Weston, Connecticut
Town
The Onion Barn, where community bulletins are posted
Official seal of Weston, Connecticut Seal
Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
NECTA	Bridgeport-Stamford
Region	South Western Region
Incorporated	1787
Split	1845
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
• First selectman	Gayle M. Weinstein
• Town administrator	Tom Landry
Area
• Total	20.7 sq mi (53.6 km2)
• Land	19.8 sq mi (51.3 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2)
Elevation	315 ft (96 m)
Population  (2005) [1]
• Total	10,276
• Density	519/sq mi (200/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 ( Eastern)
• Summer ( DST)	UTC-4 ( Eastern)
ZIP code	06883
Area code	203
FIPS code	09-83430
GNIS feature ID	0213531
Website	http://www.weston-ct.com/

Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The population was 10,037 at the 2000 census. The town is serviced by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the town center. About 19% of the town's workforce commutes to New York City, about 45 miles (70 km) to the south west. ^[2]

Like many towns in Southwestern Connecticut, Weston is among the most affluent communities in the United States. Data collected in 2008 showed that Weston had the highest median household income in Fairfield County, Connecticut, at US$185,377. ^[3] Weston's ZIP code (06883) was identified in 2005 as the sixth most affluent area in the U.S. ^[4]

Aside from a handful of stores that form the town’s center, Weston has little commercial development. Residential development is limited by two-acre zoning. ^[5] Most of Devil's Den Preserve, a 1,746-acre (707 ha) nature reserve, which gets 40,000 visits a year, is located in the town.

History

In the early 18th century, Weston's first English settlers were mostly farmers living to the southeast of the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut, the boundaries of which extended to Weston until the late 18th century. In 1787, the North Fairfield parish was created in the area now occupied by the towns of Weston and Easton, Connecticut. In 1845, North Fairfield was split into two towns, creating Westfield. ^[6]

A meteor exploded above the town December 14, 1807. ^[7] Six pieces, totaling 28 pounds (13 kg), were recovered and examined by scientists, who issued a report. This was the first time that people realized the nature of meteors. ^{[8] [9]}

Despite rocky soil, farmers in town grew apples, onions, potatoes. Grist, cider, lumber, and fulling mills were built. The town had nine manufacturers by 1850, but two decades later only the Bradley Edge Tool Company still thrived. That factory burned down in 1911. ^[10]

Unlike other nearby towns, Weston never had a railroad built through it, which stifled the development of non-agricultural businesses. Between the Civil War and the Great Depression, the town's population dropped from approximately 1,000 to a low of 670, by 1930. Artists, writers, and actors from New York became attracted to the community in the 30's and began settling in it. Construction of the Merritt Parkway, which arrived to the south of Weston in 1938, resulted in further population growth. ^[10]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.7 square miles (53.6 km²), of which, 19.8 square miles (51.3 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) of it (4.39%) is water.

The Saugatuck River begins to the north in Redding, CT. It flows through the town, and ends in Long Island Sound, in neighboring Westport, Connecticut.

Weston is bordered by Westport to the south, Wilton, Connecticut to the west, Redding to the north, Easton, Connecticut to the east, and Fairfield, Connecticut to the southeast.

Principal communities

• Georgetown (part)
• Lyons Plains
• Weston Center (Norfield)

Other minor communities and geographic areas are: Devil's Den, Norfield, Upper Parish, Valley Forge.

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 10,037 people, 3,312 households, and 2,811 families residing in the town. The population density was 507.0 people per square mile (195.7/km²). There were 3,532 housing units at an average density of 178.4/sq mi (68.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.75% White, 0.88% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.05% of the population.

There were 3,312 households out of which 49.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.4% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.1% were non-families. 11.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.2% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $146,697, and the median income for a family was $162,032. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $55,956 for females. The per capita income for the town was $74,817. About 1.3% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Like other New England towns, the Town of Weston is governed by a Board of Selectmen. Gayle Weinstein is the First Selectman. There is a Board of Finance and Board of Education among other boards.

All board positions are held by political appointees.

