Thompson is a rural town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,878 at the 2000 census. The 10 villages of Thompson include: East Thompson, Wilsonville, Fabyan, Quinebaug, Quaddick, Mechanicsville, Grosvenordale, North Grosvenordale, Thompson Hill, and West Thompson. Thompson is located in the northeastern corner of the state and is bordered on the north by Webster, Massachusetts, on the east by Douglas, Massachusetts and Burrillville, Rhode Island and on the south by Putnam.
Public Library, circa 1908
Thompson has the highest-banked race track (Thompson International Speedway, a 5/8 mile oval) in New England. This speedway holds one of the biggest race programs in New England, "The World Series of Auto Racing", where 14 divisions and about 600 cars show up each fall. Another claim to fame is that the Tri-State Marker is located just on the border of Thompson. The term "Swamp Yankee" is thought to have originated in Thompson during the American Revolution in 1776.
Thompson is also known as the site of the Great East Thompson Train Wreck in 1891, one of the worst train wrecks in American history and the only one to involve four trains.
Ossian Everett Mills, founder of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, is buried in a small family plot in Thompson.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.7 square miles (126.0 km²), of which, 46.9 square miles (121.6 km²) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it (3.51%) is water. Thompson possesses many small ponds, such as Little Pond and Long Pond, as well as two principal lakes: West Thompson Lake and Quaddick Lake. Contained within its borders are several moderately sized rivers, the largest of which is the French River, a tributary of the Quinebaug River, which also runs through Thompson. The highest point in Thompson and the surrounding villages is Fort Hill at 649 feet above sea level.
A minor point of geological interest is the Wilsonville Fault, created during the breakup of Pangaea over 200 Million Years Ago.
Demographics
The famed CT-RI-MA Tri-State marker located in Thompson.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 8,878 people, 3,482 households, and 2,472 families residing in the town. The population density was 189.1 people per square mile (73.0/km²). There were 3,710 housing units at an average density of 79.0/sq mi (30.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.42% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 3,482 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $46,065, and the median income for a family was $53,088. Males had a median income of $38,949 versus $26,504 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,003. About 2.8% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
Adjacent Towns
Schools
Thompson has an interconnected school system in which the elementary, middle and high school are connected. The school system, especially the high school has a lot of history. The original High School building, which exists today and is still connected with the school system, was built in 1903 with a Greek design. The school is named Tourtellotte Memorial High School in memory of the founders two daughters who died at a young age. The school also houses a memorial room of which many pieces of art are housed. The middle school houses grades 5-8 and the elementary houses the pre-K through 4th grade. There is one private Catholic School in town, St. Joseph elementary school. There is a Private High School in town, Marianapolis Prep school located in the historic Thompson Hill.
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