (R) 7,105, Gary Johnson (L) 538, and Jill Stein (G) 189. In 2004, President Bush won a narrow plurality over John Kerry. Bush had lost the town in his 2000 bid. In 2006 Cheshire gave strong support to Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell, independent U.S. Senate candidate Joe Lieberman and local Democratic House candidate Chris Murphy, who defeated incumbent Nancy Johnson. A Democratic majority was elected in 2005, then reelected (54) in 2007, and again in 2007. In 2009 Cheshire voted to oust the Democraticmajority on the town council and elected eight Republicans and one Democrat, but only one Democrat was seated. The town has a population of 3,000. It is located in the western part of the state.

Arts and culture

Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum holds a large collection of memorabilia, novelties and ephemera. National Register of Historic Places includes First Congregational Church of Cheshire. Cheshire Historic District is bounded by Main Street, Highland Avenue, Wallingford Road, South Main, Cornwall, and Spring streets. Farmington Canal Lock (Lock 12) was added to the National Register in 1973. The Cheshire Museum is located in the northern section of the city. The museum is open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is open on the weekends from 9 to 11 a. m. and on the weekend from noon to 6 p.M. It is located at 111 Church Drive in Cheshire and is located on the north side of the Cheshire River.

Parks and recreation

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, a popular non-motorized recreational trail, runs through Cheshire. The Hitchcock-Phillips House, a historic home, is located in town. Roaring Brook Falls along the Quinnipiac Trail in the southwest corner of town is Connecticut's tallest single drop waterfall, and is owned by the Cheshire Land Trust. Cheshire Community Pool, a swimming facility which was renovated in 2016 to offer a year-round, indoor pool. Mixville Recreation Area, offering winter sledding, swimming, and fishing at Mixville Pond. The Cheshire Park, a 75-acre park geared towards active recreation, has a playscape, skate park and picnic area. The Town of Cheshire is located on the Connecticut River between Suffield, Connecticut to the north and New Haven to the south. The town has a population of about 2,000 people, with the majority of its residents living in or near the town center. It is located near the Connecticut Turnpike, which runs through the town. It also has a number of smaller towns, such as Litchfield, Connecticut, and Milford, Connecticut that are part of the New Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which covers the eastern half of the state and the western half of Connecticut. The city's population is about 1,200 people, most of whom live in or close to the town centre. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the state, with only one murder in the town in the last five years.

Education

Cheshire is home to one public high school, Cheshire High School, and one public middle school, Dodd Middle School. There are four public elementary schools: Chapman, Doolittle, Highland, and Norton Elementary. Cheshire Academy (originally the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut) was founded in Cheshire in 1794. The Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic congregation, runs their novitiate and college of humanities on a 200-acre (0.81 km²) complex on Oak Avenue. About 100 seminarians undergo two to four years of training for the priesthood there, including religious formation and classical humanities. St. Bridgets is a Catholic school for grades preschool to 8th grade. Humiston is an alternative high school in Chesire. The town is also home to Cheshire Public Schools, which educates students in the Upper School (grades 912/Post-Graduate Year) and Cheshire Middle School, which teaches students in grades 6-8. The Town of Cheshire also has several private and alternative schools in the town, including Cheshire Academics, which was founded by the Episcopal Church in the 17th century, and Humiston, which is a private high school for students in 912-8th grade and 913-814. It is located on the Connecticut Turnpike, which runs from New Haven to Hartford. It has a population of about 4,000. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War, and the Battle of the Bulge.

Transportation

Connecticut Route 10 is by far the busiest road in Cheshire. The worst Route 10 traffic occurs between Routes 68/70 and Route 42 every weekday during the morning commute, evening commute, and after the high school gets out at 2 pm. The 229 line of Connecticut Transit New Haven which runs from Waterbury to New Haven travels through Cheshire on Routes 70 and 10. A commuter express bus also runs from the commuter lot near Interstate 84 to Hartford. The main northsouth artery is Connecticut Route 10, a difficult passage that is busy, sometimes congested, and includes many stoplights. The second busiest intersection is the Cheshire High School and Route 10 intersection right before school starts and right after school ends. The intersection of Route 10 and Route68/70 is the busiest intersection in town. The town is served by the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, and the Connecticut Highway Patrol. The state police are responsible for patrolling the town and responding to calls for service. The Connecticut State Highway Patrol is responsible for responding to reports of traffic accidents on the town's main roads, including Route 42 and Route 68/Route 70. It is the state police's responsibility to respond to complaints of traffic crashes on the towns main roads and to investigate the cause of the accidents. The State Police are also responsible for dealing with reports of accidents on Route 42, which is a busy eastwest route, as well as Route 68 and Route 70, which are two eastwest routes that run through the town.

Prison system

Cheshire is home to two large state prison facilities located in the northern section of town. The larger of these facilities is the Cheshire Correctional Institution, which opened in 1913. In 1982, the Manson Youth Institution opened adjacent to the CCI. These prisons explain the city's skewed male/female ratios. The largest of these prisons is located across the street from Chapman Elementary School, separated by Route 10. The city's largest jail is located on the outskirts of the city, on the edge of the town. It is located near the town's downtown area and is known as the "City Jail" It is the largest state prison facility in the state, with a population of more than 2,000. It was built in 1913, and opened alongside the larger CCI in the early 20th century. The CCI is the only state prison in the U.S. to be built in the town of Cheshire. It opened its doors to the public in 1913 and has a capacity of 1,000 inmates. It has a maximum security prison for men, and a youth prison for young men. The maximum security facility for men opened in 1982, and is located next to the youth prison. The state's largest prison for women opened in 1998, and has 1,100 inmates. The prison is located in downtown Cheshire, across from the town center. It also has a large youth prison, which was opened in the late 1980s and opened next door to the adult prison.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut = 5.5. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 44. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Cheshire = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 28,733 individuals with a median age of 38.8 age the population grows by 1.31% in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 860 residents per square mile of area (330/km²). There are average 2.69 people per household in the 9,545 households with an average household income of $97,461 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.50% of the available work force and has dropped -2.32% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 28.86%. The number of physicians in Cheshire per 100,000 population = 328.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Cheshire = 50.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 31.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 125. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 198. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 18.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut which are owned by the occupant = 84.41%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 38 years with median home cost = $295,810 and home appreciation of -2.23%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $18.96 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,964 per student. There are 16.9 students for each teacher in the school, 249 students for each Librarian and 382 students for each Counselor. 7.46% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 27.02% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 21.39% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).