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. The population was 3,977 at the 2000 census.
History
Although today Salisbury is an upscale residential area, noted for the studied-casual style of weekend homes of wealthy New Yorkers, in the Federal period it was the seat of an important iron industry. The town possessed small iron mines, described by historian Diana Muir as "scarcely big enough to notice," with the further disadvantage of not being near a river large enough to ship iron to market at a reasonable cost. The solution, according to Muir, was to pour labor into the iron, working it into a quality of wroght iron so high that it could be used even for gun barrels. This fetched a high price and made Salisbury iron the celebrated choice of Connecticut's early nineteenth century arms industry.(See: Diana Muir, Reflections in Bullough's Pond, Economy and Ecosystem in New England, University of New England Press, 2002, p. 126.)
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 60.1 square miles (155.6 km²), of which, 57.3 square miles (148.5 km²) of it is land and 2.8 square miles (7.1 km²) of it (4.59%) is water. 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.
Principal communities
The town of Salisbury contains the communities of Salisbury, Lakeville, Lime Rock, Amesville, Joyceville, Ore Hill, Taconic, and Twin Lakes. Also there are two boarding schools in the town, Salisbury School and Hotchkiss School.
Demographics
The NY-MA-CT Tri-State marker located in Salisbury.
As of the census[1][page needed] of 2000, there were 3,977 people, 1,737 households, and 1,042 families residing in the town. The population density was 69.4 people per square mile (26.8/km²). There were 2,410 housing units at an average density of 42.0/sq mi (16.2/km²). 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.
Transportation
Route 44 is the main east-west highway in the town, while Route 41 is the main north-south highway.
Notable people, past and present
Maple Shade Inn (1908 postcard)
- Ethan Allen made munitions in Lakeville during the American Revolution.
- Martin Chittenden (1763–1840), Governor of Vermont (1813-1815), was born in town.
- Nathaniel Everts (1748-1835), Revolutionary War captain in the Colonial Army.
- Jeff Greenfield, ABC television newsman
- 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.
- Myron Holley, Erie Canal builder
- Maria Bissell Hotchkiss, widow of Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, founded the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville.
- Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950) founded the Institute of General Semantics at a country estate in Lakeville neighbourhood Lime Rock and directed it until his death. The Institute remained there until 1981 when it moved elsewhere.[2]
- Frederick Miles (1815-1896) was a United States Representative from Connecticut.
- 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.
- Wanda Landowska (1879-1959), famous harpsichordist, was a resident in Lakeville from 1949 until her death in 1959.
- Meryl Streep the Oscar winning stage and screen veteran lives in Salisbury with her family
- Rip Torn, American television and film actor.
External links
References
