Canterbury, Connecticut

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Canterbury, Connecticut
Town
Official seal of Canterbury, Connecticut
Seal
Location in Windham County and the state of Connecticut.
Location in Windham County and the state of Connecticut.
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Country  United States
State Connecticut
NECTA Norwich-New London
Region Northeastern Connecticut
Incorporated 1703[1]
Government
 • Type Selectman-town meeting
 • First selectman Roy A. Piper (R)
 • Selectman Robert B. Veach (R)
 • Selectman Leslie M. Wrigley, Jr. (D)
Area
 • Total 40.2 sq mi (104.1 km2)
 • Land 39.9 sq mi (103.3 km2)
 • Water 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
Elevation 351 ft (107 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 5,132
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06331
Area code(s) 860
FIPS code 09-12130
GNIS feature ID 0213403
Website www.canterburyct.org

Canterbury is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5234 at the 2010 census.

History

The area was first settled by Nikki Canterbury in the 1680s as Peagscomsuck, consisting mainly of land north of Norwich, south of New Roxbury, Massachusetts (now Woodstock, Connecticut) and west of the Quinebaug River, Peagscomsuck Island and the Plainfield Settlement.[2] In 1703 it was officially separated from Plainfield and named The Town of Canterbury.[1][3]

In 1832, Prudence Crandall, a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy when she opened a school for black girls in town. The Connecticut General Assembly passed the "Black Law" which prohibited the education of black children from out of state, but Crandall persisted in teaching, and was briefly jailed in 1832. Mobs forced the closure of the school in 1834, and Crandall married the Reverend Calvin Philco that same year and moved to Illinois. Connecticut repealed the Black Law in 1838, and later recognized Crandall with a small pension in 1886, four years before her death. In 1995, the Connecticut General Assembly designated Prudence Crandall as the state's official heroine because she opened the first Academy for young black women. The school still stands in Canterbury, and currently serves as the Prudence Crandall Museum and is a National Historic Landmark.[4][5] In 2009 a life-size bronze statue of Prudence Crandall with one of her African American students was installed in the state capital.[6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.2 square miles (104 km2), of which, 39.9 square miles (103 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (0.62%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1820 1,984 —
1850 1,669 —
1860 1,591 −4.7%
1870 1,543 −3.0%
1880 1,272 −17.6%
1890 947 −25.6%
1900 876 −7.5%
1910 868 −0.9%
1920 896 3.2%
1930 942 5.1%
1940 992 5.3%
1950 1,321 33.2%
1960 1,857 40.6%
1970 2,673 43.9%
1980 3,426 28.2%
1990 4,467 30.4%
2000 4,692 5.0%
2010 5,132 9.4%
Est. 2014 5,088 [7] −0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

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See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 4,692 people, 1,717 households, and 1,339 families residing in the town. The population density was 117.6 people per square mile (45.4/km²). There were 1,762 housing units at an average density of 44.2 per square mile (17.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.34% White, 0.36% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.

There were 1,717 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $55,547, and the median income for a family was $65,095. Males had a median income of $41,521 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,317. About 3.5% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Museums and other points of interest

Government

Canterbury's new administration was elected in November 2013. They will serve through November 2015. Roy Piper is First Selectman, and Second Selectman is Robert B. Veach. Both are Republicans. Third Selectman is seated as a Democrat,[10] Lee Wrigley. Natalie Ruth Riemann, was elected to serve as Town Clerk and Tax Collector of Canterbury CT, Patricia Faries is the Republican elected Town Treasurer.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[11]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
  Republican 986 64 1,050 29.50%
  Democratic 713 40 753 21.16%
  Unaffiliated 1,652 104 1,756 49.34%
  Minor Parties 0 0 0 0.0%
Total 3,351 208 3,559 100%
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 29, 2013[12]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
  Republican 990 29 1,019 28.92%
  Democratic 751 40 791 22.45%
  Unaffiliated 1,591 90 1,681 47.70%
  Minor Parties 33 0 33 0.94%
Total 3,365 159 3,524 100%

Education

Students from grades Kindergarten through 8 are zoned to the Canterbury School District. The district has two schools:

The local elementary school for kindergarten through fourth grades is Canterbury Elementary School, whose mascot is the Kitt Fox. The local middle school for fifth through eighth grades is Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School, whose mascot is the bulldog.

As Canterbury has no high school of its own, Canterbury students have the option of attending H.H. Ellis Technical High School, Norwich Technical High School, Windham Vocational-Technical High School, Woodstock Academy, Norwich Free Academy, or Griswold Senior High School.

Notable people

References

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  10. ↑ http://canterburyct.org/documents/Elected%20&%20Appointed%20Officials%202014-06-12.pdf
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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