Budget and taxes

For the fiscal year of 2010-2011, the Town of Weston’s net budget was $61,069,256. ^[11] That year, about 73 percent of the town’s net budget was spent on the Weston Public Schools. Weston raised taxes on the basis of property value. With real estate assessed at 70 percent of market value, the mill rate evolved as follows:

To show the evolution of the mill rate, the table's asterisked numbers have been adjusted to account for the revaluation of 2008-2009. The revaluation added 2.92 percent to Weston's grand list of properties. ^[12]

On the National Register of Historic Places

• Bradley Edge Tool Company Historic District — Roughly, Lyons Plains Road, north and south of the junction with White Birch Road (added December 22, 1995)
• Kettle Creek Historic District — Roughly, Weston and Old Weston Roads, north of Broad Street (added December 22, 1995)
• Norfield Historic District — Roughly, at the junction of Weston and Norfield Rds. northeast to Hedgerow Common (added August 31, 1991)

Education

There are four public schools in the Weston Public Schools district, all located on School Road:

• Weston High School — Grades 9-12, with about 800 students. Weston High School (WHS) seniors in the class of 2006 had the highest average SAT scores in the state, and many WHS students go on to attend selective colleges and universities. The Class of 2008 had the highest CAPT scores in the state in 2006. ^[13] Recently the high school underwent a significant building expansion, which included construction of a new science department and new playing fields. The high school auditorium was also updated in 2008.
• Weston Middle School (WMS) — Grades 6-8, with about 600 students.
• Weston Intermediate School (WIS) — Grades 3-5, with 571 students. The school opened in September 2005 as the town’s newest school.
• Hurlbutt Elementary School (HES) — Pre-Kindergarten-Grade 2, with about 600 students

Several pre-schools in town are run by various churches, including Emmanuel Nursery School and Norfield Nursery School.

Parks

The landscape of Weston is characterized by open spaces, almost one quarter of the town is permanently devoted to open space use, ^[14] including:

• Devil’s Den Preserve, with a wide variety of flora and fauna, and with a 20-mile (32 km) trail system that connects with the extended 70-mile (110 km) Saugatuck Valley Trails System;
• Bisceglie Park, with baseball fields, a swimming hole, a two-mile (3 km) jogging trail and fitness stations, along the west branch of the Saugatuck River; ^[15]
• Morehouse Farm Park, with eight, partially overlapping ball fields; ^[16]
• Sixteen preserves of the Aspetuck Land Trust, for a total of 645 acres (2.61 km²), scattered all around town; ^[17]
• Katherine Ordway Preserve, with 62 acres (250,000 m²) of woodland, three miles (5 km) of trails and an arboretum; ^[18]
• Keene Park, with 6 acres (24,000 m²), along the each branch of the Saugatuck River; ^[18]
• Open land around the Saugatuck Reservoir, with trails and opportunities for fishing. ^[19]

Notable residents

• George Balanchine (1904–1983), choreographer and influential figure in ballet, lived in town ^[10]
• Paul Cadmus (1904–1999), painter, lived in town ^[21]
• Frank Converse (born 1938), actor ^[10]
• Rodney Dangerfield (1921–2004), comedian, lived in town ^[6]
• Bette Davis (1908–1989), actress, lived in town ^[6]
• Jose Feliciano (born 1945), singer and songwriter ^[22]
  • Seth Grahame-Smith (born 1976) grew up in town
• Mariette Hartley (born 1940), actress, native of Weston ^[23]
• Evan Hunter (1926–2005), author who wrote under the pen name "Ed McBain" ^[24]
• Erica Jong (born 1942), author ^[6]
• Eartha Kitt (1927–2008), entertainer, moved to town in 2002 ^[25]
• Jordan Berger (1995-Present), Chuck Norris, lives in Wston
• Lawrence Langner (1890–1962), playwright, author, and producer. Lived on what is now called Langner Lane. ^[26]
• Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), actress ^[10]
• Brent Musburger (born 1939), sportscaster, lived in town ^[6]
• James Naughton (born 1945), actor ^[27]
• Katherine Ordway (1899–1979), 3M heiress, philanthropist, supporter of land conservation, funded the purchase of part of Devil's Den, lived in town ^[28]
• Christopher Plummer (born 1929), actor ^[29]
• Robert Redford (born 1936), actor, had a home in town ^[30]
• Keith Richards (born 1943), musician, member of The Rolling Stones ^[31]
• Fritz Reiner (1888–1963), Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and other notable orchestras. Lived on Davis Hill beginning in 1938. ^[32]
• John Seigenthaler, Jr. (born 1955), former NBC News weekend anchor. ^[33]
• James Thurber (1894–1961), writer ^[10]

References

External links

• Town government Web site
• School district Web site

41°13′32″N 73°22′14″W / 41.22556°N 73.37056°W / 41.22556; -73.37056